Possible steel pin breakage in Marker’s Kingpin models 10 and 13 may lead to lower release forces and result in falls, according to the manufacturer.
The ski touring binding is targeted at the backcountry market. Marker is replacing the binding toes at no cost. If you have the binding contact your local Marker Authorized Retailer or visit https://www.marker.net/en-us/support/recall/ for assistance.
I guess those pins are lighter than any other kind of bindings, but they are also so thin and flimsy that they don’t inspire confidence. I much prefer bindings such as the Diamir Fritschi Freeride bindings. They don’t require any special boots. You can use your regular alpine boots. My set of Diamir Fritchi bindings are sturdy and have taken a lot of abuse over the years, and they still function perfectly. I once ran into an obstacle (probably the root or branch of a tree hidden under deep snow) and it sent me flying straight forward over the tips of my skis, and both bindings released perfectly. I have a lot of confidence in them. In fact, I like having light skis and light bindings, and I now use them exclusively, even when I am just downhill skiing at a ski area. I am constantly surprised how heavy other people’s ski and bindings are!
I believe Marker has problems with their downhill bindings as well. I rented Demo skis with Marker bindings this past year/2018 and they worked loose by the third day of aggressive skiing and after tightening they completely released while coasting down a blue run. No serious injury but did wrench lower leg and scared me. Changed skiis that day to a different ski/binding. Rental company said they had several issues earlier in the season and had remounted all their bindings but that obviously wasn’t the problem. Marker had denied any responsibility. I will never use Marker bindings again.