Finn-Grip "Olympic" Vintage Cross-Country Ski Bindings - 3 pin - "kapea" boot sz 40 and smaller

As late as the early 1970s, Nordic ski equipment manufacture and distribution was very provincial, especially in the home countries. Finns used gear made in Finland, Swedes used Swedish equipment, and Norwegians could choose from the bounty of offerings available in their country. As an aside, places like the USA saw a mixture of brands - poles from Finland, skis from Norway, boots from Sweden, etc., what was imported depended on how focused the manufacturer was on the export market, and more often, on the tastes of a US-based retail shop or key figure in the sport.

Despite having a larger population that Norway in 1970, and a passionate ski culture, Finland had comparatively few ski equipment manufacturers and therefore was slower to evolve - a notable exception being Järvinen, which made skis that were sought by racers worldwide. Poles used in Finland until the 70s were bamboo, with a handle that could only be described as "prehistoric". Top racers like Juha Mieto used Swedish poles until the arrival of the groundbreaking Exel carbonfiber poles in the mid-70s. Bindings, as well, lagged behind the offerings of neighbors; while Sweden and Norway experimented with designs that sought to minimize weight, Finland stuck with a 4-pin clamp-style 7xmm binding until the mid-70s when Adidas 38mm and 3-pin 50mm bindings took over in the performance market.

FINALLY to this pair of bindings, a rare Finnish-made 3-pin clamp-style binding. Skifabrikk was lucky enough to acquire a collection of these NOS gems from a "barn find" in Canada. The bindings themselves probably were made in the late 70s but have never been used. They are a racing version, with the base plate made of a light aluminium; the total 190gm weight for the pair is dominated by the large clamps that comprise half of the overall weight. In contrast, Norwegian bindings manufacturers sought to reduce, or eliminate, the weighty clamp, resulting in racing bindings as light as 110gms per pair.

At this point in the evolution of Nordic ski bindings, most manufacturers still produced 2 or 3 sizes: a "kapea"/"smal"/narrow, which measured approx 71mm across where the pins would be on a standard 3-pin binding; a "leveä"/"bred"/wide, which measured 79mm; and a third width (which soon became the standard) of 75mm. These varying widths were produced to accommodate the boots that had historically been produced, and still were being produced, at the time. Boots soon adopted the 75mm width as standard.

The item for sale is a "kapea", made for smaller boots; however a 75mm toe should be able to fit in.

Style: 3-pin top-down "claw"
Width: 71mm
Weight (pr) excluding screws: 190gm
Distance between bottom screw holes: approx 30mm