The new Haute Route 10 Plus marries low weight and high function.
In short order, ATK has become a standard bearer in the backcountry touring marketplace. With their new Haute Route Plus, ATK presents a light package, elegant design, and enough features to keep a big-day ski tourer plenty happy.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It takes a lot to sell me on over-race-weight ski touring bindings these days. Special scenarios and reviews of bindings like the Slatnar or Raider series have pulled me away from race bindings some, but when I’m buying, Ski Trab Gara Titans have continued to be the go-to.
The Haute Route 10 Plus toe unit (the Speed Toe) offers a different drill pattern (wider holes in the back) and according to ATK the underside of the toe wings are less prone to icing up.
Seeing the new ATK Haute Route Plus gave me another good reason to pivot (ever so slightly) from my race binding propaganda and try something with a bit more going on. For about 50 grams of penalty over something like a Trofeo Plus (~180g), you get a heck of a lot of functionality. The big new development here is the new Speed toepiece, it features a design similar to the Raider that leaves no gaps to ice up under the wings, but packs it into a more svelte and minimal footprint. The basics of this design are well proven in the heavier toe pieces, and it’s awesome to see ATK trickling the tech down to lighter bindings (or maybe trickling up from the Revolution race bindings?). This toe is shared with the Raider SL, the new Timepacer, as well as the Crest models. Also nice/noteworthy is that the crampon slots are included and the less fancy but still plenty nice stamped parts rather than the super pricey machined slots of the past. The final noteworthy change is the hole pattern, which uses the standard forward holes (30x27mm), and the rear holes from the heavier bindings at 45mm wide and a few mm back. This doesn’t cause interference if you are remounting a ski that had a 30x27mm binding previously. Long story short, this toe piece seems like a winner.
The older Haute Route with the single heel riser, which, depending on pin orientation (forward or back) offers two riser heights, and a flat mode.
Made in Italy and from the looks of it, made with precision and an eye for elegance.
Top view of the older Haute Route. The older tow unit has a different hole pattern, and a double spring on the right-side wing.
The R01 plate offers fore and aft adjustability. The heel unit also has two magnetic risers and a flat mode.
The heel is a smaller but welcome update from the old Haute Route. The big update here is an additional riser, which means one can go from flat to medium or high risers without spinning—a deal maker/breaker for some users like THR Editor Jason Albert. Additionally, ATK has engraved a mark at 4 mm on the pins, eliminating the need for a spacer tool when adjusting. I’ve gotten less strict with my heel gap measuring the past few years, but engraved pins are a classic ‘how didn’t someone think of this earlier’ situation. It’s brilliant. Aside from those improvements, the Haute Route Plus heel is unchanged.
A view of the pin forward orientation. The Haute Route 10 Plus also features adjustable vertical and horizontal release values.
Otherwise, I can’t think of a lighter, non-U-Spring heel piece on the market. While I don’t generally need adjustable release values, the pins are buttery smooth to step into. Lastly, the Haute Route Plus includes the R01 adjustment plate, which is cross-compatible with many race bindings designed on a 25mm wide hole pattern. While it’s not the easiest to adjust, the R01 and tension bolt/nuts system is proven reliable and quite lightweight.
Overall, the Haute Route 10 Plus is a compelling upgrade from a race-style binding. I have it mounted on a Heritage Lab BC120 ST as a lightweight powder touring setup. I chose this ski as the combination of a higher riser for trail breaking in deep snow, the ease of stepping into the heel, and the ice-resistant toe—all compelling features in the powder touring context. We will report back with a full review once we have put the Haute Route PLus through the paces this winter.
The weight of the binding with screws and adjustment plate is 225g.
Full featured and light—verified.
The Basics
These seem really nice. I got a set, but haven’t put them to use yet.
One other update you didn’t mention is the reduced heeltoe height delta the new toe piece provides.
I looked at the Superlite 150, for its lightweight and favorable reviews, but when I added heel adjustment plates and crampon slots, the weight crept right back close to the Haute Route.
That Superlight 150 looks nice. My partner on a long traverse used them one year, I had the old Haute Route. After watching me keep my heel in flat mode and flipping into the higher riser as needed while he was rotating the heel from flat to an orientation to engage a riser… not exactly all the time…but I think he sort of felt like it was all the time, the next year he showed up with some Haute Routes. Keep us posted on how you like the reduced delta. I’ve never had an issue with the old delta (I do use the adjustment plate, but still)… maybe I don’t now what I am missing.
Yes, I have the old HR (non plus) as well. The delta is not high, (6.5 mm) but not low like the new on or the Alpinist either. The new one is going on my wife/kid’s skis.
I am going to shim my old HR to reduce the delta.
I didn’t get along super well with the skis I had the HR on, compared to the skis I had the Alpinist on. Obviously the skis are a big part of it, but I figure reducing ramp angle will help too. And it’s easy to fix. I’m a low ramp angle person in general.
ATK makes so many bindings it’s amazing. I have some HRs and I like them. Not many meters on them yet, the Crest is usually my go to. But when I put together a quasi/Skimo setup I put HRs on some Movement Race Pro 77s.