We’ve read the reviews on the web for the Salomon MTN Alpine Touring Binding (Atomic Backland Tour) and summarize the results below:

Universal Ranking

Peak Score: 96 (out of 100) 
User Rating: 4.9 stars   
Expert Rating 4.6 stars

Pros & Cons

Reasons to buy:

User Reviews

• They are super light and well built.
• The two risers are easy enough to flip up with the handle of my ski pole.
• The toe is easy to line up and get into even in deep snow.
• They seem stronger than Dynafit bindings.
• I’ve skied these in the resort and they are sturdy and can handle freeskiing.
• Easy to get in and out of even in precarious footing.
• No bells and whistles here, just what you need to get it done!

Expert Reviews

• The Salomon MTN is exactly the same as the Atomic Backland Tour. They are owned by the same company and the only difference is color scheme.
• It is durable and can handle whatever the backcountry throws at it.
• It feels very solid and has fewer parts than similar bindings.
• Nice close-to-flat touring mode.
• A lightweight minimalist binding that has most of what people need and little of what they don’t.
• The toes fall about in the middle for ease of stepping into compared to similar bindings.
• It has a wide mounting patter which presumably helps when using wider skis.
• If you aren’t going to need the flat mode (which is only truly flat without brakes) you can flip the risers right over the pins for ease.
• Heel risers are easy to flip over with a pole basket.
• Simple construction minimizes icing.
• The 30mm of adjustment potential in the heel allows you to swap out boots without re-mounting the binding.
• Riser options are plenty sufficient, although not as varied as bigger tech bindings.
• The three heel springs provided allow for three different levels of vertical release in the heel – soft, medium, and hard.
• Choose this binding for its features and enjoy it for its weight.
• The brakes can be deployed and retracted reliably.

Reasons NOT to buy:

User Reviews

• You really need to step down pretty hard to get in the back.

Expert Reviews

• Unlike the Dynafit Superlite, the lateral release of the heel is fixed by the spring that you select.
• When using the optional brake, the flat touring mode is slightly elevated.
• The toe piece requires a decent amount of force to step into.
• Its power transfer is not the best if you’re prioritizing the downhill.

Summary:

The Salomon MTN Alpine Touring Binding (Atomic Backland Tour) elegantly provides a feature set useful to most ski tourers without wasting weight with unnecessary bells and whistles. It is a very lightweight binding with tried and true technology that results in easy uphill touring and solid downhill engagement.

Media:

Expert rankings were reviewed on cripplecreekbc, blisterreview, wildsnow, outdoorgearlab.