3 pin is still the way to travel in the backcountry, although Rotefella and Salomon have been trying to take the BC market away from the duckbills for 20 years now. I was looking at the new NNN-BC equipment, man, how ungraceful. they looked like a Brannock device on top of the skis, the bindings are so huge.

Most of my heavy duty backcountry gear is still 3 pin. love it. everything from wood skis to 1980's era Mountain Noodles into the modern shaped boards, i've run 3 pin or 3 pin with cables since i started linking telemark turns in the 1970's.

When Steve Barnett and I (Steve's the author of Cross-Country Downhill and one of the main players in the modern telemark ski era- people used to telemark on wood skis in the 1970s) skied up and over Washington's Glacier Peak in 2000, he tackled that volcano traverse on NNN-BC equipment instead of 3-pin.

Steve was, remains a STRONG proponent of lightweight gear in even serious backcountry. I'd sometimes run into him in the spring off the North Cascades highway on some of the choice terrain, masterfully shredding couloirs on NNN-BC gear with commensurate grace.

I'm still a fan of 3 pin, but since i was riding my bike to the trailhead, went with lighter SNS boots and bindings. I will certainly take that bike with 3 pins once we see a good powder dump.