When I was looking at skis, I wasn't sure what to get. I looked at the Karhu Meta but never tried them. Steve did, but didn't like them as I recall. I even thought about skiboards, but eventually bought a "real ski" with tele bindings. There are several threads from a couple of years ago that cover this whole discussion about that.

The reason I didn't buy Berwins is that they are designed to be used with soft soled, flexible boots like Steger Mukluks. I think Will Steger (no relation to the Mukluk people) used Berwins, but he was basically just skiing on flats in supercold weather.

I am no expert, but I do know you can't turn a ski with wimpy bindings or soft boots. That's why downhill boots are so big, so stiff and essentially bolted to the skis by the binding.

Berwins are designed to flex with a soft boot and are a very different design from tele bindings. A stiff boot can tear a Berwin right off the ski or actually break it from what I have read. I had no interest in finding out if that would happen to me. The Akers people, the ones who sell Berwins warn you on their website not to use stiff boots.

Serious telemarkers wear big Alpine-style boots. Look at a Scarpa T1 or big Garmont boot. They are basically a downhill boot with a duckbill on the front. Even the new binding systems have big boots.

Not so serious skiers like me can do fine with Voile 3 Pins designed to work with either a leather or light plastic boot like a Garmont Excursion.

Unless you are planning to wear a moon boot or Baffin or a mukluk of some kind and don't plan on going downhill at all or turning your skis much, I don't think Berwins are what you want.

ps Jim, I think that's Dave Metsky, the guy with the funny hat in his picture.