2025 Atomic Strive 16 MN Ski Bindings Review
By: Greg Louie, Bootfitter & Copywriter | Published: June 11, 2024
The Lowdown
I’ve been a loyal user of the Amer (Salomon, Atomic and Armada) group’s STH2 and Warden bindings for years. When they introduced the new Strive series last season and hinted at the eventual phasing out of both older models, I went into defensive mode and stocked up, with four pairs of STH2’s and 2 pairs of Warden 13’s in the house “just in case.”
User acceptance of the Strive has been slow on the uptake, with many exclaiming “they just wanted to make it look like a Shift” or “they just wanted to switch to a binding that was cheaper to produce” or similar, and I’m as guilty as the next old-schooler of thinking the new, less bulky toepiece design might not be as durable.
To be clear, there are several versions of the Strive, including 12 and a 14 DIN GripWalk (GW) models, and 14 and 16 DIN MN (Multi-Norm) models. The GW models have auto-adjusting toes (no height or width adjustment possible), while the MN toes have a height adjustment screw that raises or lowers the toe housing (not the AFD). For the Strive 16 MN, they use the tried-and-true heelpiece from the Warden/STH2, the others get a freshly designed heel. The Strive bashing that’s been circulating on the Internet among people who’ve never used one reminds me of the disc brake revolution in road biking – for years, pro riders who hadn’t grown up racing mountain bikes railed on about the potential for discs to slice open their legs in a crash, braking too fast for the rest of the peloton, etc. without any real basis for those claims. Now, of course, discs are standard equipment in road racing, but a bunch of uninformed doubters slowed the adoption of a better system for years.
I located a pair of Strive 16 MN’s courtesy of our Atomic rep, and slapped them on my trusty Blizzard Bonafide 97’s – the re-mount was simplicity itself, as the previous bindings had been Warden 13’s and the mount pattern is identical. After the standard forward pressure check, a minor toe height tweak, and setting the DIN to my liking, the Strives were good to go.
Technical Details
All three brands offering the Strive 16 MN have black as an option, with the appropriate logos subtly displayed to distinguish the brands, but the Atomic is embellished with faint Chris Benchetler background art. While the heelpiece remains the same as my old STH2 16’s, the toe is completely new. Longer, lower, and much less “blocky” in shape, the Strive toepiece does indeed resemble the Shift, though without the locking lever or release tab.
Mounting the Strive 16 MN is a little different than previous Amer bindings – you drill as for a Warden 13, but the toe has a separate plastic piece that attaches with two screws at the front two holes (think Marker). You then slide the toepiece onto this piece and screw in the rear screws, much like other brands. One advantage of this design is I didn't have to run out to my car for another screwdriver when I suddenly remembered my burly Bahco Pozi #3 doesn't fit in the front STH2 holes.
The heel screws on with audible “cracks” as you tighten the down the mounting plate (don’t panic, this is intended to send “Do-it-Yourselfers” straight to the shop thinking they’ve broken something). Toe height adjustment and heel forward pressure adjustment follow standard Amer protocol.
Interestingly, while the toepiece itself is much lower profile, the point at which the AFD contacts the boot is actually slightly higher than an STH2 WTR toe (I get 21mm vs 20mm for the STH2 WTR) so the “lower profile” argument is misleading – stand height is actually slightly taller. Height of the heel is still 25mm off the ski, so delta with the new Strive 16 MN is 1mm less. In contrast to the STH2 16 WTR, the AFD on the Strive 16 MN is a sliding one (pretty much essential for use with a touring ISO 9523 sole), but it seems very solid. For those sensitive to vertical movement between boot and toepiece, the sliding AFD gives me confidence when cranking the height down to a bare minimum (I’m probably not supposed to recommend this).
Amer claims 47mm of lateral elasticity at the toe, a height of 19.5mm (I get 21mm), fore/aft adjustment range of 30mm, and a weight of 1125 grams per binding (I get 1144 grams with screws, so about the same). DIN range is 7-16. Adjustment of both toe height and DIN is done with a Pozidrive #3 screwdriver (there is no width adjustment) which makes a lot of sense, though I wish they had switched the heel DIN adjustment to Pozidrive as well. Maybe down the line.
| Recommended Ability Level | Advanced-Expert |
| DIN Range | 7 - 16 |
| Boot Sole Compatibility | Alpine DIN (ISO 5355), GripWalk (ISO 23223), Alpine Touring (ISO 9523), Walk to Ride (WTR) |
| Weight (g) | 1199g |
Ride Impressions
I’ve got quite a few days on the Strive 16 now (I also mounted a pair of 186 Bodacious with them for deeper days and a test pair of 2025 Anomaly 102's) and using the new binding has proven to be a non-event.
I can’t really tell any difference between the Strive 16 MN and the STH2 16 WTR unless I look down – they deliver power just as reliably as “old reliable” and I’ve had no issues with the toes at all. It’s got me thinking all the angst was in vain, and now I’m wondering what to do with the NIB STH2’s and Warden 13’s in my basement.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Pros
- Stays on when you need it to, hasn't come off yet this season
- Has the traditional Amer solid-but-low-effort step in "thunk"
- Looks and feels much like bindings you may be used to
Cons
- None
Who Are They For?
Hard core devotees of either the Warden 13 or STH2 16 (either MN or WTR version) can confidently move their focus to the new Stive 16 MN without missing a beat. Performance won’t suffer, and the ability to adjust the toe height to accommodate a full ISO 9523 Touring sole is there as well.
The Bottom Line
The Strive 16 MN provides a bomb-proof high-DIN option for skiers who need extra retention and especially those used to the the STH2 16 and Warden 13 series. Elite skiers tend to be "stuck in their ways" and new products are slow to gain their trust, but the new Strive 16 won't disappoint.
Shop Atomic Strive 16 MN Ski BindingsShop Salomon Strive 16 MN Ski Bindings
About the Reviewer
Name: Greg Louie
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 172 lbs
Skis Used: Blizzard Bonafide 97 183, Blizzard Bodacious 186, Blizzard Anomaly 102 182
Location(s) & Conditions: Crystal Mountain, WA / Whistler, BC / Mission Ridge, WA / Stevens Pass, WA – Slushy groomers, rock-hard groomers, 15" real powder
Mount Point: Factory Recommended
Bindings: Atomic Strive 16 MN
Boots: Atomic Hawx Ultra 130 RS shell with Redster CS Professional liner and Atomic Dual Professional Power Strap
Riding Style & Ability Level: Age-group ripper with a race background.