Rottefella (Nor)

The heavyweight champion of the Nordic binding world was, and still is, Rottefella of Norway.  Rottefella in Norwegian means "rat trap".  Ski bindings historically had involved a cable that wrapped around the heel of the boot, securing the toe in a bracket mounted on the ski.  In the late 1920s, skier Bror With came up with the idea of holding the toe of the boot to the ski with a clamp.  The resulting company started production in the 1930s and by the late 1960s had established the 75mm, 3-pin binding as "Nordic norm".  Even today, after decades of bruising competition with rival Salomon of France, Rottefella's "new Nordic norm" (NNN) is the unquestioned standard for cross-country ski bindings.