Binding Model: Borealis Hakuba
Binding Size: Large
Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boot Used: K2 Thraxis
Boot Size: 10
Board Used: Telos Backslash
Rider Weight: 198
Location: Copper Mountain
Conditions: Overcast skies with pockets of sun, winds up high, fresh snow everywhere, and perfectly groomed runs
Binding Adjustability: So it’s pretty straight forward with the adjustability on this binding. You have forward lean, toe ramp, pop pins in the toe for strap placement, set screws for heel placement, and flip cams to adjust the strap length.
Straps: The heel strap feels cheap. It’s not an injected plastic it’s more like a molded that is lacking foam so it’s just hard and cradles your instep. The toe strap has that slit in it to make it a dual toe cap or over the top (who still rocks over the top?). It fit my boot shape well enough but wasn’t anything special.
Ratchets: They did their job but they seem flimsy. The lever release on the heel barely worked as a one finger quick release and the toe is a push down to release. Overall they look like a ratchet from 15 years ago.
Highbacks: These things are HUGE. They sit super high on the back and are very rigid. You’ll notice that right away that there’s next to no flex in them.
Binding Flex: The binding itself is stiff and rigid. It’s a binding for charging harder and there’s next to no flex in it. The disk is huge which creates a giant dead spot under foot and stabilizes the binding so there isn’t any lateral flex. Then the highback as previously mentioned doesn’t flex. Overall it’s a stiff unflexing binding that makes you drive into it hard.
Ride: This binding is dead in terms of flex and does nothing for dampening. You feel everything under foot with it which I guess is fine if that’s what you want, but personally if it’s going to be lively it should be somewhat flexible.
Rider in Mind: Charging guy that wants a stiff binding without any bells and whistles.
Personal Thoughts: These aren’t anything special. They come across as rather cheap once you start riding them and playing around with them. The toe ramp doesn’t stay locked in so it’s always moving back and forth because the push lever on the bottom is cheap. The heel strap while it does contour to the boot is just a plastic cage of pressure and pain. The toe strap is reminiscent of older Raiden (Nitro Bindings for the uninitiated) and the ratchets are flimsy. My guess is they slapped their name on an Alibaba binding and went for it. If you’re looking for a binding, I’d look elsewhere.
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