Binding Model: Salomon District Pro Team
Buy it here:
Christy Sports: https://bit.ly/3PPQsq5
Salomon: https://bit.ly/3FDoU29
Buckmans: https://bit.ly/3W5XtFp
The House: https://bit.ly/3W8ETMN
Blue Tomato: https://tidd.ly/3BKN5e9
Binding Size: Large
Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boot Used: K2 Thraxis
Boot Size: 10
Board Used: Telos Mike Ranquet
Rider Weight: 200lbs
Location: Arapahoe Basin
Conditions: A mix of bluebird and high clouds, high winds at the top of the mountain, frigid cold temps, fresh pow, choppy pow, and perfect corduroy.
Binding Adjustability: It’s pretty simple stuff here. You have twist cams for strap lengthening and 2 screws on the highback at the base of the heelcup to adjust the forward lean and rotation. That’s it.
Straps: The straps do their job and did them well. There’s nothing really mind blowing here with the minimalist design. The toe strap is more like a cage that will fit over a variety of boot shapes.
Ratchets: They climbed and released how you would want them to. I never had them slip or disengage. I will say that if you do a heel ratchet with a one finger release then you should put that on the toe as well.
Highbacks: As this binding has Shadowfit the highback sits a little different and flexes more due to the soft heel cup. These highbacks are a bit stiffer than the regular District so you can drive into them as you need to. Overall it did what you needed it to do and I didn’t notice it being any more or less prevalent than other brands highbacks.
Binding Flex: The overall flex is slightly on the softer side just due to the Shadowfit. This gives more play in the heelcup and makes for more lateral give. The strap material does let you drive a little harder into it so you can get more drive into your edges.
Ride: This is a surfy binding that’s for sure. Anything with Shadowfit is that way. The lateral flex is just so prevalent.
Rider in Mind: Surfy freestyle guy.
Personal Thoughts: I go back and forth on Shadowfit and whether I personally like it or not. If it’s too forgiving in the heelcup I lose some of that drive, but if it’s too stiff it just feels like another binding which I don’t mind. With this binding I could feel the lateral give but it wasn’t so overwhelming that I felt I lost power. But I was also smashing pow which makes it nice to have a surfy feel from your ankles when you’re steering it.
Comparable Bindings:
K2 Lien AT: https://bit.ly/3uWgxtI
Union Strata: https://bit.ly/3Wp2isZ
Rome Vice: https://bit.ly/3YAwZgL
