snowboard bindings...
Gen M. Kanai
i think the industry is going to locking clips for bindings that cannot
release without deliberate force. The F2/Rad Air bindings and the
Burtons all have this mechanism which is a tiny spring-loaded clip on
the end of the metal clip piece (unwieldy explanation). these new
"locking" straps seem to work really well and eliminate this
problem....
re: loosening of plates or bindings, i have the old burton 5-hole
pattern and anyone with the sims/santacruz system can also do the same
thing. i use locknut washers. cheap, like $.02 each and they hold
really well, no gunk needed superglue or locktite stuff. when they
wear out (get flat) i either replace them or rebend them so they are
tight again.
with the newer disc systems, i havent figured out anything yet. the
burton's seem to hold as long as they are checked regularly. the 4x4
system also should be checked daily or as often as you ride, kinda
like a little insurance. i also ride with a small driver so i can do
slopeside changes.
with my asymair, i've made so many changes with stance angles and
width, i am impressed with the inserts. i also go back and forth
between the freestyle and flex highbacks depending on conditions and
stance angles. i really like the flexibility of insert patterns
although i must say that i think inherently the 3d and 4x4 patterns do
not make too much sense with me in terms of heel and toe lift.
i know they work and its going to stay like that i think, but i cant
imagine that a race board with a 3d or 4x4 setup wont have considerable
lift that delays edge to edge time. caron alpine technologies, who
make the rhino binding, are adamantly opposed to the disc setups that
have proliferated because they are a race-binding company. they feel
that the 4x4 or 3d is a significant compromise. the companies who use
those patterns see them as enabling the board to flex when a titanal
plate wouldnt. its an interesting debate and i'm so curious about what
will happen in the future of bindings.
looking at the ski industry, although capped skis have been a
breakthrough, ski technology hasnt leap in years while it seems as if
binding technology is moving foward every year what with the markers
and the suspension salomons. with the snowboarding industry, the trend
for hard core freestylers is for no baseplate bindings to get closer to
the snow, have the board flex even better and to lighten the
equiptment. pierogies and burton now both have no-baseplate freestyle
bindings, but i'm sure that stance flexibility isnt as good as with
disc systems. but since this is at present such a technical aspect of
snowboarding, i think that it will stay with the hard core freestylers.
where will snowboarding go? what is the future? my money is on a
better foot-board interface. someone out there has to have a better
idea than what we have right now although this aspect of snowboarding
is what i love about it. soft boots and strap bindings seem relatively
ancient in technology compared to salomon suspension drivers or the
marker m1scs, but its important to look at the uses of the product.
board technology? perhaps we will see some cap snowboards in the
future, probably among the raceboards.
does anyone else want to philosophize about the future of snowboarding?
oh, one last and most important thing. race and gender. i hope and
predict that snowboarding will fully open its arms to women and
minorities. already we are seeing womens signature models, albeit much
later than should have been. nicole angelrath and shannon dunn have
their own boards and i think that tara eberhard-masterpool might have
her own board. others who deserve? circe wallace, janna meyen and the
list goes on and on. with the advent of deep, the first company
dedicated to clothing for female boarders, i hope that the general
maleness of snowboarding will carve towards equality quickly.
advertising has been targeted by many as fueling the mysogyny of
snowboarding and the magazines attitude is to print anything and let
the consumer choose the future of any company with his/her wallet.
already i am seeing changes in attitudes between skiers and
snowboarders, but lets now look at attitudes within our community,
between men and women. so many people talk about vibing and bad vibes
between snowboarders who choose different styles of boarding, this too
should be addressed. if we can present a unified confident front to
the rest of the world, supporting women and men, freeriding,
freestyling, halfpipe riding and racing, i cannot think but that
snowboarding will receive the recognition it deserves and we will all
be able to ride confidently no matter who we are, where we ride, or
what we are riding on.
idealistic, possibly, but snowboarding is here to stay- that is
obvious. are we interested in change? are we interested in positive
changes that will benefit everyone? maybe we just care about riding
with our friends- if this is the case, it'll be a long while before the
changes that i hope will occur will happen.
flames...sure i'll get some but i had fun writing this!
gen
J I M B O
: does anyone else want to philosophize about the future of snowboarding?
Not really, maybe another time, another place. But addressing the issue
of snowboard bindings, what I would like to see in terms of
freestyle/freeriding bindings is a "snap-in" type of device. (I think
there's one out there made by Fly Trap, but have never seen it on the
slopes.) What's with all this skate, lift, skate, strap on, ride, stop,
strap off... strap on, strap off, on and off?? It's a hassle, and I
think many snowboarders would appreciate something less time consuming, yes?
The Fly Trap binding, according to the ad, consisted of a plate on the
board, and the wrap-around straps on the boots. On the bottome of the
straps was a disc which clicked into the plate with a hard clicking
motion (like with clipless pedals on bikes). To remove, you need a sharp
tug on a lever (connected to the leash); so there wouldn't (shouldn't) be
a chance of accidentally clicking out on a wicked bone-air. Anyone know
anything about these?
Jimbo