The Step On thread

[C.Fuzzy]

I would run stepons if it worked as well as straps for me. Not enough snowboarders around to care, and the skiers would probably just be stoked on it. They just need to improve it.

Where do you find straps work better for you? (Not trying to be contrary, just curious if I'm overlooking something).

[casjcade]

Straps just puts the board on edge exactly when I want, and I always feel the connection. I don't get the same from stepons. Got to try the new est ones recently, need to get more on my toes to turn, and there's that slack in between. Plus everyone I see with them are wobbling and flailing when doing hard turns and landing jumps a little off. Really felt it on hardpacked artificial snow. Maybe if it had like a pressured spring mechanism or something, but that sounds abit much.

[jsil]

Straps just puts the board on edge exactly when I want, and I always feel the connection. I don't get the same from stepons. Got to try the new est ones recently, need to get more on my toes to turn, and there's that slack in between. Plus everyone I see with them are wobbling and flailing when doing hard turns and landing jumps a little off. Really felt it on hardpacked artificial snow. Maybe if it had like a pressured spring mechanism or something, but that sounds abit much.

I think its really about boot fit. I found a better connection from Step Ons than straps, but boot fit is even more important with this setup as you cant use straps to bandaid fit issues.

As for everyone wobbling and flailing doing hard turns and landing jumps off sounds more like the rider and not the gear. There are definitely less advanced/expert riders on Step On than straps so that could be what you're seeing.

As for feeling it on hardpack artificial snow, that's for sure. The EST Genesis bindings have a lower stack height and feel more of the chunder and vibrations than the standard Re:Flex bindings IMO

[scrub]

The Charles Beckinsale episode of the Bombhole gave me a step on related chuckle.

Last weekend in Schweitzer made me SO curious again, there are some awkward spots that required me to I strap and push and I was riding with skiers so it was awkward.

[casjcade]

Don't think I could get better fitting boots in terms of no slack/lift. The plastic stuff pressing directly down on the instep is a little uncomfortable, maybe more for me than others. I guess that could improve, maybe along the lines of how the Falcor strap works. What would need to change for me to use them is the boot to binding connection. Vibrations on stepon Cartel X est isn't worse than usual I think? Just feel the lack of connection less in soft snow.

[eleveneightnate]

jsil when the step on thread lights up

[jota]

I haven't tried any step on v2 (reflex, union...) but what I've experienced with the step on EST has been a real game changer for me. @jsil Like you said, they're beasts. They enhance the characteristics of my board, making it gain more pop, more turn, more lightness. Let's forget about the quick entry and exit, which aren't important to me, the only thing I want to be fast is my base. When sliding, I've felt that my straps were really unnecessary, I'm perfect without them because I don't have to pull on them, but what my feet say is done by the board, as I would like it to ride like a surfboard, from below, from the board and not with demand and rigidity but with comfort. (fawcett has explained this very well)
For example, if I want to do a 180 on a side hit, I make less effort, I go up higher and longer and I land without feeling that if I do it wrong, I'll fall...

Afterwards, it was difficult for me to enter the second click many times and at the exit I sometimes became clumsy, but that was due to lack of practice. After trying the EST I'm too lazy to try the SO reflex or union...

It’s also true that the experience was good because the Swath worked well and that was because I used J-bars precisely placed in a different way than Burton recommends, rather copying the attachment points of the Infuse boot. The third day I ride them very loose and well... the heel didn't move either. But due to the correct placement of the J-bars since at home without them my heel was an elevator.

[jota]

Things have been feeling a bit too chummy around here lately. So I'm here to fan the flames of rage and give an update on my SO experiment.

Now in part because of my early season shoulder separation and the limited mobility I had while healing, I kept on riding SOs most of the season. I probably have 20 days on them so far. I did finally get back into my Nows for a few runs though, for the comparison.

And... *drumroll*... I'm not going to say anything that others haven't said.

The connection of the heel cleat and toe cleats to the binding have a more direct response and are faster edge to edge, easier to tortional flex a board (Ie pedaling or paddling ) and just have different energy transfer over that of traditional bindings. The knock on effect of that is that instead of stiffer boots and more surfy style bindings, I keep my boots a little looser. (with this in mind the waveranger begins to make more sense).

Also no strap pressure points or fitment issues...bc no straps. So no buckles. ratchets. ladders. Padding. slippage. blah blah blah. I will say before I tried them the lack of straps wasn't in my mind at all, like... of course SOs don't have straps, but I wasn't thinking that I had any issues with straps themselves, it was a non-issue to me.

But SOs have a feng shui to them and now straps seem fiddley to me (and I don't mind being fiddly). It's like this: You have a room with furniture and the way it's set up has always been the way it is, and you walk around the furniture to get where you're going and think nothing of it. Then you move something and suddenly the room feels more spacious and there's an easier path through the room, and while before there was nothing wrong with the set up before, the new convenience has a sense of relief to it.

They seem to feel lighter bc no straps too. Though I haven't weighed them. That could just be a perception thing though.

The ingress, the "stepping on", while moving is nice. Less penguin walking to get going. less kicking a little shelf to stand in and buckle.

I still don't love the egress. But Its getting easier.

The downsides (imo): Less flexibility or universality to the system in the sense that you can't swap boards with folks very easily or lend gear as easily, unless they have the same system and the right size. Trad bindings are more adjustable.

The B liners don't fit my feet. I had to swap them out for my northwave liners. Of course, other brands are coming online so more options and fits will be available.

Those are the main ones for me.

I know others talk about lateral flex for tweaking grabs and such, and those are probably valid for them. And although in my whispy imaginings while laying in a bubble bath, I'm Nico... launching off pillows and soaring sprawled out like an eagle with the most majestic method anyone has ever seen... In reality my airs and grabs are much more age appropriate. My tweaks are more in my neck and they hurt later on.

TLDR: There's no overwhelming thing that make SO better, but I do think there are marginal benefits. The feng shui of them to me is the main one. There's also no performance downside for me either. Since I have them I will likely keep riding them.

I think the biggest resistance to SOs in snowboarding remains the stigma of them, and the prevalence of a cultural undertone that 'straps are for real snowboarders'. If I remove that from my reasoning and ignore the din of opinions from those being paid to promote the product they ride, the biggest barrier in my mind is just past investments and the cost of starting on a new system.

Burton genesis est (S) 875gr
Jones meteorite (S) 857gr
Step on EST (s) 700gr

[dpartridge7]

mark fawcett's LBS setup

[jsil]

If I remove that from my reasoning and ignore the din of opinions from those being paid to promote the product they ride, the biggest barrier in my mind is just past investments and the cost of starting on a new system.

Totally agree. You see a ton of Step Ons from new riders because they don't have tons of old strap bindings and boots laying around. They also don't have the stigma.

Here in Utah I see probably 30% of people in the lift line with StepOn now. Probably 95% of them are intermediates or beginners.