BINDINGS

[benjinyc]

REI has Karakoram free rangers for $100

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[G.D.]

Decent review actually, imo. Clear, open and helpful for the avg rider.

[scrub]

I checked out the new Burton Genesis and was surprised at how soft the high backs feel compared to mine from a couple of seasons ago. They do seem like they would be a little more durable but it makes me even more surprised that Burton has axed the Malavita.

[coleslawed]

Decent review actually, imo. Clear, open and helpful for the avg rider.

I would disagree with him on the stiffness scale overall, but his reasonings are still good for choosing the Force over the Atlas. sounds like Union has never sent him a pair of Strata's or Ultra's though.

[Raaz]

Has anyone seen the Union Atlas Pro Kazu Kokubo 2024 or know if this will be released in the US? We're about to kick off the season here and all I've seen is this image released in Asia.

https://m.one8.co.kr/product/%EC%98%88% ... display/1/

Here they are https://eu.unionbindingcompany.com/pages/custom-house

[eleveneightnate]

K2 put out three entirely new bindings this season. I snagged a pair of the Editions last weekend to give them a go at Keystone and really liked them. Some thoughts below.

My understanding of the three new models:

• Edition - softest (6/10), all mountain freestyle feel.

• Bond - middle ground all mountain (7/10), these are what Sage rides.

• Program - stiffest (9/10), freeride.

Weight: felt pretty light, about the same as my Select Pros and Highlanders.

Overall flex: the advertised 6/10 felt spot on. Felt a little less responsive than my Select Pros, but I dunno man, maybe that was just my early season legs.

Ankle strap: super minimal and light, felt soft at the shop but had surprisingly good support on the hill.

Toe strap: really nice, the center is this super flexible rubber that stretches around your boot. They fit my adidas and Burtons both really well. The Program has this toe strap, too, while the Bond has a minimalist one without the center rubber. They conformed to my boot significantly better than my Salomon and Union ones.

Highback: think this is where the different flex ratings come into play between models. The one on the Edition felt right in line with my Select Pros: tweakable laterally but still decent response heel to toe. Very minimal and light with a little section of rubber/foam toward the bottom to prevent heel lift. Just one of those highbacks that you don't notice a whole lot. Not very wide so it frees up lateral movement.

Buckles/ladders: smooth and actually metal unlike the Now ones. Ladders have the flip-to-side hinge.

Footbed/base plate: my favorite part about these by far. They have a dense rubber pad along the entire bottom of the binding that gets rid of vibration really well, then some really nice/thick foam, then "harshmellow pods" in the heel and toe which remind me of the B3 gel in the Cartel, but bigger. Not sure about heavy landings since I was just riding early season sidehits, but they handled those well and felt like they did a better job at getting rid of micro vibrations compared to my other bindings. As I get older, this metric is most important to me.

Adjustability: pretty standard quick release on everything. They're mono-chassis so no adjustable heelcup, but the toe ramp gives tons of adjustment outward. Two positions each side for the toe strap, two positions for the ankle strap location, and separate highback rotation from the strap bolt.

Sizing: the large is 10+ so I don't have to worry about being between sizes anymore. These fit my 10.5 Adidas, 11 Imperials, and 11 Rifts all equally well and I had no problem with them centering on board. Will be nice to shop for whatever boot I want and not have to worry about footprint with these.

All I in all, I like these things a lot. I think I'll either keep them as my all mountain go-to, or swap them for the Bonds to get a little more response, but either way K2 has really improved their binding offerings over their older models. These just kinda disappear on your feet which is exactly what I want.

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[G.D.]

Looks relatively better aesthetically compared to the previous ones, imo.

[eleveneightnate]

Looks relatively better aesthetically compared to the previous ones, imo.

Agreed, they honestly just kinda look and feel like Cartels.

[kimchi]

Interesting FLAD design. Looks like it's flush with the highback and falls into a recessed area? Don't know if I've ever seen that before. They look a lot more polished than the 2017 Liens I briefly owned.

Speaking of Cartels, I've been low-key tempted to grab some Cartel X's with my Burton credit. I also really liked the Hammock Heel they have on the base of the Cartel X highback. Approximates the supportive feel of the higher heelcup on SkateTech but allows for a bit more lateral tweak with a lower profile baseplate.

I'm also annoyed with my NOW / Jones after I wrecked my... fifth or sixth ratchet in five seasons. If nothing else I may just go back to Burton straps.

[eleveneightnate]

Interesting FLAD design. Looks like it's flush with the highback and falls into a recessed area? Don't know if I've ever seen that before. They look a lot more polished than the 2017 Liens I briefly owned.

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