Splitboarding has seen significant advancements in binding technology in recent years, offering riders a wider range of options to find the perfect bindings for their splitboard setup. While Karakoram and Spark R&D remain top contenders, brands like Burton, Plum, Union, and Voile also provide excellent alternatives. The emergence of step-in splitboard bindings has sparked interest, and we eagerly anticipate further developments in this area.
When embarking on your splitboarding journey, selecting the appropriate bindings to complement your chosen board is a crucial initial step. With a multitude of options and subtle distinctions, the process can initially feel overwhelming. This guide aims to simplify the selection process by exploring the primary splitboard binding systems currently available: slide-on and drop-on.
Soft-Boot vs. Hard-Boot Splitboard Bindings
While most splitboarders opt for soft-boot bindings, it's important to consider all available options. Therefore, let's explore the two main types of splitboard bindings: soft-boot and hard-boot.
Soft-Boot Bindings
Soft-boot bindings are the most common choice among splitboarders. They closely resemble traditional snowboard bindings, featuring similar ratcheting straps and highbacks, and are compatible with conventional, soft snowboard boots.
For downhill riding, the bindings are securely attached across the splitboard. During uphill travel, the bindings are repositioned onto each splitboard ski, allowing them to pivot up and down.
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Here's a comparison of the pros and cons of soft-boot bindings versus hard-boot bindings:
Pros:
- Feel: Soft-boot bindings tend to preserve the surfy feel that snowboarders enjoy.
- Cost: Soft-boot setups are generally more affordable, especially if you already own snowboard boots.
- Comfort: Soft snowboard boots typically require less break-in time.
Cons:
- Durability: Soft boots may wear out faster than hard boots, especially with frequent use.
- Efficiency: Soft-boot bindings may not provide as much front-to-back range of motion for efficient skinning. Additionally, soft boots are less rigid than hard boots, which can reduce efficiency when traversing slopes uphill.
Hard-Boot Bindings
Hard-boot bindings are a niche setup favored by experienced backcountry riders and mountain guides who prioritize uphill efficiency. These bindings deviate from tradition, replacing highbacks and straps with a design that accommodates plastic alpine touring ski boots.
For downhill riding, the bindings have wire toe and heel bales that secure the boot to the binding. During uphill travel, the downhill binding components are removed, and the rider steps into tech-style toe pieces mounted on the splitboard skis.
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Here are the pros and cons of hard-boot bindings compared to soft-boot bindings:
Pros:
- Efficiency: Ski touring boots offer excellent front-to-back cuff range of motion, enabling a longer, more efficient stride during uphill travel.
- Agility: The narrow profile of ski touring boots, combined with their hard-plastic shells, rotating cuffs, and lugged soles, makes them ideal for booting up trails and kicking steps in snow. Hard boots also accept fully automatic crampons for technical ascents.
- Durability: The hard-plastic shells of ski touring boots are more durable than most snowboarding boots.
Cons:
- Cost: Hard-boot setups are typically more expensive than soft-boot setups.
- Comfort: While comfort can be achieved with hard-boot setups, plastic ski boots may require more break-in time, and modifications may be necessary to optimize them for splitboarding.
Splitboard Binding Interface
Understanding the binding interface, or how the bindings attach to the board, is crucial when choosing splitboard bindings. Interfaces can be broadly categorized into puck-style interfaces and everything else.
Puck-Style Interfaces
Puck-style interfaces utilize plastic or metal pucks that are mounted to the splitboard. For downhill riding, the bindings slide onto the pucks and are secured with a clamp, pin, or other fastener. For uphill travel, the bindings are removed from the pucks and attached to hinges on the splitboard skis, again secured with a clamp, pin, or other fastener. Puck interfaces are known for their simplicity, light weight, and reliability.
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Everything Else
Non-puck-style interfaces employ various methods for attaching the bindings to the board for downhill riding. These interfaces often involve clamping or twisting the bindings onto a mechanism mounted on the splitboard. For uphill travel, the bindings are unclamped or untwisted and moved to the hinges on the splitboard skis, where they are secured with a clamp, pin, or other fastener.
When evaluating different bindings and their interfaces, consider the following factors:
- Ease of use: How easily can you attach the bindings for downhill riding and switch them to tour mode?
- Simplicity of design: Is the design simple and less intricate, reducing the potential for breakage?
- Weight: How much does the interface weigh compared to others?
- Price: Higher-end interfaces are typically made from costlier materials and may have more intricate connection methods, increasing the price.
- Compatibility: The binding interface often dictates the brand of bindings you can use. It's generally recommended to stick with the same brand for both bindings and interface to ensure the best experience.
Splitboard Binding Specs and Features
When examining the bindings themselves, it's important to consider several key specifications and features to narrow down your selection. Think about the type of terrain you plan to explore, how frequently you'll be using your splitboard, and your budget to help determine the importance of each feature.
Weight
Weight varies among splitboard bindings, with high-end bindings typically incorporating lighter, costlier materials. A lightweight setup can make uphill travel easier, allowing you to go farther and stay out longer. However, if you only plan to use your splitboard occasionally or for short trips, weight may not be a top priority.
Flex
Most splitboard bindings have a relatively stiff flex compared to standard snowboard bindings. This stiffness provides excellent control in steep terrain and deep snow, which are common in the backcountry. However, a range of flexes is available. If you prefer an all-mountain or freestyle feel, look for bindings with a soft or medium flex. For aggressive riders, stiffer flex bindings are recommended.
Highback Forward Lean Adjustment
Soft-boot splitboard bindings allow you to switch between ride mode, where the highbacks are locked into a forward-lean position, and tour mode, where the highbacks are released for greater range of motion while skinning. The ability to adjust forward lean without tools is also a valuable feature.
Binding Straps
The straps on your bindings should be lightweight, comfortable, and easy to operate, while securely holding your feet in place. If possible, test the ratchets and try on the bindings with your boots to assess their functionality. Online shoppers should read manufacturer descriptions and reviews to gauge strap performance.
Consider whether the manufacturer offers an accessory strap that attaches near the top of the highback for additional support during touring, especially for traversing steep slopes.
Heel Risers
All splitboard bindings have heel risers designed to make uphill travel easier by reducing strain on your calves and Achilles tendons. Look for bindings with multiple riser heights to accommodate variable terrain. Also, consider how easily the risers can be deployed, ideally with a ski pole.
Heel Lockdown
Some splitboard bindings feature a heel lockdown, which secures the heel of the binding to the board in tour mode. This is useful for skating across flat sections, skiing down short descents, or sidestepping up steep hills.
Crampons
Crampons attach to your splitboard bindings for icy conditions. Most binding manufacturers offer crampons specifically designed for their bindings. Consider how easily the crampons attach and how well they perform with heel risers.
The best options are still being produced by Karakoram and Spark R&D. The Arc and Surge come in both an ST series and a lighter weight PRO series for riders looking to shave grams as they abandon the crowds at the resorts. All of Sparks binding models will use the ST "smooth touring" brackets, pucks--canted or regular, and the same heel rest. The newest bindings from Spark with use the ST Whammy Bars vs older Whammy Bars.
Spark R&D bindings are assembled in Bozeman Montana and are commonly know as the simplest splitboard binding with the fewest moving parts. Spark R&D bindings are a puck based binding. The attach to the board by sliding onto pucks that each placed on one half of the splitboard. The binding itself ensures a solid board feel on the ride down.
When transitioning the board from walk to ride mode, you will pull up on the Tesla Snap Ramp located at the toe end of the binding to either slide it off of the pucks or onto the touring bracket. With the bindings in hand and the toe ramp pulled up, you can slide the two uni directional pins into the touring bracket. Snap the ramp closed to lock it in walk mode--this allows the binding to pivot freely from the toe so the user can slide the board uphill.. Pull the forward lean lever up into the high-back, strap in and tour uphill. When you need a riser, use your pole handle or basket to flip down the whammy bars that live underneath the bindings. There is a low and high riser options with all Spark splitboard bindings.
The Spark R&D Arc Pro is the lightest binding on the market weighing in at 1194 grams. The crampons not only nest with each other to save you room in the pack, but when in use, you always get full purchase from the crampons even when using the riser. There is no other ski or split binding on the market that has this feature--its the best!
The only downside to a Spark puck system is in field adjustments of the pucks. To do this you need to bring an alignment jig with you into the backcountry--I'd suggest test riding your stance at a resort before committing to the stance for a big day in your favorite zone. If you have the Arc bindings, you only need the mini puck alignment guide because the Arcs have cutouts in the baseplate versus the solid base plate on the Surge bindings. Other than that, if the pucks aren't aligned perfectly, then you may have issues sliding the bindings onto the board for ride mode.
Riding downhill on Sparks splitboard bindings is awesome as long as your pucks are properly set and spaced. There should be no slop or play in the bindings when it's locked into ride mode. If it wiggles or jiggles, then you should realign the pucks with the alignment jig. The new smooth touring or ST Brackets definitely are an upgrade from Spark. No longer will you bend small $2 brass eyelets to make or break you backcountry outing.
Karakoram bindings are assembled in North Bend Washington made mostly of USA made parts. The designers of Karakoram bindings love to quiver boards, in fact, using their quiver connectors and ride mode interfaces allow you to get the same performance out of your bindings whether they are on a solid board or a splitboard. Although, they do have some seriously lightweight bindings, they are always going to be slightly heavier because of the weight of the risers and tour mode. Karakoram bindings are some of the only splitboard bindings that don't use pucks.
Karakoram bindings attach and detach from ride mode by pulling down on the heel stay to disengage the pins that lock them into ride mode. With the bindings in hand you can pull the lever up on the tour mode. Set the thru axles on the front of the bindings into the receiver and lock down the tour mode lever. Don't forget to twist the forward lean lever to either side for negative forward lean while touring uphill. To engage the dual height risers, slide your pole basket under the risers and pull them up and forward. (we suggest doing this with two hands on your pole to be more efficient with a strong pull) You can then knock down the high riser for the mid riser and go between them with your pole basket. When switching back to ride mode, it's best to unstrap from the bindings first. (it is possible to transition without exiting the bindings, but you don't save that much time) Put the board back together and place the bindings onto the ride mode toe first and then the heel should drop in over the back of ride mode allowing you to pull up on the heel stay.
The main differentiation between Karakoram and puck system bindings is that the Ride Mode creates another connection over the board to make your splitboard feel more like a solid board. This also means it's near impossible to get the bindings on the board unless it's setup correctly. The new Ride Mode 3.0 is the easiest ride mode to setup and is easily changeable in the field without an alignment tool. The Karakoram Multi-tool is the perfect accessory to help with this--it features a magnetic plate to hold your screws so you don't lose them in the snow.
One complaint we do see and hear about is that the dual height heel risers are difficult. Although the risers seem a bit chunky they are easy to use once you get used to them. Karakoram tour and ride performance are unmatched. If you like a solid board feel on the way down then you should absolutely get a set of Karakoram bindings. The tour mode uphill is frictionless and makes transitions painless and easy. Their quiver connectors and ride modes are truly innovative. This technology allows for quick power transfer from rider to bindings to board. We notice that it feels easier to initiate and engage in and out of powerful turns.
The USA made Voile Light Speed bindings features a simple pin-less locking system found in similar puck system split bindings. The integrated lock out on the touring toe won't cluster up from ice build giving you piece of mind between changing discipline of touring and riding. The Voile Light Speed rails are the only soft boot bindings we recommend with rider approved confidence. These bindings use a puck system and work with Spark R&D pucks.
The main difference between Voile and Spark is that they slide on and off opposite of each other. The Voile has a tab/switch underneath where the heel of your boot sits on the bindings. When you pull this tab up, you can push the bindings forward and off the board. To put them on the board, pull them backwards and lock the tab down. For switching to tour mode, you will switch the lever on the touring mode open, place the binding on the uni-directional pins and lock the lever on the toe piece. This ensures your bindings stay in place and tour smoothly. Remember to pop in the forward lean tab to engage negative forward lean for walking uphill.
The wire heel risers are best actuated by flicking them up and down with your poles handles. The massive benefit that Voile offers is the ability to lock your heel in place when still in tour mode. Voile splitboard bindings tend to have a few extra spacers and pieces to be assembled in the right order to get all the benefits of the bindings in tour and ride mode. Although this binding works the same as Sparks in almost every way, it is slightly heavier than the Surge bindings.
Light Speed Rail splitboard bindings are a fantastic option for every splitboarder. Voile gave us splitboard bindings and now they just give us the one binding that does it all for soft booters. The strong baseplate material can be trusted in mountains world wide. An easy to use forward lean adjuster makes finding the bindings perfect position easy. The tour uphill is smooth and locked in. It might even be a touch smooth that the Spark touring mode. The risers have been the same since the beginning and are simple, strong, and the most reliable.
Riding downhill on this binding is fantastic. As long as your pucks are situated so the binding doesn't wiggle or jiggle you will be riding your splitboard just like you do your solid board inbounds.
Burton has officially enter the puck system bindings game with their step-on bindings. Compatible with only Burton boots. Burton used to license the Hitchhikers from Spark R&D and then recently decided to build a binding that works almost identical to the Sparks ride and touring interface. The Burton step-on bindings are a Voile/Spark style baseplate that work just like the Spark Telsa chassis. The bindings slide on and off the board by lifting up the toe lever. To lock it into tour mode, simply slid the two uni-directional pins into the touring interface.
Splitboard bindings started in the USA because, let's face it, we love snowboarding! We are confident that the new technology in splitboards and bindings, you will surely love this sport for decades to come. Remember, the boards being made now-a-days can even handle inbounds riding.
As you continue splitboarding in the backcountry the best thing you can do to save energy, time, and effort is to buy a splitboarding boot. With several manufacturers designing boots with walk modes, there's something for everyone.
Pucks come with a template for mounting and both Spark and Voile pucks are compatible with all the slide on bindings we sell. Spark Arc, Spark Surge, Spark Arc Pro, Burton Hitchhiker and Nitro Vertical have the locking mechanism at the toe, whereas Voile Light Speed, Voile Light Rail and K2 Farout have the locking mechanism under the heel.
Price difference between models in this category is often down to stiffness of the high back and baseplate, quality of the toe and ankle straps, and optional extras such as whether the binding has a heel lock in walk mode (which is something that can be purchased and retrofitted as an add-on).
Drop on bindings share the same basic idea in using hardware fixed to the board and a locking mechanism on the binding to attach the two together. Both Karakoram and Plum bindings come with everything in the box, so no need to purchase anything additional to get started (like pucks). This style of Splitboard binding is believed to hold the two sections of board together across the split more effectively, hence the higher price point overall.
Other elements effecting the price are similar to those mentioned above, including the quality of the ankle and toe straps, materials used in the construction of the binding, and the stiffness of the high back. All in all, every model we sell is a high quality Splitboard binding, capable of safely getting you out on your next adventure.
Innovation in splitboard binding technology over the last few years has made bindings lighter, more efficient and easier to use. It's also created many more choices. In this article, we discuss the different types of splitboard bindings and things to think about, like weight, flex and forward lean, so you can find the bindings that work well for you on backcountry tours.
It's worth mentioning that while it is possible to make your conventional snowboard bindings work on a splitboard with adapters, this article focuses on splitboard-specific bindings. Splitboard-specific bindings make the whole experience of splitboarding that much more enjoyable and we strongly recommend them for anyone getting into splitboarding. But if conventional bindings with adapters are what get you out and climbing uphill, then go for it.
When compared to spandex clad ski tourers, your transition times wonât be all that impressive. But with the right gear and a little practice, you can be efficient on one plank too.
tags: #used #splitboard #bindings