Once you get to the bottom of a run, pull a little lever to release your back foot, and you’re ready for your next lift ride. Press down firmly into a high-backed binding outfitted with complimentary clasps at those three connection points, and you are instantly clicked in - more securely, Burton’s engineers assure me, then you would be with traditional straps. Burton rarely introduces products that don’t, and the brand clearly put a lot of R&D into creating a system that functions pretty seamlessly - and is pretty easy to explain.įirst you’ve got a boot featuring three grippy outcroppings, one at the back and two at the front. Could it possibly be the time-saving game-changer of my dreams? Only one way to find out.Īnd you can ease off the edge of your seat now, because spoiler alert: Step-Ons totally work. Not only would I be among the first people to shred the facility, but also I would get to test a product I’d been deeply curious about since its launch a couple years ago. Just don’t plan on trying it out this winter CLEW is currently hyping an October 2020 delivery.When I got invited to North America’s first indoor ski complex, New Jersey’s Big Snow American Dream, a couple months back to check out the latest iteration of Burton’s Step On bindings, I was beyond stoked. Granted, you can fully detach that part before heading to the bar at the end of the day, but now you have one more piece of gear to manage.Īt the very least, the PreRider is pretty damn intriguing.
Another thing we don’t love is the fact that if you fully unstrap, you have to walk around a bit gingerly because half the binding is still attached to your boot.Years ago we had a “revolutionary” K2 binding that required sliding the front of your foot under the toe strap, and while it is faster, it’s also a kinda awkward movement that gets more awkward as you tire throughout the day.We also kinda dig the fact that the release mechanism is located at the top of the highback, meaning you don’t have to lean down nearly as much to release it as you do to pull the Step On’s lever, which is located on the base of the binding.Meanwhile, CLEW’s binding appears to cost less than $300 US. And while the quality is often quite high, it comes at a price: the cheapest Step-On boot and binding combo for men is still $550. Not unlike Apple, Burton is so big and so confident in its equipment, it sets things up in a proprietary way that kinda pressures you to invest in the brand’s whole set-up.To get out, you pull the red handle at the top of the highback to release the locking mechanism.Īt a glance, we see two advantages over the Step-On, as well as two downsides.
To get in, you slide your foot under that toe strap and push your heel down to lock in. CLEW has basically taken a traditional binding and separated it into two parts: a toe-strapped base you mount to the board and an ankle-strapped highback that attaches to your boot. The brand is called CLEW, and ISPO just named its PreRider Limited Edition Binding a Gold Winner.įrom what we have seen so far, this thing looks promising. Meantime, a new German brand has launched a Step-On rival that works with any soft snowboard boot. Burton has tackled that hangup with the groundbreaking Step-On Binding we’re kind of obsessed with it and will be documenting our experiences soon. One of the consistent hassles of snowboarding is strapping back in at the start of every run.
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