Snowboard Bindings
Buyer's guide

The bindings connect you to your snowboard. Finding the right ones is vital because they transfer all your movements. Read through our guide to learn what to look out for. The perfect binding brings your riding up to the next level.

Chapter 1

How do you snowboard?

When looking for a new pair of snowboard bindings, you should ask yourself, ‘How do I ride?’ A beginner, for example, will have different requirements to an intermediate, park or freeride snowboarder.

How
do you ride?

Comfort and support

If you are completely new to the sport or have spent a couple of weeks on snow, you could be considered a beginner. When you are progressing, it is important to be comfortable. These bindings are more flexible, making it easier to turn. You can always take a course at the Blue Tomato Snowboard School in Obertauern to progress.

Beginner snowboarders at our Obertauern Snowboard School

Freestyle and jib

If you spend all your time in the park jumping kickers (freestyle) or riding rails (jib) you should look for a binding which compliments your style. Freestyle bindings are lighter and more flexible. The lightness helps you spin in the air and flexibility allows you more leverage over the binding to perform grabs. The highback will also be shorter and the footbed more padded.

Chapter 2

Which flex snowboard bindings?

In snowboarding, we often discuss ‘flex’ or ‘stiffness’ in regards to equipment. What does this mean with regards to snowboard bindings? The flex refers to the materials and construction of the bindings. These come together to make a binding which can be either soft, medium or stiff. Most snowboard manufacturers grade their snowboard bindings on a scale of 1-10, so we have included the numeric values as well.

Soft: flex 1-4

Softer flex snowboard bindings are made more flexible materials. These bindings are great for beginners as they are a little more forgiving. Also, a more flexible highback is easier to make heelside turns with. Freestyle and jib riders often ride with softer bindings for a couple of reasons. Firstly, like beginners, they will appreciate the more forgiving ride, particularly when going for bigger landings. Secondly, the flexibility allows more leverage over the bindings to perform presses and grabs.

Blue Tomato Team Rider Dominik Wagner using soft bindings for a tail stall on a quaterpipe

Chapter 3

Which type of snowboard bindings?

One of the most significant differences between bindings relates less to function and more to entry mode and handling. There are classic bindings with Two-Strap design, flexible Rear-Entry bindings, Step On® systems without straps, Supermatic® with automatic features and the innovative FASE™ systems in a two-strap design with fast entry.

Choose
a style

Two-Strap – the proven classics

The tried and tested, traditional binding system for snowboarding. Two-strap bindings allow you to customise the fit, ensuring the best hold and top performance. The boot is secured by two straps, one over the ankle and one over the toes. When you take a lift ride or want to move forward on flat terrain, you undo these straps, and fasten them again when it’s time to ride. With two separate straps and a fixed, but adjustable highback, you have a massive amount of flexibility available as all parts are customisable.

Pro Advice

Two-Strap bindings are classics for a reason: They work fine, are simple to use, and especially for getting out, Two-Strap bindings are almost as fast as Fast-Entry bindings. About 75 % of snowboarders still rely on this traditional bindings system.

Nico

Brand Marketing

FASE® – The next generation of two-strap

FASE® is the newest system in the world of snowboard bindings. It is based on years of development work with the support of pro riders and the proven advantages of a classic 2-strap binding, combined with an ultra-fast strap-in process – including a natural board feel and top performance all day long. The FASE® system is currently used by the snowboard brands Bataleon, Rome, Jones and ThirtyTwo in some of their bindings.

Pro Advice

FASE, Fast Entry! I initially had a few doubts, but on the first day of riding it, I forgot I was on a new binding as it felt so comfortable and performed great!

Victor de Le Rue

#bluetomatoteam

Step On®: Snowboarding simplified – for everyone

Where Burton leads, others follow. This is definitely the case with their revolutionary Step On® system. Many of us assumed that step in systems were dead and buried - Burton proved us wrong back in 2017. They redesigned the system from the bottom up to guarantee the same quality as traditional bindings. Step-On® bindings have no straps and are characterised by speed, safety, comfort and performance, which countless snowboarders and pros have already confirmed. Meanwhile, further brands are producing Step-On® bindings and compatible boots.

Note: For Step-On® bindings, you need Step-On® boots.

Pro Advice

The right combination of boot and binding is crucial for Step-On® systems to ensure that the boots connect securely to the bindings. Burton helps you with this by marking the matching sizes with coloured labels on the bindings and boots.

Oli

Product Content

Supermatic® – Kick, Click, Go.

Supermatic® is an innovative entry system developed by Nidecker and now also used by other snowboard brands. The Nidecker Supermatic® was the world's first automatic binding – ‘kick, click, go’ is the concept. After the lift ride, simply click your foot in at the back and kick the heel pedal to automatically raise the highback. Active Strap technology ensures that your pre-set strap configuration is retained every time you step in and out.

Pro Advice

Before the first run of the day, adjust all the straps and buckles. Make sure that they are not too tight, especially the connecting strap should not touch your boot. For the rest of the day, you can simply use the step-in system via the foldable highback.

Nico

Brand Marketing

Rear-entry bindings – versatile and flexible

Rear-entry bindings, such as the Flow design or SP Fastec, are easy to use and can also be individually adjusted. Their design allows you to slide your boots in from the rear. After you have placed your boots securely, pull up the highbacks and close the lever. That's it. When it’s time for the next lift ride, you can quickly release the lever and the binding opens again. Adjustable straps guarantee the ideal fit and top support.

Pro Advice

Rear entry systems like SP Fastec or Flow design, for example, are easy to use, budget-friendly, and available on the market since decades – which is further proof that they are performing well and people love them.

Oli

Product Content

Chapter 4

How should my bindings fit?

Your bindings should fit with your snowboard and your boots. Here we break down what this actually means. How to get the best-sized binding for your boots and whether your chosen binding fits with your favourite snowboard.

Sizing and fit

Your Boots and bindings should fit together, that goes without saying, but how? First, you should buy the right size - every binding on our webshop has a corresponding size chart. Make sure to order the proper size, so if you have a boot in EU size 42, you can order a binding M which has a range of sizes 41-44. Even if you do order the right size of binding for your boot, further tool-free adjustment is available on the straps to get it perfect. A well-fitting snowboard binding should grip your boot all over with no gaps: your boots should fit snuggly in the heelcup of the binding. If you have chosen the right size, your toes shouldn’t protrude too far over the edge of the binding.

Compatibility with your snowboard

Equally as important as fitting to your snowboard boot your binding has to fit with your snowboard. There are two different systems for mounting snowboards, the traditional and channel systems. The traditional system uses as a 12 pack of inserts which you attach four screws into through the binding disk. The channel system is a CNC’d rail which you attach two screws to. The channel needs either a special EST binding, from Burton or a special disk. Nowadays most companies included such a disk for free with their bindings. If you choose both a Burton snowboard and binding an EST binding offers the best board-feel and most stance options.

Burton snowboard, boots and bindings all fitting together with the Channel system

Chapter 5

The parts of your binding

Here are different snowboard binding components and why they are important to you.

Parts
of your binding

Highback

The highback is responsible for transmitting your power during heelside turns and manoeuvres. So if you’re doing it right, half of your turns will use your highback. A stiffer highback which comes further up your calf is better for freeriding and aggressive riding. A shorter more flexible highback is better for freestyle and jib riding as the extra flex allows you to tweak out grabs and is more forgiving. In a rear entry binding it is the highback which folds down allowing your boot in. Most Highbacks now rotate a little and have forward lean adjustment to match you stance and legs.

Pro Advice

Make sure that your bindings are as customizable as possible so you can tailor them to your riding.

Oli

Product Content

Footbed

The footbed is the direct connection between you and your bindings. Its functions are cushioning and power transmission. Usually made from foam the footbeds take a large amount of the shock absorption. For more comfort footbeds are canted, so the angle slightly outwards so your knees are aligned better. Footbeds can also have a ‘gas pedal’, where the toes of the raised up for better power transmission.

Disks

The disk is the direct link between you, your bindings and your snowboard, so in short, it is pretty important! Depending on the manufacturer of your bindings they might look and feel differently. The key here is adjustability, you want to be able to fit with any insert pattern and have any stance you desire. Thankfully now manufacturers either have disks with multiple mounting possibilities (4x4 and channel) or supply multiple disks for different systems with their bindings. The exception here is Burton EST bindings, which only fit with Channel snowboards.