peaker 0 Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 I'm dissatisfied to say the least about the quality of bindings. I've snapped numerous bits of several different brands. The bindings that Im talking about here are not cheap Im talking about top end models. On My last pair of Burton bindings I snapped both a toe and heel strap.(Not at the same time) On each occaision a quick repair was immpossible due to specialised hardware etc. Next I went with Drakes, once again heel strap snapage! (still under warranty too!). Just last weekend I was out with a group, one of the guys snapped the heel strap insert bit not the main strap. Again expensive new Burton bindings. What made this worse was that that situation occured on a serious backcountry trip (several hours hike fron the nearest road.) I could go on but Im sure everbody has seen this a million times. What really gets up my nose is the fact that this crappy gear is a real safety hazard. Binding breakage could result in a serious incident. Having your bindings snap in the backcountry could be life threatening. Who the hell do these companies think they are! There no way that they dont have the engineering know how to ensure those straps cant fail. I hope somebody sues one of these companies real soon so I dont have to put up with this rubbish any more. How about an open letter to binding manufacturers from forum readers to let em know we aren't going to take this irresponsible behaviour. Link to post Share on other sites
glenndale 0 Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 I know what ya mean mate. I broke my bindings on my brand new Nordica cross beast funskis after one days skiing!! Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 Yeah, the heel strap on my Ride(Jeff Brushie model)binding was nearly torn in half after only 1 season... From now on I`ll always bring a backup piece with me! Link to post Share on other sites
nagoid 4 Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 I can't say I've had any problems myself. Maybe I'm not giving them as much grief as you guys - I need to improve. Link to post Share on other sites
Lama 0 Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 Yeah lets sue them all.... seems like the common(and easy way out) thing to do these days Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 Try FLOWS... no straps to break! Link to post Share on other sites
HoTRoD 2 Posted December 26, 2002 Share Posted December 26, 2002 As the man says... Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 I have used Ride bindings for the last 3 years and am quite happy with them. After more than 50 days on each I have had no problems with the straps. On the other hand my first pair had the thin metal plates from the 2000 season. These suckers got pretty badly bent after a lot of hard riding. I went through two pairs of plates (provided to me by the nice guys at the shop I had purchased the bindings at). Apparently it was a well known problem because the following season Ride completely redesigned the adjustment plate to a really well thought out design. I sent those bindings in at the end of the year (I had chipped a chunk of the carbon fiber away on the highback as well) and they were cool enough to replace the bindings with the following year's top binding. Sweeet. If I can ride a product as hard as I want all year and then have it just broken enough to send back at the end of the year, I am a happy boy. Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 My buddy found out one of the straps on his right binding snapped in half just as he was about to try out some jumps while we were up in Hokkaido. A bad thing but good timing. If he had gone ahead with the jump on that huge kicker at Teine... Link to post Share on other sites
peaker 0 Posted December 29, 2002 Author Share Posted December 29, 2002 Snobo, Your last comment illustrates my point perfectly. I realise things wear out espeially with the punishment we dish out to our boards but the kind of failures Im complaining about are things that could really work you over. Imagine your binding poping on take off at that third jump at teine. Your leg would be twirled like a piece of spaghetti on landing. If we were talking about brakes on a car there would be no question every one would be recalled and they'd have to redesign it. The quality is just not good enough. I've noticed a lot of gear seems to break after what I would say would be the average amount of use theyd get in a year. Funny that. Down with these capatilist pigs I say!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 How about this for a work around: Put in a lot of practice skating with one foot in. Try it with your front foot unattached for extra excitement! Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I had Burton bindings (5 years ago) and they were garbage, couple of broken straps, every ratchet broke in a season plus they werent that comfortable. I demoed Switch bindings the 97/98 season had havent looked back, they are indestructible compared to the bindings I had, less moving parts and the parts the do move are very strong and solidly built. I had one problem with a snapped screw, but otherwise havent had another problem in 6 seasons. Mind you the quality of Burton Bindings must have improved since the old days but my friend was recently grumbling about his Burton bindings. I always was concerned when looking at trad' bindings how flimsy some of them are and how junky the ratchets look. But I do like the look of Drake Bindings, they seem to be a little more solid and durable than the rest, whats the word on Drakes? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Ozbod mate of mine broke his foot hitting a tree at Arai after his front strap snapped on his Burton bindings. I don*t see why they can*t make them thicker and stronger - it wouldn*t add much weight. Link to post Share on other sites
Higuma 0 Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Just to clarify > Are we talking about "Catostrophic Failures" here? as in absolutely no warning whatsoever or - not meaning to offend but - Could some of these on-mountain failures be prevented by regular inspections? I agree that any regular-interval failure of something as important as a binding is in-excuseable but on the safety side of this issue... Are boarders regularly inspecting these "known breakage prone" peices of equipment for cracks, metal fatigue etc..,?? Just like the Car / Brakes analogy - If I had a car that was prone to brake failure with no factory recall or dealer support > then I'd either park the car or be flat on my ass inspecting the brakes every chance I had!! Link to post Share on other sites
peaker 0 Posted January 6, 2003 Author Share Posted January 6, 2003 As for Drakes, One of the bindings I snapped was a Drake (heel strap). Still under warranty. Higuma, I agree that It wouldnt be a big deal If the things showed signs of wear before failure but what we are talking about here is plastic components they dont crack beforehand they simply snap off. You just shouldnt be allowed to sell bindings that can do that. Im carrying spare parts with me on Backcountry trips now. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts