Another Step On thread

A snowHead

Hi

So my 20-year-old boots are falling apart. Board is just as old. I am nearly 50. Think it’s time for an upgrade.

Gear has lasted this long because I only ride for a week a year. And had 8 years off when kids were small. This year will be my 4th back on the slopes.

My skill level, I think, is intermediate. I can carve on blues. Turn nicely on reds. Get down icy blacks. I am not fast.
I like to play about in the off piste on the sides of runs, carve turns, ride the mountain with my mates who are all skiers.

Having read the reviews I am really keen on Burton Step Ons, to save time and energy and my aged back. But the only ones that are left in my size are Ions (maybe too hard?) and Swathes (too soft). Or will Ions be OK with a mid flex board?

I am going to MK Xscape to demo some gear but would love some pointers first.

Thanks!

A snowHead

Forgot to say:

I weigh 77kg. Current board is 157cm. Angles: +18 and -12.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

These won't save your back any more than any other fast bindings on the market, you will still need to bend to unlock them, and to be precise navigating heel in to rail. And avoid fabric of your pans being caught into that rail Smile

get Flow Fuse bindings, or NX2, but not lower in hierarchy than Fuse, and with fusion strap, this way you'll be able to pick from any boot manufacturer/model that fits you best. And won't be limited to burton ecosystem.

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Firstly, you are not even 50, you are not old!!

Just my opinion, as said above if you wand to avoid strap bindings have a look at Flow for ease of use. Been around for years, tried and tested. I had a pair for about 5 years some 20ish years ago. I personally prefer strap bindings but a friend has a pair of Flows and loves them.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi,
I’m 57 and this year bought some Burton photon step ons to try.
So far I have used them for two weeks and these are my observations.
From a riding perspective no issues they feel great and not greatly different to any other binding so no worries there.
Comfort wise the boots felt good when I tried them on however in use they absolutely murdered my outer ankle bones almost to the point of not being able to use them. Whether this is down to the photons or not I don’t know, I have had ions before without issue. In the end I replaced the liners with those from my 32 boots and all was fine. The 32’s have a circular protector ring around the ankle bone unlike the photons which have a single arc of padding which for me was in the wrong place and it is not easily customisable without cutting the liner.
Getting in is great so long as you make sure your trousers are tucked in the rear trouser clip on the boot. If not expect problems.
Getting out requires just as much bending as any binding, to reach the release levers I found them almost more difficult as you are reaching to the rear of the binding not to a buckle on the top of your foot but then I have some fused vertebrae which make bending more difficult . Once the release lever is pulled there is then the getting out of the front clips which so far I have not achieved very elegantly as it requires you twisting the boot out without reengaging the back clip. This can result in some grovelling around on your knees with your toes still in but I’m sure I will get better at this with practice!
Hope that helps

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Thanks. I’m looking more closely at Flow Fuse.

I assume on the lift you have the high back up? Then, off the lift, you have to find somewhere level, stop (so high back won’t drag), drop high back, push back foot in (which looks OK standing up) then ride. Is that right?

Maybe less stomping than Step Ons? But you do have to stop?

What about skating on flat sections? I assume I f you reach a gentle slope you can just Step On and go and keep your momentum. With Flow you have to stop to get into the binding?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I have Flow Fuse GT fusions, and for the record I'm a relatively fit and nimble 61 (at least compred to my mates!) Only on a simple chair/drag exit can I kick in, flip up the highback and ride off without stopping.
Most of the time I stop on a levelish spot, kick in the downhill edge and "strap-in" whilst standing - same as I would with my strap bindings. They are quicker because you aren't having to get the straps out of the way before putting your boot in, and they are very quick to release at the bottom.

Two slight drawbacks. Firstly, if it is steep I lean to toeside and brace my weight on one arm whilst pulling up the highback with the other: you ain't gonna do it sitting down! The other is that I often wollop the trailing highback against posts and things around the pass gates.

Tip: don't setup the fusion strap too tight.

Question, how do you click in with step-ons on steep gradients?

After all it is free

Depends on the lift as to whether you can leave the high back up, I leave it down and one foot it then stop and lift it up. For me you need to be on relatively flat ground to step the second foot in but in the right conditions it’s definitely quick getting in and setting off.
You mention flows I’ve tried the latest ones and again they are not perfect , in order to be nice and snug in them for control purposes they need to be set up just right and this can make it difficult to get into them and lift the back up. They are not as quick or competent as I had hoped for
Both the flows and step ons can only be used standing up to strap in whereas strap bindings can be used either sitting or standing.
In my opinion if you are a gear junkie who is prepared to spend £100’s and then buy something else if it doesn’t quite suit you then try the step ons or the flows. If not play safe and get a good quality set of strap bindings which will last years!

Oh yes. I should make tbe point that flow fusion straps can be used like normal straps, though I never do. For instance, on steep ground you could flip up the highback, release the fusion buckles then sit down and strap in as per normal.

Also, I know I could flip the highbacks up around lift gates but I don't.

The Flow Fuse GT is pretty responsive, very on heel turns, but on toe side the heel will lift a bit. I guess the metal NX2s negate the heel flexing up.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Had flows
Have step on i wont go back to flow.
No issue binding up without bending over.
Quite easy to get your heel in, click, rock foot outside click inside click, off you go.
To release, pull leaver, heel up and shimmy front foot like your doing the twist. Or drop to knees & pul up leavers, push board away.
I can get binded quicker than a skier.

Oh and im a beer lover with a belly to show.

As for boots. Burton is a pig for my feet and i have jerry rigged boot doc custom liners.
DC has licenced the tech and will bring boots out next year.
Bindings are secondary to boot comfort.

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I use Shimano/Clicker high back step-ins for soft boots on my powder board (Tanker 201), and Fritschi step-ins for hard boots on my alpine board (Swoard). This is because I too am always out with skiers, and the step-ins prevent delay when exiting from a chair or drag.

Perhaps you should consider the hard boot + alpine board experience? Hard boots provide a lot more support and make carving much easier, especially if you're no longer as young, fit & nimble as you once were.

I recently bought some Fritschi step-in bindings on eBay, as a backup, given I recently had to bring my previous backup into service.

Good thing about hard boots is you can get thermofit liners and mold them to your feet.

snow reports

@kosmoz, yup, I saw a boarder demonstrate soft carving at xmas. Very impressive.

You know it makes sense.

There’s a regular crew of Japanese riders killing it on hard boot setups at my local. Really impressive to watch.

They all clear off by mid morning once the cord is all chopped up though.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Thanks everyone. Lots of great info. Have leaned back and forth and back and forth between Step On and Flow. I'll let you know what I decide...

A snowHead

Bluepig, it's easy, get the most comfy boots you can find and go from there. Bat fitting boots can make your day miserable, but you still can have tons of fun even on rental board/bindings.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I'll never give up my strap bindings, no way. Tried the Flows 3 different versions and didn't like them. My brother struggles in deeper snow with his even though he still loves them but imv it doesn't make strapping up any quicker maybe a tad easier if you have a beer gut!

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I spent a week boarding in an instruction group a few weeks back, of which one person had Step Ons. He was in and out of his bindings much more quickly than any of the rest of the group. A similar thing was observed in another group on the camp. He was constantly waiting patiently for the rest of the group to finish ratcheting. Admittedly, there are lots of very experienced riders quicker than we would have been, but trust me that this guy with Step Ons would have been quicker still.

So, irrespective of personal preference with regards to performance, riding feel, cost and other things, I've seen first hand, consistently for 5 days in a row, that it really isn't "not that much quicker", I would say it is reasonably quicker than traditional bindings, to the point where your skier friends would have no waiting around for you. And you spend way less time (overall) bending over with your hands in contact with the bindings.

The issue about getting into them in deep powder is definitely something to consider though.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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I really don't get this mentality of having to race off the lift and clip in.

Most mixed groups faff around at offload, sorting gear, hats & goggles, debating where to go next ......

If it's simply because you're with skiers in an hurry, I'd find some new mates wink

most groups of boarders are fairly in sync, and being the odd 'quick' man out isn't going to get you any kudos.

Been there, done that ...... when one chuntered about have to wait, oh all of twenty seconds for me to clip in on one occasion, I felt I had to remind him of the almost half hour of digging around in foot deep powder we'd spent the day before looking for a 'lost' ski rolling eyes

And if you're too fat to buckle up comfortably, you're doing yourself no favours avoiding the obvious by buying a crutch NehNeh

lol

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Don't have a strong step-on opinion, although I'd like to try them.

Just to point out though, the most important (if not the most common...) reason to need to clip in in deep powder is that you've hiked somewhere in order to ride deep powder...

After all it is free

flows can be used as regular bindings, in case you ended up in deep stuff or steep slope and back entry is not an option. Buckles are a bit clumsy, not meant to be used all the time, but gets the job done.

even with a small/medium beer gut I could strap in on a drag lift without any problems.

Picked them up not because of convenience, but because I needed something for a freeride and heard only good words about edge to edge control and power, lower footprint (no traditional heelcup), good comfort. Got all of that and convenience as a bonus.

I had both the first and second version of the original burton step ins and loved the convenience. The main issue I had was when riding in freeze thaw conditions you would get a slug of ice building up on the base of the binding that would eventually stop you from clipping in and then you would need to borrow a ski pole to hack it out.

Would I go for the new version despite this, yes, I'm currently on my second set of K2 Cinch which are at best OK.

I also have Burton Ions, I have found them very comfortable but at first ridiculously stiff to the point they had zero ankle flex, a real shock on the first day. They have a split lacing system, foot separate from the ankle, so on day two tightened up the foot and left the ankle lose and they were then perfect.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I test rode the Flow NX2 last year. It was definitely a good, comfortable, responsive binding. I just didn't see the point in the Flow shiz. Found it slower to get a nice, snug fit than normal straps. Same old Flow issues - set it up loose enough to get in and out quickly and it's too loose. Set it up tight enough to ride well and you can't get in and out quickly. I'm sure there's a "just right" setting to be found, maybe with the perfect set of boots.

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snow reports

I was all set to order but the boots didn’t like my feet at all when I tried them on.

Not desperate to make the switch, very happy with my current setup but was keen to give it a go. Might revisit when dc release some boots.

But I haven’t heard anything bad about them, and spoken to quite a few people that are good riders who really like them.

Flows are not meant to be worn as snug as regular two traps. That's unnecessary to have quick response from them, that also complicates getting in and out. It took me like two days on the mountain to set them up properly, to get the idea how they should be worn and adjusted, and then just set it and forget it. But once you know how to make them fit it's easy to set them up again.

Fuses and NX2s open up more, when highback is dropped, lower end models I believe is a struggle, since strap is in fixed position all the time, only highback drops.

You know it makes sense.

@Gainz, no, I don't do hiking, but it seems to me that if you can hike, the snow must be firm enough that you can mount up just before you get to the deep powder, e.g. hike up the crunchy side of a mountain, through a ravine/col, mount up, and then board down the deep powder field. I can see how heliskiers might have problems, yes, but then it can't be that easy whatever binding. I suspect one has to lie on one's back to mount up if starting from powder.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@crosbie, sometimes, but not always. Sometimes you’re slogging it up in deep snow (hopefully following in someone’s steps!).

A snowHead

Been reading some reports of heavy wear to Step On boots after only a few days. Could be user error, something to keep an eye on.

All this about saving 20-30 seconds when strapping in? Pah! I'm on holiday. Plus you probably need the headstart anyway.

Help!!

Another Step On thread

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