2012 Spark R & D Blaze Binding Used and Reviewed

It’s safe to say that splitboarding is experiencing growth due to the likes of Jeremy Jones and his movie Deeper. Because of this we have more companies offering more splitboard specific options. Spark R & D is one of those companies making bindings specifically for this niche market right in the United States. We sent our resident backcountry rider Gary out to test the Blaze binding and this is what he had to say.

Binding: Spark R&D Blaze Splitboard Binding

Board Used: Neversummer SL/Heritage split.

Stance: Regular

Angles: + 15 – 15

Location: Berthoud Pass

Conditions: Powder to hard pack.

Boots Used: Ride Insano

Weight: 3.52 lbs a pair. These things are a super light splitboard binding.

Binding Compatibility: It’s compatible with the Voile split system. Which was the only player in the market until Karakorum came out with their system.

Binding Adjustability: It has all the requisite adjustments. You do need an Allen wrench for some of the adjustments. Spark provides them with the bindings. I spent about 15 minutes getting the heel cup and toe straps set right for my foot size.

Straps: They do the job. Comfortable and the toe strap works well should you choose to use it that way. They did exactly what I want straps to do, and I didn’t have any uncomfortable pressure points. These are not super plush high end straps either. For a first year strap coming from a new vendor, they are decent.

Highbacks: Soft. Definitely a lot of play here. For the freestyle backcountry rider it is probably ideal. Not my preference, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying my day either. For steeper stuff, I’d prefer a stiffer highback.

Binding Flex: The binding is aluminum. It’s pretty stiff and responsive. There is the given flex from being mounted on the slider pucks. It is minimized greatly in comparison to a regular binding mounted on a Voile slider track. Huge difference in response and liveliness.

Ratchets: As I mentioned earlier, Spark has gotten a first year vendor to supply their straps and highbacks. There were some problems with the ratchets reported early in the season when the Blaze was first released. The issue was that the spring in the ratchet would fail. So the tabs would flap about instead of staying in place. I had the springs fail on me with one ratchet the second time I strapped in. For the remaining days I rode on these bindings I did not have any other ratchets fail. The broken ratchet still worked. It was just an annoyance. I have since gotten a new set of Spark bindings and the ratchets have been fine with around 10 days of use on them so far. Spark is also great about replacing the ratchets if they should fail. Otherwise the ratchets were fine. Not the most butter smooth. They ratchet down, lock you in, and release with minimal effort. Every company has issues with their vendors from time to time, I expect the ratchet springs to not be much of an issue if any next season. Spark’s customer service is outstanding and they are quick to resolve any problem that arises.

Rider in Mind: The backcountry rider with freestyle and weight savings on their mind.

Personal Thoughts: I was amazed at how light these bindings are. Around half the weight of my Spark Fuse bindings. It was huge savings and made skinning over a long day much less of a chore. The soft highback was not to my liking, but the rest of the binding sure was. You do not want to be splitboarding on the Voile interface without a Spark solution.

What They Say: Following in the footsteps of our earlier model the Fuse, we’re proudly introducing the BLAZE – our most innovative binding yet – a splitboard specific binding with splitboard specific features.

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