Binding Model: Nitro Phantom
Buy it here:
Christy Sports: https://bit.ly/3BI3wYF
The House: https://bit.ly/3WepPNo
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3W68Ddl
Evo: https://bit.ly/3G0iNXq
Binding Size: M
Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boot Used: K2 Thraxis
Boot Size: 10
Board Used: Telos Mike Ranquet
Rider Weight: 200lbs
Location: Copper Mountain
Conditions: Overcast skies, snow falling, warmer temps, chunder snow, choppy snow, slush, a little ice, and lumpy groomers.
Binding Adjustability: The heel cup is fully adjustable allowing you to center the boot. The toe strap has a pin system with 2 points of placement. The straps have flip cams to lengthen or shorten them. There’s a forward lean adjustment on the highback as well as the ability to rotate them if need be. The toe ramp can be slid a little forwards or backwards.
Straps: The big thing to talk about is the Vibram toe strap that gives ultimate grip to any boot. This is helped by having an immense cutout that will fit over the toebox of any boot. The heel strap is oldschool with it utilizing multi levels of material. This means that it will break in and stretch over time and provides the padding instead of a new age strap that is more minimal in design.
Ratchets: These are a little wider on the heel and feed in incredibly well. The toe is a little more narrow which can result in some fumbling to feed the ladder in. Overall they climbed and released well doing what you would want from a ratchet.
Highbacks: This has to be the tallest highback in the world. I measured it compared to others and it’s almost 2 inches taller. It actually sat higher than the back spine of my boot. This means you get ultimate power transfer when you drive into it, but it can be less forgiving than others. Even with it set to zero degrees forward lean you feel it pushing on the back of your boot. It’s also more rigid than others out there so that aids the power transmission. The FLAD was easy to flip up and use to dial in the forward lean.
Binding Flex: This is a bit more rigid so you’ll notice that it skews more towards the freeride spectrum. What you get is a binding that just has power behind it whether you’re going toe to heel or driving laterally into the board to carve with it. The heel strap has a little give and will get more as time goes on due to how it’s constructed.
Ride: The Dual Air Dampening system works well for absorbing micro vibrations and chatter. This gives the binding a more damp ride underfoot without sacrificing its power.
Rider in Mind: Hard carving oldschool guy that wants a plush strap and damp ride.
Personal Thoughts: Dear god how is the highback that large. Seriously it’s HUGE. I felt it digging into my calves and forcing me to bend my knees. Which is great if you want to rip hard carves non-stop, but sometimes I like to have some give and play. The heel strap should probably be upgraded to a new age minimal design, I know these will stretch and break in over time thus changing the fit down the road.
Comparable Bindings:
Jones Apollo: https://bit.ly/3V2a5w0
Bent Metal Solution: https://bit.ly/3hwVMSl
Ride A-9: https://bit.ly/3j76uiP
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