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Gear Reviews, Snowboard Binding Reviews 10

The 2021 Ride A-8 Snowboard Binding Review

By Angrysnowboarder @angrysnowboard · On May 24, 2021

Binding Model: Ride A-8

Binding Size: Medium

Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy

Boot Used: K2 Thraxis

Boot Size: 10

Board Used: K2 Cool Bean

Rider Weight: 200lbs

Location: Arapahoe Basin

Conditions: Overcast skies, some wind up high, low to medium visibility, chunder, ice, scraped off snow, death moguls, corduroy, and everything in between.

Binding Adjustability: There’s a fully adjustable heel cup so you can size it up or down as needed. With the straps you have flip cams to lengthen or shorten them while the heel strap has a slide slot to center it as needed. The toe strap is locked in a fixed position. You can adjust the highback rotation as well as the forward lean. You can also slightly move the footbed back and forth to help center it but this is a very minimal adjustment.

Straps: The nice thing about the heel straps is they are reversible which allows you to choose if you want more drive or more play in them. While testing the A-8’s I opted for more play as that’s my personal preference. But it grips well and contours to the boot keeping it locked in. The toe strap does its job but it’s very minimal and doesn’t seem to fit all boot shapes.

Ratchets: The new ratchets are super solid when they lock down, THEY LOCK DOWN!. They climb with ease and the one finger quick release works perfectly. I never noticed these slipping or having any issues at all.

Highbacks: The highback does what you would expect it to do. It does have a different shaping than it’s C series counterpart and seems to be ever so slightly softer when you push into it. This could be due to the aluminum frame having a more rigid flex they wanted to compensate for it.

Binding Flex: The overall flex is on the stiffer side of the all mountain spectrum. You’ll notice it right away that there isn’t much base flex and when you drive into the binding it just wants to roll from toe to heel and distribute pressure and power evenly. There isn’t much lateral flex in this binding at all which is what you can expect from an aluminum base.

Ride: So for these being aluminum I expected them to be a bit more lively and not dampen at all. That’s not the case this binding was actually super damp and didn’t feel like a tuning fork with vibrations resonating through it. Over all the ride is very smooth and predictable. You feel like you know how these are going to power through everything.

Rider in Mind: All mountain rider that does it all.

Personal Thoughts: This is one of the best aluminum based bindings I’ve ever been on. Traditionally I hate the feel of an aluminum chassis as it just creates too much chatter, but these did a great job of dampening them. I will say compared to their C series counterparts they do seem a bit more narrow and have a slightly reduced imprint on the board. For having canting in the footbed I did not notice it at all. If you like a more rigid binding these could be a solid contender.

binding reviewreviewride a 8 binding reviewride binding review

Angrysnowboarder

More than likely he has pissed you off, shocked, amazed, or mortified you at some point with his ramblings. Yet, you still continue to read what he writes.

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10 Comments

  • I-Hsuan Kao says: July 2, 2021 at 8:04 am

    Hi,
    I have a ride A8 binding and I am considering getting Burton malavita because there is a good deal there. Does it make sense to have A8 for more agrressive riding but malavita for a more playful ride? Or should I stick to A8 binding and do all with it.

    Thank you in advance!

    Reply
    • Angrysnowboarder says: July 2, 2021 at 8:26 am

      It’s your money you can do what you want with it.

      Reply
  • Freddy says: July 17, 2021 at 2:58 am

    Ello there,
    So Ive purchased a skunk ape 157 (flex-7 as lib says) Trying to decide between a few different set up. Hoping you could help make my mind up.
    -Rome libertine + Rome d o d
    -burton ion + cartel x (or nitro team pro:-?)
    -ride insano + ride A-8
    -ride trident + bm cor pro
    Set ups are based on deals from different places with trident+ cor pro being the cheapest.
    Im 5,10/11 78-82 kg us 11.5, like to charge fast and hold carves but don’t wanna be shy at low speed either. Never do rail but do like to make medium sized jumps & Pow is where I want to be happy.
    Blessingz.

    Reply
    • Angrysnowboarder says: July 17, 2021 at 7:53 am

      Best boot is the one that fits your foot and fits your needs.

      Reply
      • Freddy says: July 17, 2021 at 3:19 pm

        Thank you 🙂

        Reply
  • Henkka says: January 1, 2022 at 6:15 am

    Hi,

    How did you find the sizing of M sized binding?
    I’m riding 10,5 Deeluxe Deemons and according to the Ride size chart its truly inbetween M&L sizes.
    I don’t have the option to check sizing since my local stores don’t offer Ride bindings, but I’d love to live these a go.

    You think I could get away with M or should I just hot up to L?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Angrysnowboarder says: January 1, 2022 at 7:58 am

      Deeluxe boots are chonky and big, you probably need the Large.

      Reply
      • Henkka says: January 1, 2022 at 3:55 pm

        Thank you for insight Angry! Yeah Deeluxes aren’t really small but comfortable af for what they are, at least for my feet.
        I’ll give larges a try.

        Reply
  • Torrin says: March 29, 2022 at 9:51 am

    Do you know how the weight compares between the A-8 and the C-8? I was surprised by how heavy the C-8 is. It ways noticably more than my older Ride bindings.

    Reply
    • Angrysnowboarder says: March 29, 2022 at 7:32 pm

      Maybe you shouldn’t skip leg day at the gym or eat some muscle cheese.

      Reply

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