Very stiff binding, with the toe ramps cranked up results in a very quick board edge to edge. Incredable toe edge control even on the hard snow (ice) we get in Ontario. The pre curved straps make it very easy to get straped in, most times I can step into the binding and just push down on the toe strap with my right hand and I'm in. Grab the top strap push it down crank the rachets and go. All without sitting down. The wide shaped straps make them very comfortable even at the end of a day of hard riding. The big rachet arms let you crank in fast but you can cause yourself a lot of foot pain if you are not carefull.

I have broken all the rachets and rachet straps on my right foot. The toe strap has also failed on the rachet side. I had to finish last season with a left upper strap from a V8 binding on my right foot as it was the only spare my shop had left at the begining of March. My local shop has given great product support and is yet to charge me for any of the repairs. They have indicated my high failure rate is not unusual with these bindings.The bindings are built with off the shelf nuts and bolts which contunally worked loose,I finally resorted to completly disassembling the bindings and puting locktite on every bolt and screw.

Purchased the bindings to go on a Volkl Spline and wanted a very stiff interface between my board and boots. I have size 10.5 feet and also wanted a binding with a high base plate or toe ramps.The bindings have delivered both. I switched over to boarding after 30+ years on skis and have found board binding tech to be very dark ages. I am used to ski bindings that are low maintenance. You take your skis in at the begining of the season get the bindings checked then just ride. Board bindings require constant attention and retightening of the fasteners to prevent things from falling off.

Similar Products Used:

K2 clickers, rental stuff

- Conveniently adjustable, but at a cost! (see weaknesses) - Steel inset for highback angle adjustment will probably never strip. - Nice ratcheting mechanisms - Great heel-to-toe response - Highback release mechanism would be convenient for lift lines, if only the highbacks were capable of going forward to the point where you can''t stand comfortably anyway.

- The highback on my trailing leg is at the lowest notch, but I still want at least another couple of centimeters of forward lean. They range from "barely adequate" at the bottom to "might as well take your highback off because you''re not using it" at the top. This is a problem I should have spotted in the shop. Anyway, check it out -- if you don''t like much forward lean these might still be OK for you. But to me these scream "half-pipe," in which case, what do you need a carbon highback for? Toe-to-heel response is sloppy and slow. - Design is too smart for its own good in many ways. For example, all these wrench-free adjustable bits loosen up after a matter of hours, and yes, I tighten them before every ride. But they shake loose in a single RUN. I''d rather just carry a frickin'' wrench. Another example are these straps that bend in towards the ratchet. Also, seems like a good idea on the design table, but on the mountain you realize that this means they have to be held out of the way when you put your boot in, which is a much bigger hassle than pushing them INTO the way AFTER your boot is in. - I have at least a centimeter of free space on either side of the toe of my boots

One guy reviewing the 2001 model said these bindings were designed for freestyle. Finding no mention of this on K2''s site, I discounted it, and now wish I hadn''t. The best I can say for these bindings is that I don''t hate them yet. I tried to take them back and couldn''t, and if my seven-year-old NCM bindings weren''t broken I''d like them more.

Similar Products Used:

NCM (Japanese-built no-frills binding, aluminum baseplate)