Splitboard.com Forums

They paid 300 bucks for a binding, The buckles and straps should work, and work well. Im sure Spark will work it out though.

After i received my buckle replacements, i have had no problems touring, riding, and training.

Performs well in pow, and very well in hard crud, exposed crap, these are the conditions in Switzerland when you start going under 1500m at present. Getting too warm .

That said, i still cant help comparing the Blaze straps, buckles, and high backs to my Burton C60s. I don't' have too much confidence in taking these up for another season without modding.

But one thing is for sure, the whole splitboard system rocks

For everyone complaining about USA-hand-made splitboard specific binding for $300 (and riding $1000 factory splits BTW)

http://www.burton.com/mens-bindings-c60-est-bindings/232214,default,pd.html

$460 for Burton cheap Chinese plastic crap-olla

I don't see these as complaints as much as constructive criticism. You can bet your ass that Will and the Sparks folks read these boards and get this feedback in real time. I bet that next year, if not sooner, they improve on their design, straps and the highback which will be a direct result of the customer feedback on this website.

BTW the burton bindings, while I agree are over priced, are some of the best out there. They have been on the forefront of binding design since the beginning. And this is coming from someone who doesn't particularly like their company. I wouldn't exactly call the cheap chinese crap. Most of these guys are replacing their spark parts with burton ones for a reason.

I second you on the long standing progression of Burton with their bindings, I don't like how they screw you with trapping you with their own line of products (since I miss my Flow binding set up, you cant place them on ICS channels).

I am all the way for handmade products (Venture and Spark) full stop when the tech is up to date.

I just checked out Will's SIA teaser. It seems he has the Blaze gen.2 and new Burners dialed.
I will probably be saving up for these, and selling the old setup when i don't get the MOD in time.

Spark is just using the same straps that everyone else is using. Snowboard bindings in general are junk. Ladder straps and ratchets that haven't changed noticeably since the mid nineties (or longer) are the problem.

I think companies were trying to improve bindings when they were working on step-ins 10 years ago but then nobody bought them because they weren't cool (and the design wasn't perfect at first). So binding manufacturers were like "OK, you guys are cool with us just making the same crappy strap bindings year after year and you'll be happy? Fine, that's easy! No problem, here ya go!"

True that!

Don't forget that most bindings are for park-rats and half-pipe junkies! We all do misty 900's in the pipe right? That's why i got Shawn White bindings... because I ride just like him!

I'll weigh in with my thoughts.

The ratchet on my Blazes are sticky/finicky. They ratchet down alright but are hard to release. And, as was stated in a previous post, when I pay well over $300 for a pair of bindings I expect things to work beautifully (I'm in Canada so Blaze bindings cost me $350 not including tax).
I've also replaced the highbacks because they were too soft. Oh, and I've replaced all of the straps because a couple of the originals snapped/cracked. This is not acceptable for a snowboard binding of this price!
The metal base plates are a work of art. However, everything else on the Blaze suck.
The Blaze are a great binding for going uphill and make the performance of a splitbaord much better but there is a lot of room for improvement. It has been posted in another thread that the 'new' bindings from Spark remedy the issues but to pay another $350 so that I have a 'working' binding that I can depend on - no, I'm not buying it.

And, I don't get the Burton hate. Is it cool as a splitter to hate on Burton? All of the Burton bindings I've used have lasted well past their expected due dates for exploding. Well, then I guess I'm not a splitter because I love Burton bindings.
And, to the previous poster that keeps railing on about Chinese made equipment and hating on it. Take a look around your house, clothing, vehicle, kitchen, phone, computer, outerwear, etc... If you have absolutely nothing that you use/own that isn't N.American made then you deserve a gold star. Or, maybe, you should just shut your mouth (I believe that this poster has posted somewhere on this forum about whiners complaining on the internet).

Oh, maybe I should give a little background. I have been riding for over 20 years and for the last decade I've worked as an instructor/staff trainer/supervisor in the snow school at one of the largest resorts in North America, Whistler. In a slow season I'll only put about a 100 days on the mountain. Oh, but wait that doesn't count here with the 'soul brother splitboarders' on this site because I ride a chair lift and, supposedly, am a 'park-rat and a half-pipe junkie'. Yeah, I ride that stuff but the mountains here have a ton of other stuff to offer that I ride. I believe that is referred to as a well rounded rider.

And, no, I'm not going to apologize for the rant. I surf this site for great info normally but in the last year or so it seems there is a very elitist attitude being presented with the replies. Heaven forbid you're a new poster and a beginner at splitting.

FWIW and IMHO... burton spreads around pro deal cards like aids in Haiti. Everyone and their mother gets cost minus 20% on hurton gear. The only people paying 460 are kids of rich parents.

fucking word.. love my Flows for in bounds.. had to butcher a pair to work with the 1st gen ICS on the malolo. Then the next year, those fuckers change the channel again. Flow made an adapter for the second gen ICS but not the first. For this, burton can get "f'd" in the "a" with a chainsaw. This is coming form someone with a malolo, Ion and SLX boots. Part of the reason I have so much burton shit goes back to my previous post of them giving their shit away to anyone in the industry and beyond.

So, who's got the hot ticket for compatible straps? Are Burton straps compatible? I don't like how the buckles operate on the Sparks either, and the strap shape isn't my favorite. I am happy to give them my money to support the cause, so I won't complain too hard, just want them to feel like my old C02's or better.

With a little modding most straps will work. Burton straps can work with customization. I think comfort is everything so steal your current straps, you aren't going to want to solid-board anyway.

It's pretty simple, Spark's vendor that makes the straps and ratchets is at fault for this. This isn't the first time a binding company has had problems with a Vendor's quality. Flow dealt with this big time 4-5 years ago. It all comes down to quality control and how much influence you can have over the vendor. I'll wager that Will will have someone overseeing the production runs and won't pay/take any shipments of gear that is sub standard. This is how you get results. Hit them in the pocket book. There are plenty of binding manufacturers who make quality straps and ratchets. There are also plenty who have crap.

This is something I have faith that Spark will get worked out.