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Then they can look forward to selling three sets.....one to you, one to barrows, and one to snurfer.


JUS PLAYIN!!!

There might be one or two more people you are forgetting Chris. So when should we expect to see this article?

I wonder if anyone will add a avalanche safety feature to their bindings in the near future. The whole point of split boards is to get out to the backcountry. The biggest concern is avalanches and having the board stuck to your feet if you are caught in one is like wearing an anchor. I'd like to see a release mechanism like that of skis in the off chance I'd ever need it. To me this is more important than a binding that is faster to swap from tour to ride and back again, more important than weight of the system (all great features but far far less important).

Perhaps I'm the only one that thinks this way but if someone had such a safety system, even if it weighed a lot more and took longer for me to switch over I'd pick that over the alternatives.

Paging OCD. Whatever he says.

I'd rather both my feet stay on my board and use an ABS system than some desperate attempt to get out of your bindings during an avy and have one foot stay in resulting in your leg getting torn off your torso. A quick release is not practical in real life situations.

...er...where did all the Voile haters go?


thewwkayaker (?), check out the Voile light rail system.

+1

I have no interest in having a binding accidently release while riding a line or during a landing. Nor do I have any interest in bending down to fiddle with a binding release mechanism if caught in a slide.

For those reasons I don't think it'll catch on.

can we get back to the topic, Spark Edison binding technology

how does the the bottom look......
any chance that this will deliver us improvements or is the system over complicated and likely to clog?

I'm pretty sure the boyz at Spark are busy this winter testing their new system.
I would give them the benefit of the doubt. After all they have been at this game for quite a while.

I just wish I was on the testing team...

"Did someone at Voile fuck your little sister or something?"

Thanks for that, I needed a laugh after riding some crappy snow in the trees today-Ullr, please bless us with some snow...

BCrider: your point is well taken, as someone who has experimented with some alternative boot setups (step ins, etc) you appear to not have your head entirely stuck in the sand when it comes to innovation and the potential for better performance. I can honestly say, in my opinion, and based on my 25 years of riding experience in every type of boot binding interface possible, that my current setup performs better than anything else I have ever ridden-and I am just talking about riding performance alone now, not considering the huge touring (and climbing) performance advantages.
While it is easy for folks to dis hard boots, very few people have any actual experience with a set up like mine, and do not understand the real world advantages-while that is generally OK, it does hold back the sport: too many people think "rigid ski boots" when considering hard boots, I'll say it again: my modded TLT5s are less stiff than my Driver Xs. Until riders open their minds a little, most are going to be stuck with made in asia toy boots for riding, instead of precision tools made in Italy. As to the the market viability of HB bindings, etc. there is a bit of a chicken and the egg problem here: for hard boot use to grow there really needs to be excellent hard boots and bindings which work stock: these do not exist-to achieve great performance riders are forced to modify existing AT boot models, and essentially build their own bindings by combining (often difficult to find) parts.
Back to Edison-I am big fan of Will's work, and owned a pair of the original Ignition bindings. As mentioned here already, it would not be a huge development project for Will to produce a plate binding based on the Edison system, and I encourage anyone interested in such a project to e-mail Will to let him know the interest level. Yes, to produce such a binding Spark R n D would have to be patient, as the development costs would not be recouped that quickly-but I feel past history has shown that Will is not risk adverse when it comes to innovation.

Dafu: I think it is quite difficult to predict how something may work in the field by just looking at it. Until the Edison system hits the market, in final form, we just have to trust (or not, make your choice) that Spark are doing the work to make sure that the interface will both be reliable and reasonably resistant to icing related problems. It is important to also consider, that icing may only become a problem in some very specific environments and temperatures, and only longer term use and testing will reveal if there are any problems. Mid winter around here (and in Montana) means primarily dry snow, and little chance of icing issues. Later in the year, testing may reveal more issues which need to be addressed-clearly, this is a product which is still in prototype form, and is subject to change over the course of the winter/spring testing season.

I think you are making a few assumptions here. One that ABS will counter the board attached to your feet (has that been proven?). Two that any system developed would result in potentially one foot releasd (where does that limitation come from? Imagination I suspect. Kinda like no one thought we could fly in a machine either).

Assuming (and I suspect it can be done easier than making a machine that can fly a system that releases both feet is possible and produced, the only remaining argument would be that - yes it could release during a move. Kinda like what happens at times to skiers. But they are willing to take that risk because the risk of avalanches and tree wells are there. That type of concern is worth the occational mishap. Again - I'm refering to a system that would release BOTH feet. And yes it can be done.

As for Voile system - it's not much of a safety system since it requires you to grab the release loops. It can be mimicked with most bindings with a drill and some straps easily.

Sorry for derailing the talk about the Spark Edison. It does look like a smart system and I agree that cutting down swapping time between tour and ride is awesome and needed.

I'd like to read that... very interesting topic, also, Voile has shown nothing but excellent community and customer support from everything I've seen - I'd be shocked if they pulled a patent-troll move