@Tap wrote:

honestly, russman, you need to shut up for a day or two

bindings good or bad…..you’re being an annoying twat

What the heck ELSE are we supposed to do until the snow falls!? 😆 😆 😆

According to NOAA, the Pacific Northwest is about to get POUNDED this weekend! :bananas:

@ russman

first : no agrissiv word s from my to you.

your pictures show s mudy snow – because when the weather change from + to – and the mudy snow frezz on the system – works the system . voile slider ( spark + light rail ) is a slider, the clean his self. i can see the mistakes from the first burton interfaces …

take a real test …..

Burton

I started disregarding Russman’s Kar and Solution reviews along time ago. Sometimes you just gotta let the products speak for themselves. I don’t understand defending/promoting a product that hasn’t even hit the masses yet. Shit, we all thought the first gen Sparks were the end all, then dozens of splitters took them to the hills and found the weak spots. The same will happen with Karkoram and that’s ok. I’m ok with being patient.

Just mounted my K’s to my rock board and after some tweaking got em on solid. One gripe so far, and this will be board dependent, is you are limited in not being able to micro adjust your stance width. I ride 20.5″- width and on my Voile 166 the closest I can get is 20.75″+. And the other option would probably be about 20″ even as the holes are about 7/8 inches apart…roughly. Obviously some boards will be different, but not too stoked about this as I could at least always get my Voile pucks where I need them width wise.
I’m kinda picky about my width as I’ve grown to like 20.5″-. But so far it’s the only issue I’ve come across (sort of a big one for me :(). Will be riding somewhere next week to field test so should have more feedback on other shit. Hopefully icing issues as that would mean I’m in POWDERRRRR!!!

And yeah, those pics of Russman’s are obv slush and not ice, but he’s a good guy and means well and shouldn’t be referred to as a twat or any other female parts. Good word though.

There’s no “i’ in team, but there’s “u” in cunt :scratch:

Dan, what do you know about splitboarding? Look at those silly blue, boots you wear! 😆

@bcd wrote:

That’s not icing. Icing doesn’t happen in those conditions, and it also doesn’t happen while a binding sits motionless in a freezer.

It’s good that some people are speaking up on this thread. I know everyone on this forum is usually too darn nice, but Russman, you really have to stop.

There are a lot of new members (and new splitboarders) who could be reading this and thinking the information here is accurate. It’s not accurate, and it’s coming from a person with no splitboarding experience.

People could be basing their decisions on your posts. That’s not good for them, and not good for Karakoram.

You guys are negative Nancy’s!

Nobody is getting paid big bucks to push products here (or any bucks for that matter). If you believe in a product, or in this case, a philosophy of innovation and betterment, stand by it! That’s it…

A lot of people are interested in Karakoram, and so I believe in laying all the cards out there. At least its better than having a massive void of information like in the rest of this darn industry.

I’ve felt inclined to share my experience because nobody else has. So there you have it. If I were buying new bindings (and I am) I think it would be fantastic to see pictures from the prototyping process.

@BGnight wrote:

Just mounted my K’s to my rock board and after some tweaking got em on solid. One gripe so far, and this will be board dependent, is you are limited in not being able to micro adjust your stance width. I ride 20.5″- width and on my Voile 166 the closest I can get is 20.75″+. And the other option would probably be about 20″ even as the holes are about 7/8 inches apart…roughly. Obviously some boards will be different, but not too stoked about this as I could at least always get my Voile pucks where I need them width wise.
I’m kinda picky about my width as I’ve grown to like 20.5″-. But so far it’s the only issue I’ve come across (sort of a big one for me :(). Will be riding somewhere next week to field test so should have more feedback on other shit. Hopefully icing issues as that would mean I’m in POWDERRRRR!!!

Interesting point – I noticed this last night when looking at the K blog. I’m pretty set on my stance as well at 21.5″, but move it fore/aft frequently depending on conditions. I do narrow it for my east coast trips to 21″ even due to the tighter nature of the trees and need to pivot lightening quick and widen to 22″ for park/pipe forays (not applicable for the split).

I think this will be a consideration for me on my board purchase as well. Can anyone confirm the number of positions and increments of each ride mode interface on the Karakoram’s for a standard factory insert pattern? Thanks!

Sparks lack of lateral stiffness is pure BS.

Are we walking on the moon here? Racing the Hahenkamm downhill? No we are skinning up hills in softboots. You want lateral stiffness while touring? Go buy some skis.

I have agree with the posters regarding “russman”; let it go bro, you don’t want lose your hair. Your arbitrary analysis (on lateral stiffness and the likes) makes me laugh. People have been reinventing the wheel/snowboard for years. Every season there is something the ski industry presents that we cant live without, I have seen these product come and go. Quit being a shill.

One of the first rules of business is to present your product in a favorable light. This is not done by belittling the competition. Those people you are alienating may be your future customers. Bagging on Sparks is only gonna piss off all the people that love them. If a product is superior it will sell itself.

@Swampbuster wrote:

I’d rather give them a few seasons to get everything dialed in before I get serious about them.

I wouldn’t say the Klosters didn’t have these things dialed in before production. Sure, there will be improvements here and there (like Sparks) in the years to come, but to say they aren’t dialed is misleading. I’m sure their first years line will be much more reliable than the ignitions when they came out. The ignitions blew up and fell apart left and right on people yet they were the bees knees and I’m still rockin’ a pair (w/ multiple welded cracks).

I think the main issue w/ making a choice is higher price (and untested over a full season by the masses) of the Karakorams vs. the edge the Karakorams supposedly have over Sparks.
These would be:
– in touring (this is already proven imo)
– less play/responsiveness in ride mode (I’m not convinced it’s huge but will find out soon)
– closer to board? Actually, I just roughly measured and there’s no difference in how close to the board you are. (I thought there was less w/ the K’s, but was wrong)
– less icing?
– quicker transitions?
– Chinese hook replacements taking slop out of board (biggest improvement over the Voile interface there has been. You can buy these separately however, but they are a must)
*Stance widths are limited to larger increments w/ Karakorams (they are already in the process of fixing this)

Looking over the cost vs benefits I really think the Karakorams may need to lower their price to compete effectively w/ the Sparks in the long term.
I decided to keep my Karakorams even though I had an issue w/ stance widths. I have them in my hand and I really think the touring brackets are gonna make the up more enjoyable as well as ski mode! Therefore I’m going w/ them cuz I can afford them and am a new gear weanie. Plus, I want to support the Klosters and help give them feedback in what I think will be the future of splitboarding. In the meantime, I can see why many would choose Sparks over Karakoram.

I’m just pissed because MY bindings weren’t even INCLUDED in this comparison. WTF!?!?!?!
It’s like I don’t even exist!

You want high performance, light weight bindings for less than $100?!?! Look no further:

To get back on track:

I checked out Buckchow’s new Karakoram set-up yesterday afternoon, whiling away the time waiting for the promised 20+” in the Wasatch.

Two things struck me: A) the system is tight. No wiggles, squeaks or clacks, and B) the tour bracket is a goddamned beautiful piece of engineering. Step in, push down, and go.