New Hardboot Binding designed by a fellow splitter
I'm a big fan of innovation so I have to give Corran props for trying something new out. I have no idea if this will work as well as he's hoping but it's a set of pretty cool ideas. Looks like delivery is planned for summer 2026, so not for this season.
A couple things about this binding which are interesting:
- No need to move any hardware around during transitions (faster, less faffing, no need to scrape some part of the board clear of snow)
- Board comes together straight on rather than sliding into place - potentially easier to keep clear of snow? I find clearing out the little nooks that the hooks slide into on my Hercules hooks rather annoying. I think I have to spend time on it almost every transition.
A couple downsides I see:
- Heavier swing weight while touring as binding is on the board the whole time. Phantom Split Cleats are listed at 291g for 4 (maybe it's for 2??), while KISS ride binding is 300 g for each foot. So, it seems you'd be adding 150g to each board (300g total) going from Phantom -> KISS while subtracting 960 g (M6 binding weight) from your bag.
- Dyneema cord getting stuck on things while touring. Seems bad.