Terje Riding Step-In’s @ King Of The Hill | Is the past making a comeback?
Remember when step-in’s were being hailed as the future of snowboarding. Even Jason Brown and MFM the great were riding them (for $$$). But as quickly as they appeared they were scoffed at and were gone.
But now thanks to Pierre Wikberg’s Instagram we see that one of the greats of all time is re-adapting the past, which may make it the future. Again. Terje Haaskonsen is clicking in without straps, only now they are being rebranded as Burton Step On Bindings. Pierre is up in Riksgransen, with almost every real snowboarder, for the 20th anniversary of King of the Hill where Ingemar went the highest ever.
At this point it does seems a little prehistoric that we are still bending over and doing up straps, so maybe technology finally caught up. Maybe step-in’s are the new face mask? One thing is for certain, Terje would not ride junk and he cannot be bought. But he is getting older, so maybe he too is just tired of bending over?
Our top secret sources say Burton has been letting key retailers test out the their updated step-in system over the past winter. It will not be in the line for winter 2017, but perhaps 2018. Initial thoughts on the step-in’s were that they were a hell of a lot better than the first incarnation and might be fun to add to the quiver, but maybe not as a daily driver. They even filed a patent, which shows what the new Step On bindings will look like.
UPDATE: More on this has come to light in the new Jake Burton Carpenter interview that Snowboarder Mag did.
Burton is calling their new binding system ‘step on’ bindings as opposed to the old school ‘step-in.’ Jakes goes on to give a few more details about them:
What can you say about Step Ons?
When the hardgoods guys came to me with the idea, I thought, “After the Channel and EST experience, these guys get it now. These guys are capable and good and they know what the feel of a step-in had to be ultimately.” Step On was my name for it. I liked the drug innuendo and I really lobbied for it.
And how are the Step Ons different from the step-in bindings of two decades ago?
The three points of contact and the fact that it is a ratcheting mechanism that tightens as it engages. We have learned so much about the flex of a binding tray. We have also really learned how to quantify the flex that you need to have a comfortable ride. This happened over time in developing bindings like the Malavita and the Genesis. 3-D printing was also a huge part of it, as we are now able to make and test rideable parts within 24 hours! Also, I have always been set on having the highback on the binding, not on the boot. I always put my foot down there…no pun intended. I have now ridden every generation of the Step On bindings a bunch and have been very enthusiastic about them right from the start.
Check the whole interview with Jake Burton Carpenter HERE.
Here is a diagram from Burton’s step on binding patent. Would you ride them?
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Do they work? Looks like Alex Andrews has been getting radical on it.
