# Spark R&D Surge or Arc?



## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

I've got Surges. I came from a prior pair of Spark Magnetos (which are like an older version of the Arc). I like the increased stiffness of the Surge over the Magnetos. They are more similar to regular bindings on a solid board. No problem with them being "too stiff" IMO.


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## taco tuesday (Jul 26, 2014)

I recently saw a post on FB of someone who had broken a Surge baseplate so apparently it's not exclusive to the Arc. I haven't had any problem so far with my Arcs. I'm 220lbs and ride them on both splits and solids. I was thinking about getting the Surge because I typically ride stiffer bindings but the owners of Splinters board shop who said he weighs more than me said he was fine with the Arc so I gave it a shot and haven't been disappointed.


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## GregT943 (Apr 1, 2019)

taco tuesday said:


> I recently saw a post on FB of someone who had broken a Surge baseplate so apparently it's not exclusive to the Arc. I haven't had any problem so far with my Arcs. I'm 220lbs and ride them on both splits and solids. I was thinking about getting the Surge because I typically ride stiffer bindings but the owners of Splinters board shop who said he weighs more than me said he was fine with the Arc so I gave it a shot and haven't been disappointed.


Sugarbush is my home mountain so I know Splinters shop well. What are the solid board bindings that you have used, and how do they compare to the stiffness of your Arcs? Still trying to get an idea of how stiff each model is.


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## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

I have a pair of Arcs. I’m 215# and find them to be fairly middle of the road flex. They aren’t quite as stiff as appearance would have you believe. Which, I prefer to get stiffness out of boots, so that works fine for me. 

Interesting about the broken base plates. I haven’t seen or heard of that in any of my immediate social circles.


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

It's not like the aluminum part flexes much anyways.. I have the Surge baseplate, Arc highback and Hammock/Supergrip straps from Burton, works nicely. If you care about the grams, Arc Pro.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

Can't speak for other split bindings, but you can't compare Sparks to any solid bindings IMO. The all-aluminum construction makes for a completely different underfoot feel and generally harsher ride than any solid. Plus you're essentially riding a broken snowboard. So trying to analogize to a comparable solid is not too productive.

I have Burton Hitchhikers, but I swapped out the Arc baseplate for the Surge baseplate with a buddy. I'm not noticing a huge difference. The board feels a little more solid underfoot when I hit ice layers, but on the ascent and riding pow or corn on descent, I couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe the stiffer Surge highback would change things more for me. I have a friend who runs a guiding operation with a full demo rental fleet with a bunch of Arcs and Surges... FWIW he says he literally can't tell the difference between the two.

All else equal, I'd probably grab Arcs unless you're a bigger dude who tends to wreck shit (which I am, main reason I switched). Stuff breaks, but I think you'll find in general reliability reports on Spark are much stronger than Karakoram (at least the old interface, can't speak to 2.0). Or Union (lol).


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## Jkb818 (Sep 28, 2019)

Rip154 said:


> It's not like the aluminum part flexes much anyways.. I have the Surge baseplate, Arc highback and Hammock/Supergrip straps from Burton, works nicely. If you care about the grams, Arc Pro.


I need to try burton straps on my Arcs. Didn’t realize they were compatible. ?


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## GregT943 (Apr 1, 2019)

poser said:


> I have a pair of Arcs. I’m 215# and find them to be fairly middle of the road flex. They aren’t quite as stiff as appearance would have you believe. Which, I prefer to get stiffness out of boots, so that works fine for me.
> 
> Interesting about the broken base plates. I haven’t seen or heard of that in any of my immediate social circles.








Spark R&D Arc Long Term Review


Days Ridden: 80+Test Locations: Colorado, Utah, British Columbia backcountryProduct Source: These bindings were purchased with my own money.Measured Weight: 3 pounds, both bindings, Medium Size.System Cost: $385 for the bindings. Spark pucks are $75. Actual cost is $460. 2021 Thoughts I have for...




www.beardedsplitboarder.com





This was the first long term review I found mentioning broken base plates, and many have left comments below the article claiming the same problem. I found other reviews mentioning the same issue. The problem seems to happen right around day 100 of riding. Not sure if Spark has addressed the issue, or perhaps these base plates people received are defective, but what's concerning is that there are reports of it happening on replacement base plates and multiple times, which means it wasn't just one bad defective batch. I don't know, I'll probably get the Arcs


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## taco tuesday (Jul 26, 2014)

GregT943 said:


> Sugarbush is my home mountain so I know Splinters shop well. What are the solid board bindings that you have used, and how do they compare to the stiffness of your Arcs? Still trying to get an idea of how stiff each model is.


I have Arcs with the base plate padding they sell separately. Without that padding it can be a harsh ride on firm conditions. For stiffer solid board bindings I have Union Charger, Rome Targa, Bent Metal Solution, Flux XF, and Nitro Phantom Carver. I don't think I notice any drastic difference between them other than the Solution don't allow for as much forward lean and the XF have almost no padding/dampening. I also don't think the Arcs feel drastically different from ant of those solid board bindings.


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

100 days of splitboarding is still well beyond 5 years for the average rider, and that's not too bad. There are other parts that break before that, and the risk of wanting something new is high.


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