# Automatic Bindings?! PLEASE READ-need advice



## AutoBindings (Sep 19, 2011)

PLEASE READ!!!!! I REALLY NEED ADVICE
Hey guys I'm doing a project for my engineering class. My project is to create a fully automatic snowboard binding. The purpose of me posting is to get your feedback and find out if manually buckling snowboard bindings is a legitimate problem for snowboarders out there. Your feed back and other (constructive) criticisms and comments would be a huge help.
Thanks for your time!!


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## CMSbored (Apr 2, 2009)

it is not a legitimate problem


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

As someone who works in engineering design and based on what my experience with classes that try to teach the concept of engineering design and as someone who snowboards, it's not a problem.

However, you are probably going to want to consider "ease of operation" to be a metric to design around. You don't have to make the design easier than the current standard cage ratchet and nylon lattice strap setup but making it more difficult would definitely count against that design.

Is this a class where you create weighted attribute trees or matricies to quantitatively select one concept over another?


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

the less bullshit the better...btw no boarding has the automatic binding feature...easy on and quick release...and they are also invisible.


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## Ballistic (Aug 31, 2009)

Dude,rephrase the question. Buckling bindings is not a problem... legitimate or otherwise. But if u ask "can bindings in general, or buckles in particular, be improved?",, then my answer would be : yes.. probably. But only incrementally because bindings are already fairly evolved. If u survey the dozens of bindings available today on the market, you will realize that collectively thousands of hours of design time has gone into these.. probably tens of thousands actually. Just what is your mission exactly? Improvement. Complete redesign. Speed. Ease. Strength. Market gimmicks. Be careful how u answer. The quality of the question matters alot. Your question was so vague, and so lame, i am like "WTF up with that.. ? "


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## Sudden_Death (Mar 23, 2011)

AutoBindings said:


> PLEASE READ!!!!! I REALLY NEED ADVICE
> Hey guys I'm doing a project for my engineering class. My project is to create a fully automatic snowboard binding. The purpose of me posting is to get your feedback and find out if manually buckling snowboard bindings is a legitimate problem for snowboarders out there. Your feed back and other (constructive) criticisms and comments would be a huge help.
> Thanks for your time!!


It isn't a huge problem but can be an inconvenience. At my hill a run might take 2-3 minutes tops so binding like Flows or K2 Cinch make a lot of sense. No point spending half the time it takes to get a run in strapping in. As well, the older you get the less time you want to spend sitting, strapping and then getting back up instead of snapping the highback up and just riding away.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Ballistic's right. Define your goals, define your metrics. Don't expect to come up with something revolutionary. A lot of very smart people have been trying to do the same thing as you, and they're being paid for it.

I think the Ride Contrabands were a great concept -- use one buckle instead of two. See if there's a variation on that.


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## WasatchMan (Aug 30, 2011)

Dammit, I had typed a huge response in the other thread and it was deleted before I could submit.  oh well...

Anyways, OP do you personally snowboard? 

Do you know anything about bindings? 

Have you watched or experienced the progression of bindings over the years?

And no, it's not a problem.




*EDIT:* My friend had these and absolutely hated them.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

WasatchMan said:


> Dammit, I had typed a huge response in the other thread and it was deleted before I could submit.  oh well...
> 
> Anyways, OP do you personally snowboard? Do you know anything about bindings? Have you watched or experienced the progression of bindings over the years?
> 
> And no, it's not a problem.


Sorry Wasatchman. I had put a response in that other thread too, and then saw it was a duplicate, so I deleted it. Sometimes it just happens that way...


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

i got contrabands last year and let me tell you, the design is a giant piece of shit. the front band that goes over your boot goes over the INSIDE of your boot, such that the OUTSIDE of your boot (facing front) will get snow buried under it till there is enough to pop the whole boot out. the process is not only impossible to ride with but also extremely uncomfortable. if you only ride ice/park/street they would work fine. they have absolutely ZERO business in SNOW.

yea i'm pissed, i got this useless shit, from a useless shop, oh i'm digressing cuz i'm pissed.....

good luck!


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## WasatchMan (Aug 30, 2011)

killclimbz said:


> Sorry Wasatchman. I had put a response in that other thread too, and then saw it was a duplicate, so I deleted it. Sometimes it just happens that way...


No worries at all my man. totally understand


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## Ballistic (Aug 31, 2009)

WasatchMan said:


> Dammit, I had typed a huge response in the other thread and it was deleted IMG]


i really wanna see your huge response can u retype that badboy reply?????????/??


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## tuckerchef (Aug 26, 2011)

I don't see any problems with bindings as is. There are already enough gadgets and tech put into bindings. The automatic binding has already come and gone in the form of step-in bindings. You still see them kicking around on old ass rental boards. Do they even still make them? Guess if you have to build an affordable auto binding you could improve on step-in's.


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## AutoBindings (Sep 19, 2011)

*AutoBindings*

Alright let me rephrase the question a little. I have looked into bindings for the past month now and have looked at all aspects such as new implementations, evolution, and popularity. I'm only simply asking, do you think that bindings will ever get to a point in time where you won't have to ever strap them in manually? Right now there is no real explanation or reason for them to be. The raw simplicity is why we use them. Maybe you could offer me solutions as to why they would eventually get too this point? (example: time consuming? say you have a bad back?)


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## Nmbr1Ballr (Feb 3, 2009)

AutoBindings said:


> Alright let me rephrase the question a little. I have looked into bindings for the past month now and have looked at all aspects such as new implementations, evolution, and popularity. I'm only simply asking, do you think that bindings will ever get to a point in time where you won't have to ever strap them in manually? Right now there is no real explanation or reason for them to be. The raw simplicity is why we use them. Maybe you could offer me solutions as to why they would eventually get too this point? (example: time consuming? say you have a bad back?)


When we get the Marty McFly auto tightening sneakers, we'll get auto strapping bindings


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## kpd2003 (Sep 8, 2011)

Can't remember the last time I actually sat down to tighten my bindings

Anyways, I do not personally see a need to have auto-buckling bindings for the simple reason that if we ever get THAT lazy we will be so fat there wont be any snowboarders left!:laugh:


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## ecks (Oct 6, 2010)

I can definitely see how its possible to have an evolution of the horrid step in bindings but its going to be years from now and in my opinion less mechanical and more based on magnets. With that said, the reason that strap in bindings are the norm is the same reason flow bindings never really took over the market, the knowledgable snowboarder can tell the difference immediately. 

I am absolutely positive that somewhere out there someone is working on a next generation binding that doesn't involve strapping in at all but it will take years of testings followed by years of improvements before it is adopted by the majority of the industry. 

Personally though I'm still a laces for my boots and ratchets on my bindings kind of guy and will stay like that regardless of how easy it becomes in the future. I like the manual feel of it, much like driving.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

Love the manual feel of driving my car too...and the dual zone of my boots, but strapping in easily on the chair..or rolling by passing sitting riders is quite an improvement to my riding days. On a slanted slope it takes about 5 seconds to lock the high back and go...while people are still looking for a spot to sit and strap in. Try the K2 CTX, it is not the cheapest version. But works great at least for my type of riding.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

I used manually buckled bindings for 5 years got used to them, and swore I'd NEVER change but then tried some FLOW bindings which are way easier and quicker to put on - so from that experience if an even quicker binding than FLOW came on the market (If that is possible) I would be so interested to try them out. I'm getting old so a binding where I don't have to bend down to clip and unclip would be just BLOODY AWESOME !!
I have seen comments that really experienced riders would never "FLOW" but the average rider and the majority of riders just aren't up to the level where they can notice the difference while buckled in.


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## mike50 (Sep 23, 2011)

WasatchMan said:


> Dammit, I had typed a huge response in the other thread and it was deleted before I could submit.  oh well...
> 
> Anyways, OP do you personally snowboard?
> 
> ...


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

The difference between K2 and Flow is that on the K2 you can also use the traditional ratchet as in a regular binding....for example in deep pow.


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)

snowklinger said:


> i got contrabands last year and let me tell you, the design is a giant piece of shit. the front band that goes over your boot goes over the INSIDE of your boot, such that the OUTSIDE of your boot (facing front) will get snow buried under it till there is enough to pop the whole boot out. the process is not only impossible to ride with but also extremely uncomfortable. if you only ride ice/park/street they would work fine. they have absolutely ZERO business in SNOW.
> 
> yea i'm pissed, i got this useless shit, from a useless shop, oh i'm digressing cuz i'm pissed.....
> 
> good luck!


if your boot pops out, you have the strap too loose with possibly the wrong size binding

i rode nothing but powder last season with contraband LEs


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

i dont see how you can avoid snow under the front pinky toe in powder with contrabands. mine were unrideable. i think they sold me the med size 7-9 when i had 9.5's and this year i think i need 10's so maybe that is the problem. i can guarantee you the strap is not loose, but it only goes over the middle of the boot and the toeside, theres nothing to keep the pinky toeside down.


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## ecks (Oct 6, 2010)

Check out the new Bon Hiver bindings. Looks like they are flipping the clickers concept so the binding actually comes off the board. Interesting take on the subject but I still prefer strapping in. 

Bon Hiver Snowboarding Product Demo - YouTube

Skip to the good part @ 0:45


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## grafta (Dec 21, 2009)

snowklinger said:


> i dont see how you can avoid snow under the front pinky toe in powder with contrabands. mine were unrideable. i think they sold me the med size 7-9 when i had 9.5's and this year i think i need 10's so maybe that is the problem. i can guarantee you the strap is not loose, but it only goes over the middle of the boot and the toeside, theres nothing to keep the pinky toeside down.


Like the other guy said, you must be doing it wrong.

Something to do with sizing perhaps? Or that contrabands are a bit tricky to set up? I'm anal retentive so i researched and even watched the vid to set mine up. They've been good to me too, including many submarine(?) en devours with no underfoot buildup whatsoever...

Anyway, so back to AUTOMATIC BINDINGS NOW COS WE ALL NEED THEM STUPID CAPS LOCK WON'T TURN OFF SORRY GAYS


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## skycdo (Sep 15, 2011)

grafta said:


> Like the other guy said, you must be doing it wrong.
> 
> Something to do with sizing perhaps? Or that contrabands are a bit tricky to set up? I'm anal retentive so i researched and even watched the vid to set mine up. They've been good to me too, including many submarine(?) en devours with no underfoot buildup whatsoever...


Demoed the contrabands last season and they are pretty trick to adjust. It took me an entire day to finally get them to where my boot fits snug in the toe band. If you don't get it perfect it's def not going to feel comfy. I didn't like em. Too heavy as well.


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