# K2 ratchets sticky, do they get better?



## sldrose (Jan 18, 2012)

Hi,

my girlfriend is looking at the K2 agogo auto bindings.
We tried them on instore, they have great features, but the ratchet
on the ankle strap sticks when tightened hard against the boot.
It is very difficult to get them to release.

Does anyone ride K2 bindings? 
Do the K2 ratchets get better with use?

We compared them to the Burtons and the burton ratchets were awesome.
the are smoother to put on and take off.

We also tried another pair of standard K2 bindings and the same issues exist
with the sticky ankle strap.

I figure that if K2's were that bad on the mountain, then no one would ride them.

Does anyone else have any experience with this or how to get them to function
better?

cheers


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## Sudden_Death (Mar 23, 2011)

I ride the Auto Uprise, 2010s and 2011s and have zero issue with the ratchets. Best I have used quite honestly.


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## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

Sudden_Death said:


> I ride the Auto Uprise, 2010s and 2011s and have zero issue with the ratchets. Best I have used quite honestly.


I'm on the 2011's and I've got the same experience as Death here..

Super buttery ratchets and 0 release issues so far...

Can't say I've heard a lot of bad reviews on K2's new ratchet system


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

What you are referring to may come from inexperience and overtightening. I have noticed that ALL ratches respond this way if you tighten the fuck out of them.

As with boots, bindings should be snug, not tight.

Maybe I'm way off, but I also have a pair of this year's k2's and they are fine, the pair in the store was either an anomoly or overtightened.


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## TorpedoVegas (Dec 25, 2011)

I had a pair of K2 Cinch bindings and the ratchets were terrible. Very hard to undo and it wasn't due to overtightening. I had to beat the hell out of them to get them to release sometimes. I used those bindings for 4 days and then bought a set of Cartels...a million times better.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

I find them to be sticky sometimes. 2011 K2 Uprises.

Not terrible, but not buttery like the 2012 malavitas I have. I regret selling the vitas.


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## Shox (Mar 6, 2011)

I am currently riding K2 Formula bindings and they are great. I dont have any problems with the ratchets. If you really crank them tight, its going to be harder to get them to release. My old Burton Custom bindings worked the same way. Crank them really tight and they become harder to release. Both the K2 and Burton bindings release fine when they are snug and not over tightened.


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## 9won4 (Dec 9, 2011)

Just picked up a set of K2 Formulas and was actually very impressed with how the buttery the rachets were.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

TorpedoVegas said:


> I had a pair of K2 Cinch bindings and the ratchets were terrible. Very hard to undo and it wasn't due to overtightening. I had to beat the hell out of them to get them to release sometimes. I used those bindings for 4 days and then bought a set of Cartels...a million times better.


All rear entry bindings have difficult to release ratchets by design, why were you using the ratchets anyways your supposed to set them and forget them and use the rear entry system?


Have never had issues with ratchets on my AutoEvers except when I broke one and K2 sent me new ones for free that were even heavier duty that the stock ones.


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## BurtonAvenger (Aug 14, 2007)

TorpedoVegas said:


> I had a pair of K2 Cinch bindings and the ratchets were terrible. Very hard to undo and it wasn't due to overtightening. I had to beat the hell out of them to get them to release sometimes. I used those bindings for 4 days and then bought a set of Cartels...a million times better.





hikeswithdogs said:


> All rear entry bindings have difficult to release ratchets by design, why were you using the ratchets anyways your supposed to set them and forget them and use the rear entry system?
> 
> 
> Have never had issues with ratchets on my AutoEvers except when I broke one and K2 sent me new ones for free that were even heavier duty that the stock ones.


Bingo Hikeswithstrangefurryanimalvaginas is right. Cinch isn't meant to be a quick on quick off release from the ratchets.

As far as the OP you have it too tight on the heel strap which is causing it to bow out and not release the way it should. Resize the heel strap and reset the toe strap. Once you do that they'll be fine.


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## sldrose (Jan 18, 2012)

*thanks*



snowklinger said:


> What you are referring to may come from inexperience and overtightening. I have noticed that ALL ratches respond this way if you tighten the fuck out of them.
> 
> As with boots, bindings should be snug, not tight.
> 
> Maybe I'm way off, but I also have a pair of this year's k2's and they are fine, the pair in the store was either an anomoly or overtightened.





BurtonAvenger said:


> As far as the OP you have it too tight on the heel strap which is causing it to bow out and not release the way it should. Resize the heel strap and reset the toe strap. Once you do that they'll be fine.


Thanks Snowklinger & BurtonAvenger.
You are probably right. I think we were overtightening them.
We were definately getting to the point where the ratchet was slipping and
not tightening anymore.

I think it was more noticable on the K2's than the burtons because of the autos.
We proly didnt have had the toe strap set properly, and to get the toe strap to tighten,
we were overtightening the ankle strap.

I think we'll just have to take more time and play around with it.
it's a bit hard when the binding isn't mounted and it's moving all over the place.

thanks


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## gauntlet09 (Feb 15, 2011)

sldrose said:


> We tried them on instore, they have great features, but the ratchet
> on the ankle strap sticks when tightened hard against the boot.
> It is very difficult to get them to release.


I noticed the same thing when I was in the shop, so I asked and was told it was intentional to guard against accidental releases.

I've got about 8 days on my Auto Evers, and out on the mountain it's a non-issue, plain and simple. (and I crank my heel strap TIGHT!)


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## Rufus (Nov 7, 2008)

I've had experience with a few pairs of K2 bindings and the buckles have been difficult to release on all of them.


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## TorpedoVegas (Dec 25, 2011)

hikeswithdogs said:


> All rear entry bindings have difficult to release ratchets by design, why were you using the ratchets anyways your supposed to set them and forget them and use the rear entry system?
> 
> 
> Have never had issues with ratchets on my AutoEvers except when I broke one and K2 sent me new ones for free that were even heavier duty that the stock ones.


Why would they design ratchets to be difficult? Makes no sense. One of the main reasons to buy the Cinch over the Flows is because you could use the straps in awkward situations if you had to, now it seems all the rear entry bindings coming out this year are starting to go more towards this versatility as well. I can understand them being a little more difficult but they were completely useless. When I sold the board I could barely release the ratchet and I wasn't even strapped in, I was just showing someone how they functioned. I'm not complaining that weren't buttery smooth, I'm complaining that I had to literally punch the shit out of the ratchet to get it to release. They were like that on the first day I used them, and all 4 times I rode them...the rear entry worked great, but that's only half the reason I bought them.


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## Sudden_Death (Mar 23, 2011)

TorpedoVegas said:


> Why would they design ratchets to be difficult? Makes no sense. One of the main reasons to buy the Cinch over the Flows is because you could use the straps in awkward situations if you had to, now it seems all the rear entry bindings coming out this year are starting to go more towards this versatility as well. I can understand them being a little more difficult but they were completely useless. When I sold the board I could barely release the ratchet and I wasn't even strapped in, I was just showing someone how they functioned. I'm not complaining that weren't buttery smooth, I'm complaining that I had to literally punch the shit out of the ratchet to get it to release. They were like that on the first day I used them, and all 4 times I rode them...the rear entry worked great, but that's only half the reason I bought them.


I can't say for certain why they did it but they did. There was rubber inside the ratchet to prevent any slipping. The ratchet is to be used as an emergency only set up. Not as an either or so buying them to use the ratchets half the time seems odd. Especially since you would have felt how tight they were while in the shop. I only had to use the straps once but I knew what I was getting into when I did.


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## hikeswithdogs (Sep 23, 2011)

TorpedoVegas said:


> Why would they design ratchets to be difficult? Makes no sense. One of the main reasons to buy the Cinch over the Flows is because you could use the straps in awkward situations if you had to, now it seems all the rear entry bindings coming out this year are starting to go more towards this versatility as well. I can understand them being a little more difficult but they were completely useless. When I sold the board I could barely release the ratchet and I wasn't even strapped in, I was just showing someone how they functioned. I'm not complaining that weren't buttery smooth, I'm complaining that I had to literally punch the shit out of the ratchet to get it to release. They were like that on the first day I used them, and all 4 times I rode them...the rear entry worked great, but that's only half the reason I bought them.


Because while your skating it's easy to step on or kick them screwing up your presets, the BRAN new flows fix this by have locking\unlocking ratchets.

With that said I've never needed to use the ratchets on my cinches but I switched back to my AutoEvers when we moved to Utah from the Midwest for hiking\steeps\pow.


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