Yo! MINX! snowboarding question....

[ArkiStan]

Hey you said you were a snowboarder right? If not, forgive me. But anyways, what do you think of step-in bindings as opposed to strap-ins? I'm thinkin of buying some stepins and was wondering if they were any good.

[ArkiStan]

Anybody else snowboard? Can anybody give me any info?

[ProMinx]

if you're just the standard off the lift, down the mountain kind of guy, step-ins will do oyu just fine. If you do a lot of racing, back-country, or jumps...you might want to stick with strap-ins. I personally use Airwalk bindings and Northwave boots that are a strap-in combination, because i live fro high speeds, rugged snow chutes, and mad jumps, but not every boarder is the same. I can tell you that whenever I do use step-ins, i enjoy the hell out of the day, but that's because i don't require a firm boot. My boarding style does not depend exclusively on foot angle changes to carve like some people do. Most of my turns and stuff come from whipping (which is more taxing, but i just learned that way first) my tail end around.
I guess it is all on a case by case basis. I know that my little rant/rave here will probably do you no good, but I'm really really tired. I'm sorry stan. Just try renting some day to check out whether or not you can stand step-ins... That's how I chose.
ProMinx
ps - besides, if you race with step-ins...people laugh at you

[ArkiStan]

hey man thanks for the info. That's exactly what I wanted to know. I just heard stuff about the lack of support in step-ins and after you advice I guess it'll be ok cause I'm just an off-the-lift-and-go kind of easy rider. Have you tried putting on strap-ins while you're on the lift? It breaks my back but I hate wasting time binding in. So I think I'll go with the step-ins. Thanks again.

p.s. You mean there's actually a way of turning without wipping the tail?