There’s been some time spent on previous blogs talking about the “new-fangled” convenience bindings. Whether they’re the future of snowboard bindings remains to be seen, but traditional-style bindings are still as popular as they’ve ever been. That being said, we bring to you the latest traditional binding from Ride.

Coming to a snowboard shop near you (Snowboardfusion.com, uh um!), you will find the new Ride TokiDoki bindings. Ride has partnered with Japanese lifestyle-brand TokiDoki to offer a uniquely stylish snowboard binding that provides all of the performance you’d expect out of a traditional two-strap binding but with a style that’s all their own. The TokiDoki has a typical ratchet system with toe and heel straps; however, the toe strap is a composed of a rubber material in a webbed format that attaches to your foot in a spider web fashion. Additionally, the TokiDoki has rubber grips on the base of the binding that further enhance the binding’s ability to restrict movement.

I had the opportunity to test these bindings at two separate testing events and was amazed at how comfortable and secure I felt on the TokiDoki. There was no movement whatsoever while strapped in and cruising down the mountain. As someone who hates ratcheting their foot into a binding (the reason I own a pair of Flow bindings), I found the ratchet system of the TokiDoki to be extremely easy to use and to get in-and-out of. For the rider who is looking for a traditional two-strap binding with a touch of flare and style, I highly recommend the TokiDoki. It may just be my next new binding as the TokiDoki is a sure-fire hit!

– Brandi (SBFB Contributor)

We’ve come across a lot of information regarding the K2 Auto Bindings and their unique convenience capabilities, and many of you know about the convenience of K2 Cinch Bindings and Flow style bindings that allow you to get in-and-out of your bindings with ease. Well, beginning in the 2008-09 snowboarding season, you can add another to the list of convenience bindings with the new Ride Contra Band. The design of the Contra Band is unlike any other binding on the market and is catching the eye of snowboarders all over the place.

The design of the binding consists of one ratchet strap and a “thong-like” toe piece all connected together. The idea here is that pressure in the appropriate spot of the boot will keep the rider’s foot firmly in place without sacrificing any performance. The end result is a binding that performs like its traditional two-strap predecessors, but without all of the time and hassle.

Several of our riders tested snowboards at our recent testing event with the Contra Band and provided some great feedback. We received plenty of comments revolving around the convenient one-strap fastening system. While others commented on the Contra Band’s ability to offer performance with its unique design. We will tell you that we also received some minor grumblings about the toe-piece, particularly with larger boot riders. The problem is that the toe-strap does not have an adjustment setting and can sometimes be stubborn at conforming around the toe of the boot. Keep in mind however that there is still time for Ride to retool the binding based on feedback from demo riders such as our SnowboardFusion team. Even with the minor toe-strap issues, all signs point to the Contra Band Binding being a major player in the binding market.

Forgive us if you’re an experienced snowboarder and you already know what Magne-Traction technology is, but we want to provide information to all rider levels here, thus the reasoning behind this posting. If you’ve never heard of Magne-Traction (MTX), that’s not necessarily a big surprise. MTX is a relatively new design technology to the snowboarding industry, developed exclusively by manufacturers at Mervin Manufacturing (a.k.a GNU/Lib-Tech).

In a nutshell, MTX takes the traditional sidecut and edge design of a snowboard and scraps it for a unique “wavy” edge design. The benefit that this provides to riders is an increased number of contact points on either side of the board, enhancing edge-grip and overall edge control in bumpy or icy conditions. See the diagram to the right for an illustration of this technology to better understand what we’re talking about.

Or you can check out the video below from Fuel.tv with Lib-Tech Pro Rider Travis Rice for the lowdown on MTX. Also, be sure to check back in the future for postings about the latest technology from Lib-Tech, Skate Banana-Traction.

Every year some of the best snowboarding companies in the industry gather at various destinations in the United States to hold events where riders are given the opportunity to test products, both new and retooled, for the following season. We here at SnowboardFusion have had the fortunate privilege of attending these events over the years, this year being no exception. However, only this year did we have the opportunity to bring the event back to you. We brought along our camcorder and several of our snowboarding enthusiasts to test as many of the new products as humanly possible in 3 days.

In the coming weeks and months we will be working diligently to edit all of our footage and provide you with insights into the new snowboards that we will be featuring next season. Included in this will be snowboard reviews by our individual riders that will guide you in the right direction for purchasing a snowboard. Whether you’re looking for information on the new GNU Rider’s Choice MTX, K2 Zero, LibTech Skate Banana, or K2 World Wide Weapon Rocker, we will have reviews for you.

Also, for you female shredders out there, we have reviews of women’s specific snowboards too. So we urge you to keep checking back for the launch of our On-Snow Snowboard Reviews from this year’s testing event, headed your way in the coming months.

Each year snowboard bindings seem to get better and better and this year was no exception with the introduction of K2’s Auto Binding. Strapping in for a nice long ride down the mountain is great, but can sometimes be a struggle when you have to mess around in below-freezing temperatures with two straps per binding. You could invest your money into step-in style bindings, but if you do, you may sacrifice some performance features that come with traditional style snowboard bindings. Instead why not check out the new binding design from K2? This new design allows you to preset the sizing on the bottom strap of your binding and while you are ratcheting the top strap of your binding in, you can simultaneously tighten the bottom. This reduces strap-in time, resulting in lower frustration levels and more runs! We can try to explain it you, but we recommend you check out the video below that provides visual demonstration of this great new binding! We’re sorry but it does not contain any sound.

Don’t worry, the title of this blog is not a math problem that you need to solve. In lieu of our blog about Quiksilver’s new ecologically conscious snowboard gear, we felt it appropriate to pass along some news about K2’s newest snowboard, The Zero. Like Quiksilver, K2 has a firm understanding that for customers to use their boards, they need snow. Unfortunately global warming is causing warmer temperatures which doesn’t bode well for that. K2’s solution is the development of the eco-friendly Zero snowboard. The Zero snowboard is built with a wood core made from bamboo that is comprised of about one-third of the materials used in K2’s other snowboards.

The K2 development team broke down their snowboards piece-by-piece to fully analyze what they could remove or alter without compromising the quality or performance of the board. The result was a board with an ecologically friendly construction, reduced resins, and many other eco-conscious qualities.

Additionally, K2 has altered the packaging for all of their snowboards, continuing their efforts to become greener. K2 officials have stated that being environmentally friendly is one of the organization’s highest priorities. The Zero is a start of a new line of boards for the K2 company, and it is likely to be the future for all K2 products.

You don’t need us to tell you that snowboarding is heavily reliant on snow and cold weather. So we don’t blame you for thinking, ” Yeah…duh! Try telling me something I don’t know!” Well the real reason we bring it up is to hopefully inform you of something that you don’t know. Something that will hopefully help to keep cold weather cold enough for snowboarding for centuries and centuries to come.

In an effort to battle against the threats of global warming that are affecting the world-over, Quiksilver will be introducing a new “Eco-Friendly” line of snowboarding gear beginning in 2008-2009. The new line of snowboarding gear has been designed creatively with well-known Champion boarder Travis Rice. The new line of Eco-Friendly snowboard wear contains many environmentally friendly technologies that offer the same quality product without damaging the Earth.

We won’t go into great detail about the new line, but here are some of the eco-friendly highlights of the new line from Quiksilver:

• Biodegradable TPU Laminate
• Nanosphere Finish
• Organic Cotton
• Hemp
• Non-Toxic Dyes
• Recycled PET

We invite you to you learn more about the new line from Quiksilver by reading through this article from the Environmental News Network. We think you’ll enjoy it, and hopefully it opens your eyes to a new wave of snowboard gear designed to help keep snowboarding alive.

As described in a previous blog, X Games 12 kicked off this week from Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado, marking the 7th consecutive year the event has been held at this location. The event is scheduled to be held there for 2 additional years, so this got us wondering…where should X Games 15 be held? We don’t have any grudges against Aspen, or the state of Colorado, but a quick glance at the previous and forthcoming locations of the Winter X Games (see left) shows some favoritism for the state of Colorado. Now obviously not all areas of the U.S. have the climate to support the Winter X Games, but a lot of them do (and there are definitely a lot of other places that are easier & cheaper to get to if you want to attend the games).

So we ask (and urge) you to voice your opinions and ideas about where the location for X Games 15 should be in 2011. While we may not be able to directly influence the location of XG15, we can certainly create a buzz. With any luck over the next year, someone may hear our cries and get the Winter X Games on a tour type system beginning in 2011. Some of us may also get lucky enough to have the games nearby, which means…ROAD TRIP!

Also, we invite you to check out this video of Steve Fisher and the Guerilla Cam at XG12 polling some people to see if they know who he is. Did you know he beat Shaun White in last year’s Snowboard Superpipe? Finally, be sure to check out the hat on the first guy in this video…all we have to say is quack! Mr. Fisher seems to have also tracked down Superman. Who knew he was in Aspen?

The time has come again for the annual Winter X Games. It’s hard to believe that this will be year 12 of the annual winter sport extravaganza, but whether you want to believe it or not, the action kicks off tomorrow, January 24. This year’s Winter games will be held for the 7th consecutive year in Aspen/Snowmass in Colorado at Buttermilk Mountain. This year’s X Games mark the 7th of 9 consecutive years that the event will be held in Aspen/Snowmass.

The events bring together some of the greatest skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobile gurus on the face of the planet, ready and willing to provide the Greatest Show on Snow! Snowboarders such as Travis Rice, Danny Kass, Shaun White, Marc Frank Montoya, Torah Bright, Lindsey Jacobellis, Andy Finch, Gretchen Bleiler, and Peter Olenick, are scheduled to compete along with a laundry list of other star boarders.

The action kicks off January 24 and continues through January 27 with numerous events being televised live across the ESPN family of networks. Don’t miss a second of the live televised action by checking out the event schedule at EXPN.com. Also, for those of you are fortunate enough to own a high-definition television, be sure to check out all of the action in HD.

If you can find time to pull yourself away from shredding the mountain, check out the events and post your comments. There are certain to be many memorable moments at this year’s games and we would love to hear from you on what you think…especially your comments on the newest X Games snowboard event, Snowboard Big Air. Also, if you are attending the games we invite you to share your experiences here as well. There’s nothing better than hearing about the games from someone who was actually there to see them first-hand.