I am yet to kite in the snow, but was sent this and thought it had some great properties to help get in and out of your bindings with kite in hand.
Great concept, kite or no kite, and an Aussie company to boot.
link: www.indiegogo.com/strewthsnowboard
Come to think of it how do you normally do it? Strap in fully to your board then launch the kite? or Launch then one handed strap into your board?
From working in the snowboard industry for the last 15 years, I can say that anyone who claimed they will revolutionize the sport with some amazing new product have seen their product disappear from the market not long after the release. It was the same with K2/Shimano who came with the idea of clicker bindings. Offered poor performance and you couldn't clip in with any snow packed down your click-in system. Also people got injured from the boot releasing...so they took it off the market.
With any sort of binding you will inevitably have some accumulation of snow/ice under your boot and at the baseplate of your binding, which means you will have to either spend some time removing it or adjusting the binding to a wider fit. The time/effort spent removing the snow or adjusting your binding to a wider fit because of the snow/ice inside negates the purpose of a step-in system all together.
Once you attach to your bindings for a snow kiting session you usually don't get out of them until the end of the session anyways.
I'm also worried about the boot coming off with their system under severe vibrations and chunks of snow hitting the binding at high speeds.
When you snow kite it's easy to step in your bindings before you launch the kite especially when using a foil kite and launching it in the power zone, just step in the board, connect to the bar and hop backwards on your board.
With a inflatable kite you can easily drift/slide launch after you stepped in the bindings on an inclined slope i.e. ride downhill and pull the kite around. Harder to do on flat terrain, usually just put your board after you launch keeping the kite at 3' or 9' o'clock or while keeping the kite at 12 (harder).
Burton made a set of hybrid click in/strapped bindings intended for riders who spend a lot of time in the park, but I think the best one handed system that would work for snowkiting is the flow binding, where the high back drops backwards and you put your foot in a setup not unlike a Cab Custom footstrap. You then tension up a catch on the back of the highback to bring it in to your heel.
Done a little bit of snowkiting myself and "cbulota" talks a lot of sense
have tried cinch bindings, Flow bindings and regular ratchets
while the K2 cinch's do work there just not right and even once you clip in you usually need some adjustment on the ratchets - which defeats the pupose of them - compare these to strewth bindings and they seem to be almost identical in there mechanism - to many moving parts and would likely require a couple of clicks on each ratchet after stepping in or like the cinches they just would not clip shut when set up at the correct tension
in my humble opinion flows are the only "easy" binding to get into with a kite in the air - they also have a very simple system with very thick cable to resist stretching . . . . . but be very cautious most flows clips or mini ratchets on the front of the bindings are very difficult to release should you want to get out from the front. . . .
for a beginner (on the snow) this situation will arise more than you think . . .
if you are unable to drop the kite for whatever reason or if you have a foil kite and have landed/parked the kite in front of you (but still attached) there is still some pull you can't always release yourself from the bindings while standing up so you take a seat and find that neither the K2 Cinches or the flows will let you out the back while in this position -
so to get to my point if your new on the snowkiting scene stick to regular ratchets a little trickier to get into but better board feedback and far safer in a dodgey situation
Guys did you look at the link?
i reckon this is a step up from the flow and ride bindings and with the quick release an easier system.
plus it claims that the high back is higher in the open position and therefore easier to get in and out of on steep slopes or as you suggested on your bum after dropping the kite.
i agree that this product is going to suit the weekend warrior resort person that gets in 10 days riding if their lucky within the season. but thats probably the majority of the market isnt it? (esp. in australia and NZ).
i still think this is a great concept/design that is a few steps up (increased adjustability and more efficient lock in) from the current step in sytems offered. Proof wil be in the pudding.
i do both BC and resort within australia and definetly think the binding is suited more for resort riding, but maybe i will love them and be sticking them to my splitboard halfway through the season.?
so where do you guys snowkite? i am in the nsw snowfields all season long and would love to try out a kite on the snow, i have come close to buying a foil kite the last two seasons but end up spending too much on upgrading the rest of my snow kit. too many damm toys...
I've always been curious about those split boards
do they perform edge to edge like a normal board or can you feel movement ?
I've had three or four trips to Austria with kites - not so great was there primarily for snowboarding kiting friendly wind was rare and locations were sparse
a couple of trips to the Hardangervidda plateau (Norway) this place is kiting porn has everything sooooo much flat land and plenty of terrain as well - but the resorts are not so tall - very very short runs
and one trip to the Co Du Lauteret very little flatland but insane terrain - and i may be biased by the heavy snowfall on that trip but the snowboarding was epic
I've not heard much about the Aussie Snowkiting Spots but im defiantly up for it
any locations you can recommend (heard great things about the Farm in N.Z.)
I have always taken foils myself but plenty of my mates have taken LEI's and have had no probs but there's always been a few of us about
Where did you base yourself in France Airjunkie?
I'm headed to the French alps for a few days this April, was thinking of hiring a car in Turin and then basing myself around the Serre Chevalier, Col de L, Le chazalet, La Grave area. Only got 4 days which is a recipe for getting skunked/snotted but you've got to be in it to win it eh?
Meanwhile, here is a map with all the best NSW snowkiting spots:
maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=207430822816324808184.000441bee2ba4ef95d505&msa=0
The best spots are in the backcountry, there is a bit in Victoria too.
