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  • Bomber Fin-tecs & Step-ins

    I've been meaning to do a review of my step-in setup for some time now, and I finally got around to uploading some pictures. I got the step-in parts and the heels last season. I've used them on the Condors, KTP's, and '96 Lines. Personally, I really like this setup. I get the convenience of an easy-in, easy-out system similar to release bindings combined with the lightness of a nonrelease. I like a really stiff binding, and this is about as rigid a setup as you can get. There is a noticeable difference in edge control compared to your standard nonrelease bindings, especially on wider boards like the Condors. This is where the solidity of the setup really shines. There is, however, a limit to how useful the stiffness can be, and at that limit it becomes a detriment.

    Having an aluminum heel with steel pins engaging an all-metal binding obviously allows for very little give, hence the stiff ride. For cranking over really wide boards, this is very helpful, but it also means there is no shock absorption in the system. There are two main problems with this. First, you must have your boots VERY tight, otherwise they will actually kick around your feet and result in a sloppy ride. Second, all the stress from riding on choppy terrain gets transmitted to the boards and your legs. This leads to early leg fatigue and also damaged boards. At ShredFest 3 I was riding this setup on the Condors, and the inserts in one board actually started to pull up a bit from the stress. At this point, I realized that the benefits of a super stiff binding only reach so far, and I needed to dial things back a bit. Slow had shown me his binding setup where he uses three rubber pads from the RVL8 Receptors to act as the riser for his Bomber Elites in lieu of the aluminum block and elastomer bumpers. He mentioned how nice the ride was with this setup, so I decided to give it a shot. Since the step-ins have a significantly higher stack height than regular Elites or Elite 2's, I only used two pads for my bindings. The result was a vastly improved ride with the rubber riser allowing just the right amount of give to absorb to smooth out vibrations.

    So, now I have a nonrelease binding system that gives me great lateral control while riding and also has the benefit of easy-in, easy-out engagement. There are a couple cons to the setup, but they are negligible in my opinion. The first is that the step-in heels get packed with snow very easily, and this means that you have to take a couple minutes to clean them off before locking into the bindings. Since you generally only do this a couple times in a day of riding, it's now too big of a deal. The second is that this setup allows for nowhere to attach leashes to the bindings. The fit of the toe bail around the boot is so tight, there is no room to clip anything, and there is nowhere on the heel receiver either. Again, this really isn't a major issue since these have probably the lowest chance of releasing of any binding that I've seen. There would have to be a catastrophic failure of the system for the binding to release, and at that point you probably wouldn't be able to snap back in anyway.

    In Summary:

    The Good:
    - Ease of use in and out
    - Excellent lateral control
    - You'll really confuse any alpine snowboarders you run into

    The Bad:
    - Snow packing into the heels can be a pain
    - Nowhere to attach leashes

    These are heels as they are straight out of the box. Notice that the handles are not attached to the cables. You must route the cables up through your boots and then attach the handles.


    Removing the old heels is a relatively simple procedure, although I did get hung up on a couple screws that had been corroded and didn't want to come out. As I mentioned above, the cable must be routed up trough the boot, and here you can see the hole already provided. I did enlarge the hole a bit, so feeding the cable would be easier.


    And here is an installed heel. The fit and finish is excellent, as I've come to expect from Bomber.


    Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to take more pictures of the bindings or of the boots in the bindings. This is the only one I have. Please note that this does not show the rubber riser setup. This was taken before ShredFest, so this is the original hard mount onto my '96 Lines.
    Last edited by Greco; 11-22-2013, 12:19 PM.
    RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

    Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

  • #2
    Thanks for sharing the pictures. You have a very nice set up.

    A few questions:

    Is that a rear bale you use on the front of the binding? Did the front bale block come with the countersink for the disk washers (or is that a compression spring) to hold the bale up?
    sigpic


    Osprey, Sherpa, Custom Coda 120WT, Custom DS110, Condor (Green), Spliff

    Custom Twist Out duck foot bindings, Bombers (custom duck foot base plate and 3 pads), releasable S810ti on custom duck foot riser

    Nordica N3 NXT ski boots (best so far)


    Wife: 104 SII & 100 Blunt XL with S810ti bindings on custom "adjustable duck foot" risers

    Loaners: 125LE, 105 EMP, 101 KTP, 100 Blunt XL, 98 Slapdash, 88 Blunts

    Comment


    • #3
      Great set up Tim,, !!! I like Slow's idea of the pads under the Bomber to give more suspension . For those who are not familiar with the Fin Tec set up .. it does require a Hardboot Snowboard boot to work .. and will not work with regular downhill ski boots

      "Fin-Tec heels are based from the current industry standard for all snowboard hardboots. These heel assemblies will fit in most currently available hardboots with step-in compatibility. This includes:

      - All Deeluxe/most Raichle boots
      - Head boots"

      Folks have talked about using Fin Tec heels for regular ski boots but it doesn't seem wise ...
      http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulleti...ad.php?t=34977
      Boards :
      Blunt Xl, DLP, Spliff, Condor, Rockered Condor , Slingshot, Sherpa, Icelantic Shaman
      Boots
      K2 BFC 100 Grip walk sole , Dynafit CR Radical AT boot, Ride Insano Snowboard boots
      Bindings:
      Zero Pro Non release Binding
      Modified Receptor Backcountry Bindings (Bill Version and Slow Version)
      Spruce Riser with Attack 14 GW /AT binding
      Custom Risers with Fritschi Backcountry Bindings (Jeff Singer version 1, Bill version)
      Rocker and Sbol Soft Boot Bindings.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by slow View Post
        Thanks for sharing the pictures. You have a very nice set up.

        A few questions:

        Is that a rear bale you use on the front of the binding? Did the front bale block come with the countersink for the disk washers (or is that a compression spring) to hold the bale up?
        No, that bail is specifically designed for use on the front of the boot. A regular heel bail will not fit properly, I tried. Yes, the sole blocks came with the counterbores for the retention springs.

        Thanks for the clarification, Jack. I didn't even think to mention that.

        Here are some more pictures that I took in the cabin this morning:

        This shows the current rubber riser system. I decided not to trim the pads back the way Slow did. I'm lazy that way.


        Here is a side shot showing the stack height compared to a pair of regular Elites.


        Something else that I realized I should mention is the fact that with the step-ins you have a very distinct feeling of steering from the rear of your boots. This really threw me off at first last year, but I've adapted to it.
        RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

        Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

        Comment


        • #5
          Super job on your set-up, Tim, thanks for the posting and the pictures. I think riders would be surprised to find just how rigidly they connect boot and binding to skiboard and what a difference it makes. Maybe more folks who ride hardshell snowboard boots will be tempted to give it a try.

          I notice the way the cable's configured on the fin-tec's, fishing it through the boot looks like the only option. Can you feel the cable in the boot, or does the liner buffer it enough to not be noticeable?

          Did you buy the binding set up that way from Bomber, or buy the toe and heel pieces separately and retrofit them to one of your Bomber skiboard bindings?

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks, Bill. I was inspired by the SnoPro setup you made a couple years ago.

            The 225's do have a groove on the inside of the boot to run the cable through, but it doesn't stay very well. I ended up taping the cables into place, and that took a bit of trial and error. Even with that groove, you can still feel the cable if it happens to be next to your ankle. I ended up placing it so that it sits between by ankle bone and my Achilles. In this position, I feel no discomfort whatsoever.

            The hardware was a lucky find. There was a member on the forums last year selling the complete bindings. He had purchased them without realizing that they were step-ins. I offered to simply swap sole blocks with him, and that's what we did. I sent him a set of regular sole blocks with bales, and he sent me the step-in parts. I would actually like to upgrade to the new steel heel receiver, but this will do for now. I obviously don't engage and disengage the heels nearly as often as am alpine snowboarder would, so I shouldn't wear the aluminum receivers too quickly.
            RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

            Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

            Comment


            • #7
              In case anyone's curious, here's a variation on the Bomber/Intec/Fintec nonrelease step-in setup that Tim's using, but based on the Snowpro nonrelease step-in system. The main difference is, with the Snowpro set-up, the male pin is on the bindings and receptacle is on the boot heel. The Bomber system is reversed with the male pin on the fintec heel. The beautifully machined fin-tec heel-piece, in my opinion, makes the bomber system the no-brainer way to go. Plus, the parts are way easier to come by from Bomber, I don't even know if the Snowpro parts are available anymore. Here's the snowpro binding:



              This shows the boot engagement:

              Comment


              • #8
                Would these work?

                http://www.catek.com/F2-plate-bindings.htm
                33 down, 12 to go!

                Comment


                • #9
                  This looks sweet. I like the ease of the release binding and the control you get with non release. This looks like the perfect hybrid between the two. Can you use this set up with receptor bindings?
                  2009 Revolt "Condor" w Orange Receptor
                  2010 Condor w Spruce Sport

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by cuffball View Post
                    Can you use this set up with receptor bindings?
                    The short answer is no. The Receptors are super-quality bindings but the v-notch boot length adjustment doesn't lend itself to retrofitting any maker's step-in toe and heel pieces (at least that I know of).

                    Zach: The Catek binding you linked to would take a lot of modification (a replacement baseplate) to work with skiboards.

                    The beauty of Tim's set-up is that all the parts are available from Bomber to make it work. I don't know if Bomber would sell a stand alone step-in skiboard binding or not, but anyone could take a bomber skiboard binding and buy conversion parts from bomber.

                    The other thing about Bomber that's ultracool is their Fin-tec replacement heel. Catek and all the alpine hardboot vendors sell replacement boot heels for the "intek" step in system, but the Bomber version is all metal. That, and anyone who appreciates fine workmanship can't help but admire Bomber's quality.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      As Bill pointed out, the ease of this setup is unique to Bomber bindings. The parts for the Trench Digger 3 snowboard bindings should bolt right onto Elite 2's, so that is an easy, albeit expensive option. You'd need to order the heel receivers, toe blocks, and toe bails from Bomber, along with the Fin-tec heels. The banjo nuts and the through bolt should swap over directly. On the positive side, you could probably sell the spares off of the Elite 2's on the Bomber Online classifieds.

                      Also, as Bill pointed out, the Catek step-ins will not work without a custom baseplate. The only aside I'll add to this is that they may work on KTP's or Condors. I have a pair of original Bomber Trench Digger snowboard bindings that have a similar round baseplate. I sized them up on my Condors, and I believe they did fit. Keep in mind that the Condors have a 13cm waist. If memory serves me, Jack actually directly mounted softboot snowboard bindings on one of his pairs of Condors as an experiment.
                      RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

                      Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Update:

                        Here is one of my Fin-tec heels after about one year of use.

                        You can see why Bomber offers replacement heel pads. One downside that I've noticed is that the screw clearance holes are easy to pack with dirt and debris. This is especially true if you go to mountains with gravel/dirt parking lots.

                        Also, look for an update with my v2.0 setup. I ordered parts from Bomber and converted a pair of Elite 2's to step-in.
                        RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

                        Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by CrazyBoy-1 View Post
                          Also, look for an update with my v2.0 setup. I ordered parts from Bomber and converted a pair of Elite 2's to step-in.
                          Tim, you need cat-tracks (or something) for those nasty parking lots. ;-) Anxious to see your set up with the Elite 2's, be sure to post pics!

                          Dagnabbit, I wish you could have made it to shredfest this year :-(

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Yeah, I'm disappointed that things didn't work out for me. I'm hoping that next year will be better. On the good side, I'm heading to Mt Bohemia tomorrow, so I do have some consolation. I expect to post the v2.0 tonight.
                            RVL8 Condors - The Flex will be with me, always...until I break them

                            Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming... "WOW! WHAT A RIDE!!"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by CrazyBoy-1 View Post
                              Yeah, I'm disappointed that things didn't work out for me. I'm hoping that next year will be better. On the good side, I'm heading to Mt Bohemia tomorrow, so I do have some consolation. I expect to post the v2.0 tonight.

                              how's bomber elite 2 bindings with step in?
                              are they non release?
                              how are they holding up? any pics of new set up?
                              very interested!
                              2011 Receptor Gold on 2010 KTP and DLP

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