Terrain Use: Jumps, Boxes and Rails, Powder, Backcountry, Groomers, All Mountain

Pros: Adjustability, Easy in & out, Boot hold, Comfortable

Other Thoughts: Alright so going from my Cartels to these made a world of difference with the amount of foot pain I had throughout the day. A shorter highback coupled with beefier straps really makes the entire binding solid and comfortable. For feel and adjustability it gets top marks. However, the choice to use (thin) leather for a binding is still beyond me. Within a day of riding at breck the leather on my left binding toe strap had split. I also have tears in my right binding as well. I don't know if this impact it structurally (my guess is no) but it looks awful; even more so since it was after a day. Will probably look at the Forces next time.

Terrain Use: All Mountain

Good For: Cloudy and Cold, Cold and Blustery Day

Pros: Breathable, Warm

Other Thoughts: Oh man this guy is toasty warm. The 550 fill down is absolutely amazing in the cold weather. Only complaint is I wish they had more interesting colors/styles.

Pros: easy to use, and it's light

Cons: internal locking mechanism is plastic. I've had it fail simply because the board slipped and jerked on the cable.

Other Thoughts: I would look into alternatives. Friend and I decided to fashion some snowboard locks ourselves. You can customize whatever protection you want for as little as $2. Go to your local hardware store. Find the rope & chain section. I use 1/16" steel cable, but feel free to step it up to 1/8" or 3/16". The stuff I use is $0.22 a foot, so you can make it as long as you want. Mine is 5-6 feet long so I can lock my friends' boards up as well when we stop for lunch. Fashion loops at the ends of the steel rope by using aluminum ferrules (rope slides through, you swage [crimp] it shut, and the rope can no longer move). Supply whatever lock you want. My entire setup is extremely light, long, and very cheap.