Ignition II bindings
After a few splitboard outings last year bemoaning the incredible weight of my splitboard setup (Prior Khyber 166) I decided to give the Spark Ignition II Bindings a try.
First Thoughts
My initial impressions were mixed (and still are to some extent) although mainly positive.
Good Stuff
- The bindings are incredibly light and they seem very well designed. When setup my Khyber 166 is much lighter than Ruth’s Prior Backcountry 154
- The tolerances with the Voile system were very tight and the bindings slide on and off the pucks very easily.
- I like the pin system better than the Voile system, the pins are thicker and it seems like there is less chance of them unhooking
- The binding straps are pretty comfy
Not so Good Stuff
- The binding highback is very soft, you can pretty much bend it in half with your hands.
- Very expensive, especially once shipping/taxes etc are taken into account
- The binding is too wide for small feet although I hear narrower versions may be coming
First Trip
Whistler Backcountry (kinda)
It’s really noticeable how much lighter my board feels when carrying it, it feels more like a heavy snowboard (think 5-6 years ago) than a splitboard. Riding the board on the trails it feels stiffer and more like riding a snowboard, I couldn’t feel the inner edges at all. It felt like I could have been riding a non-split Khyber. Interestingly I couldn’t really feel the fact the highbacks are so soft. I’m looking forward to trying it out on something steeper to see if this makes a difference
Switching the board into touring mode was quick and painless (if you ignore the effort taken to pull the skins apart), I might try moving the pins to the other side of my bindings, they are currently on the strap side and the pins get caught in the toe strap. The “skis” feel much lighter on my feet even over the relatively short distance we travelled (up Pika’s Traverse to Harmony ridge in Whistler).
Switching back to board mode was equally painless. I’m hoping to get out for a longer trip as soon as the snow starts falling again!
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Those look really neat. How much would your splitboard and those bindings run you? I’m thinking about getting into more backcountry stuff since I’m taking my AST-1 Avalanche course
Cool, I saw on your blog you’d done the Avy course!
A new Prior split board with skins etc runs to about $1000-1200 depending on the board. You can usually haggle them down a bit. We bought two boards and paid around $900 for each. The Spark bindings are superb but you’re talking $500ish by the time you’ve paid shipping/customs duty from the US. Another way of thinking about it is that’s about the price of a Whistler Season pass…
We’re still taking our first steps (4 of us who met on an Avy course last year) into the backcountry but it’s great out there! We had some amzing powder days last year.
It’s well worth checking ebay for splitboards though since a fair number of people seem to buy them, use them once and then sell them. I’ve seen Voile boards for around $500…
Holy crap, that’s so so expensive.
But I’m gonna try and get some equipment maybe next year
What do you think of splitboard vs. snowboard+snowshoes combo?
It is expensive but you might not think so once you’ve tried snowshoeing
A friend of mine (mountaineer) claims snowshoes are the devils invention.
I’d say this…
Snowshoe Pros
1. A good pair is relatively cheap $200 (get a good pair, the MSR ones with the heel lifts are very good)
2. They are pretty quick and easy to swap over
3. They are light enough on your pack when you’re boarding
Snowshoe Cons
1. The board on your pack gets very heavy quickly
2. It’s even worse when it’s windy
3. They are far less efficient than splitboarding
4. People get really annoyed when you walk in their skin tracks
Snowshoeing itself isn’t so bad but carrying the board is exhausting and it makes for sore neck and shoulders
Allegedly “Escape Route” in Whistler will be renting out splitboards this year (they also rent snow shoes) so you can try both and see what you think.
It is expensive but you might not think so once you’ve tried snowshoeing (assuming you haven’t)
A friend of mine (a mountaineer) claims snowshoes are the “devils invention”. I’d say this…
Snowshoe Pros
1. A good pair (get a good pair with heel lifts, the MSR ones seem popular) are relatively cheap ($200)
2. It’s quick and easy to switch over from walking to boarding, splitboards take a little practice
Snowshoe Cons
1. Carrying the board on your pack gets very tiring, very quickly and tends to make my neck and shoulders ache. It’s twice as bad when it’s windy
2. The spikes can tear your pack if you’re not careful
3. It’s way less efficient than splitboarding
4. People get (very) cross when you walk in their skin tracks
On balance snowshoeing is ok, carrying the board sucks.
I hear “Escape Route” in Whistler will be renting out splitboards this year (they also rent snowshoes) so you can try both and see what you think.
Sounds amazing! Thanks for the tips.
I went up for my Avy training this past weekend and was snowshoeing with a board. You’re right, it was pretty slow and HEAVY with the board on my back. I was sooo jealous of the guy with the splitboard.
Check out my video of the weekend if you get a chance
<3