I’m around 110 lb/44.5 kg with gear and I’m trying to figure out which Spark binding makes the most sense for me: Arc ST, Arc ST Pro, Surge ST or Surge ST Pro.

I have Union Trilogy bindings on my resort setup on a stiff board. I love how responsive and connected the Trilogys feel. They’re supportive without feeling brutally rigid, and I wouldn’t describe their ride as surfy. My split setup is a Never Summer Lady West with Karakoram bindings, but I’ve never loved the ride feel. They feel noticeably less responsive than my resort setup, which is why I want to switch to Sparks.

Initially I ruled out the Arcs because Spark describes them as medium-flex and surfy, but I’m wondering whether the Arc might still feel sufficiently responsive for someone my size. On the other hand, I’m concerned that the Surge ST Pro’s carbon reinforced highback could feel unnecessarily stiff or harsh at my weight. I’m also open to either version of the Arc if it would provide enough support and response for a lighter rider.

For lighter riders who have tried these bindings, what would you recommend? Does the Arc feel responsive enough at a lower body weight, or would the regular Surge be a better match for the responsive but not uncomfortably stiff feel of my Union Trilogys? Is there any reason I should pay more for either Pro model aside from saving weight on the uphill?

I am looking for a board forr nice suffy feel. I have 11.5 foot and weight 76 kilograms 183cm.
Atm i have a 161w frontier but I want something like jones hovercraft do it all powder oriented board.

Is there any similar boards like hovercraft 160?
The 156 would be better but it seems to be too narrow for my feet.

Got these bindings new from shop, cheap. I noticed the pin comes out quite a bit on the toeside, will this be problem? more angle or moving towards heel won't help as you can see from the pictures.

I can still return these and get spark arcs but they will be a lot more expensive

Hi everyone, I have a couple of days off to spend before the new year and wanted to possibly get my avalanche training done. I’m based in Ontario so would need to travel to get it done, so I’m looking to head somewhere in December. Where would be the best place? I’d like somewhere relatively accessible with a bus or shuttle because I am under 25 and wouldn’t want to spend a crazy amount for renting a car. Any kind of input is welcome!

Thanks

Hello,

I bought a hard boot set with Plum Sok bindings and Pekye low tech inserts for climbing. Issue is, soft boot heel risers don’t end at the heel, see picture. With the inserts’ position on the board, it is impossible to place them properly. Plum have some heel risers that seem dedicated to hard boots.

TLDR : Are dedicated hard boot heel risers required/usually bought as part of a setup? Do people just do without heel risers or with the misplaced soft boot risers?

I am mainly sceptical that I didn’t find discussions about that aspect, here or elsewhere on internet.

Thank you!

Paid $640. Receipt and everything for warranty. I’m in Colorado

Hey Fellow splitters! For the people here that have tried the Nitro Vertical bindings, we all know how frustrating it is to flip the tilt adjuster on the highback either due to taking your gloves off or it freezing stuck!

Used 1/16” wire rope (aircraft cable), matching crimps and mastic gorilla tape (id suggest rubber electrical insulation tape instead). Made the grab loop large enough for your glove thumb/pole to fit and be able to tuck in the heelcup to reduce flopping around making noise and potential snags.

No drilling, cutting or actual modifications to the binding, so this can easily be cut off. Interested to see how this works and holds up in the Canadian Rockies this season. Figure this 15min $25CAD job before retrofitting spark R&D highbacks.

Happy touring days! (Looking for people to tour with in the bow valley/lake louise/icefield Pkwy/Rogers pass. Novice in the BC, experienced resort rider. Send me a PM :)

I’m working on a design for DIY ascent plates (along the lines of Auftriib Saucer/Crampow) specific for the Union Charger bindings. Something lighter/more packable than Verts for hiking in powder in combination with a split. If anyone has a set of Union Charger split or quiver disks with rotational play they aren’t using and willing to donate, I would appreciate it before buying a new set just to modify them. Goal is to have multiple methods to mount the bindings (rotate/fliplock vs touring bracket and fliplock) to also allow the use of Union’s crampon attachment based on individual use case.

Ultimately planning to share the build with the sub (with instructions) when it’s complete. Thanks!

I bought these on sale at Evo with the intention of building a hardboot setup. Life has changed and it won't happen this year. Idk why I bought two pairs, it was a bad winter.

Trying to recoup what I've got into them. Technically women's but mondo doesn't care.

Asking 175 net to me, OBO. I'm in Idaho. Will ship ConUS at your expense. Maybe ship to Canada but everything is a cluster right now so I'd have to look into that.

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for advice on splitboard boots and would love to hear from people who have tried some of these models.

For my first two years of splitboarding, I used regular softboots, old Vans I'd been snowboarding in for years. I loved the feel on the way down, but touring was pretty inefficient. I struggled with limited ankle flex while skinning and especially with side-hilling.

I then switched to stock Atomic Backland Pros, which I've been using for the past two seasons. They were a huge improvement on the uphill, but I never really got the same enjoyment out of the downhill. I miss the feel and freedom of riding in softboots.

I'm now looking to switch back to softboots, ideally something that offers a meaningful improvement on the uphill compared with regular snowboard boots, without feeling too restrictive on the descent.

My current board is a Jones Solution, and I haven't chosen bindings yet. I'm not planning on doing serious mountaineering or riding steep, technical couloirs. I do occasionally end up bootpacking without crampons, so decent support and grip are still important, but I don't think I need an extremely stiff boot for the type of terrain I ride. I'd rather have a boot with a more natural, forgiving flex and a great downhill feel than one that's built primarily for maximum support and precision in extreme terrain.

The boots I've come across that are designed for splitboarding:

-Nitro Incline TLS

-K2 Waive

-Salomon Trek

-ThirtyTwo Jones MTB Lite

I recently tried the Vans Infuse and ThirtyTwo Jones MTB Lite in-store, and I was pleasantly surprised by the MTB Lite's walk mode. However, I'm unsure how much of a real difference these specialized boots make in actual touring conditions, and whether the stiffer models sacrifice too much downhill feel in exchange for uphill performance.

For those who have experience with these specific splitboard boots, which would you recommend for a noticeable improvement in uphill efficiency while retaining a natural, enjoyable softboot feel on the descent, especially for someone who doesn't need an ultra-stiff boot for extreme terrain?

I'm looking for the sweet spot between the touring efficiency I loved with the Backland Pros and the downhill feel I missed with hardboots.

Thanks a lot!

EDIT: I'm also aware that the binding itself can limit range of motion on the uphill, regardless of how much articulation the boot offers. So I'm interested in the overall boot-and-binding setup, rather than just the boots themselves.

Wonder if anyone recently bought from phantom, what’s the duty/tariff situation like shipping to Canada. thx.

Before I get all the "should have got ___ binding instead" comments yeah I know. I got them 60% off brand new so that's why I have them lol.

Anyone have a mod or solution to lock the heel down in split mode? My use case is for launching and landing a paraglider in split mode. I am not trying to do anything fancy like speedriding just enjoy a nice tour up and fly down when snow is not the best. I could possibly just use a ski strap around the binding and board but it seems like the ski strap might slow the skis down or lose some edge control.

(picture of Xavier de Le Rue to get your attention)

I really like the idea of Karakoram’s Flex-Lock System. However, I am on a Spark Arc ST Binding.

I thought the best way to retrofit the Flex-Lock System onto my Spark Bindung would be to swap my Spark Rip N Flip Highback for a Karakoram Highback and then install the Flex-Lock System to that Highback. However, I’ve got mixed feedback if a Karakoram Highback (eg the Recon) fits on a Spark Binding. Some say yes, others say the heel cup might not match…
Has anyone done such a swap successfully in the past? Or any other idea to retrofit the Flex-Lock on a Spark Binding?

Since this subreddit is basically just turning into hard boot questions, I have another one to add for you guys. I switched from my Key Equipment Disruptives to Atomic Backlands last season and overall I'm very happy with my new setup. I think that they are vastly superior to the Key Equipments but the one thing I miss about the Keys is they had a really thick liner that absorbed a lot of the chatter.

With the Atomic Backlands the liner is very flimsy, you feel everything, and also on really cold days your feet are freezing. Has anyone found a good replacement liner to the stock one that the Atomic comes with? I picked up some Intuition liners on Marketplace but they don't fit in the boot. I'm guessing it needs to be a very specific type of liner to fit in the Backlands.

Let me know if you guys have any suggestions. Overall I love the setup, just trying to fine-tune everything to make it perfect

Which boots have the best feeling on the downhill? Pros and cons?

Hello all
I spent a couple of years splitboarding frequently but had to pause due to children and family. Next year we will gain access to a site with good conditions.
I am asking whether my very old K2 from 2012 with a Voile setup will remain reliable and suitable for use. What do I need to check? I’ll have all screws retightened with loctite. Skin glue is probably wasted. What else? Do binding straps turn brittle? Worth getting it back to shape or getting a completely new setup?

I just moved from Idaho to Taos a year ago, and I’m looking to find some touring partners, maybe assemble a small crew.

I have some great friends to ride the resort with here, but none have any avy training or gear. I don’t know the area well yet so i don’t even know where to go at this point. I’m looking around onx and will be out on my bike scouting some spots this month.

Riding partners’ ability doesn’t matter nearly as much as commitment to good backcountry decisions.

If you’re in northern NM or southern CO, have done at least Avy 1, and wanna get out there, hit me up.
(Photos added just for the hell if it.)

So here I am on the verge of buying my first split setup. I had a call with the premier splitboard seller in Europe (propably?) and he recommended a Voile Skyline 162 for I am a bigger Guy (6'3 225lbs and 30MP boots) along with their Lightspeed bindings

Now I am not looking for the easiest climbing option since I am at a weight disadvantage anyway. I would rather have a board that's fun in most conditions (icy isn't fun anyway).

Does anyone here have this board and can tell me about it? Advice and input is appreciated.

Lifetime snowboarder who transitioned to skiing 3 years ago. Skiing has been great for super long days, technical descents, crampon compatibility, and pretty much anything people say about hard boots. However, I’ve also had days with great snow that were really just not that fun on skis. So I picked up a split.

Just picked up a 162w Jones solution and I’ve made the decision to stick to soft boots for the fun factor. I can use my ski setup for gnarlier days or side hilling and my split setup for simpler days or more straightforward mountaineering. I’m also going with Spark Surge ST bindings (are the pros worth the extra cash?) for their simplicity, weight savings, and massive cost savings after having a few buddies point me away from the karakorams.

I now need to match the setup with a boot that fits narrow feet and heels well. I am a size 13 street shoe, 28.5 mondo, and 11.5/12 usually in snowboard boots. I deal with terrible heel lift with some boots. What have you found that performs well for all around touring but has good capabilities for simpler mountaineering approaches?

Some boots I’ve been looking at are the 32 Jones TM2, Salomon Trek S/Lab, Nitro vertical, and the Burton Tourist for narrow lasts. I thought the TM2 had the advantage of accepting a semi auto crampon but wasn’t sure of the fit from reviews. I would love to try these on in person but unfortunately there are so many options and all of them aren’t really carried in store in my sizes or even in general since they’re so niche. What are your favorite boots for Split mountaineering with a narrower last and fit overall?

Pic: Top of Acotango in Bolivia (6,052m)