josh – Switch bindings were a controversy back in the mid 90’s. they were one of the 1st, if not THE first company to do step ins, and I believe that’s all they had was step ins. The major flaw for switch was that most of the boots that they had to use were “switch only” style. meaning the ankle strap was built onto the boot, much like Burton’s flat plate step-in, but with a lot less support. The high back on the “high end” model left much to be desired, thus a lot of people began hating them. They were also notorious for snow clogs (like Burtons not but no one seems to complain about that one) and they broke easy. Switch did manage to make a jem called the N-Style which was pure simplicity. The downfall on that binding was you had to now find a boot that came with a high-back built into the boot, along with the ankle straps. Va
josh – Switch bindings were a controversy back in the mid 90’s. they were one of the 1st, if not THE first company to do step ins, and I believe that’s all they had was step ins. The major flaw for switch was that most of the boots that they had to use were “switch only” style. meaning the ankle strap was built onto the boot, much like Burton’s flat plate step-in, but with a lot less support. The high back on the “high end” model left much to be desired, thus a lot of people began hating them. They were also notorious for snow clogs (like Burtons not but no one seems to complain about that one) and they broke easy. Switch did manage to make a jem called the N-Style which was pure simplicity. The downfall on that binding was you had to now find a boot that came with a high-back built into the boot, along with the ankle straps. Van’s made them for a while, but I’m not entirely sure if anyone does now. The advantage of the N-style vs any other style of step in was the 2 piece click connect, and lock down lever. And the stainless steel points on both the bindings and the boots made it all but impossible to pop the binding, a problem that’s plagued step ins forever. But alas, it also made walking in the boots a major disaster. You can loosen the binding strap that’s built onto the boot, but then it feels like your feet are going to come out. Without a proper binding you’re also carrying your board with your hands on the edges, which ironically are duller than the toe and heel clip on the N-style, those clips that hold the boot down resemble razorblades. So carrying your board by the bindings, which is something that most of us do, is completely out. There are still die hard Switch fans out there. I met one last time i rode 🙂 Its a pure love or hate relationship with that company, but its also just barely kept them afloat. Their binding designs haven’t changed much in the 15 years I’ve known about them, so it could be said that they’re just barely hanging in there to see what happens. I’m not a die hard fan, but if I could get my hands on a set of new Van’s with the N-style set up, I’d trade my Ride Lx’s in a heartbeat. And I think I’ve stressed enough on how much I like my Ride bindings. 😉 Here is a board with the switch n-style bindings mounted to it
and here is a pic of the bindings alone, and I think these are the 07 models:
and here is a Van’s boot made for the switch bindings. Notice the ankle strap:
