What’s a very key thing for me to focus on as a designer is the products that serve as a point of contact for the rider. In this case that’s the bar and bindings, as these are the products we’re feeling directly every time we kite. Quite obvious then, comfort should be a main focus for any binding out there. You can have the most awesome features, but if it’s not comfortable, no one will like them. The second goal was weight savings, because it adds to the overall feel when riding. It makes your entire board feel better, more responsive, and more comfortable too. So finding the perfect balance between comfort, weight, and durability was the main goal when designing this years bindings.

So how were you able to make them so light?
We looked at our SUPERBINDINGS and came to the conclusion that some of the thickness in the pad could definitely go without losing any cushioning. This saved a lot of weight, and also brings your feet closer to the board which is definitely noticable. Another thing we did was reengineering the inner mold to focus material only in the zones of heavy load. This change actually improved both weight and durability. Then we looked at the strap, making them from a material that’s very comfortable but absorbs less water, so the weight while riding stays low too. Overall we were able to bring the weight down to 338gr per binding, which as far as we’ve found makes them the lightest bindings on the market today.

What about comfort?
Comfort comes from a couple things, it’s not just softness and cusioning. Having bindings that support your feet in all areas means you can relax them and feel supported, which hugely contributes to the level of comfort. We redesigned the entire pad and straps to make sure your feet aren’t hitting any hard spots, and balanced the density of the material to have a perfect balance between comfort and control. We also added a size, so TOASTIES come in three sizes, to make sure you have the best ride possible.