This is my second season on the SnowJam X-II bindings, (known to some, as AX-1) and I figured I probably know them well enough to give you guys/gals a decent review.
Probably the best feature of these is what I call the “v-plate” feature thing. This is what houses the mounting screws. It is separate from the base plate, this gives you 1 inch of play to adjust your bindings forward or backwards. This is awesome because you don’t actually have to completely take out the screws to adjust them, just loosen those suckas up, and slide the binding forward or back. No handling of screws that you might drop in the snow, no need to take your gloves/mitts off! 1 inch doesn’t sound like much, but it really makes a noticeable difference when you are riding shorter boards in powder.
The “v-plate” and bail plates adjust in 2.5 mm increments, and it’s easy to get and quick to get them adjusted to the right size. There are even numbers you can match to your boot’s sole length to make it super easy and user friendly.
The board interface is a rubber sheet thing that matches the base plate. This won’t give you as much precise edge control as the Bomber Elites (those have metal board interface) but on the plus side, it does dampen some vibrations and allows for pretty decent edge control.
I’ve heard of some people having problems with the mounting screws loosening up, personally I haven’t had this problem, but the screw holding the back bail plate get loose frequently. If this happens to you, just get some lock-tite and put a drop on the screws! Not much of a problem!
There is one thing that I really dislike and is annoying about these bindings. The front clip gets caught in the bail if it slides to much to one side, and pretty much locks it in the open position. The more you try to force it, the more is gets caught. What you have to do, is slide it back to the center be able to close it. I never had this problem with any other binding.
So to wrap it up, these binders are pretty damn decent for the price! If you don’t want to spend a lot of dough for Bomber bindings, these will sacrifice a bit of performance due in part to the rubber interface, but you’ll save 75 + dollars!
Rider – Jason Roussel – Expert Skiboarder Co-Founder Skiboardmagazine.com
