Near the begining of this years snowboarding season I bought a Burton Triumph (169) and a pair of Burton Cartel bindings (lg) to go with it. So far I’ve had about 10 days out on the new setup.

Up till now I’ve been pretty happy with the whole setup. Last weekend I was at mammoth mountain boarding the back side and just had an awesome run off hemlock ridge when the toe strap snapped. I expected burton gear to be more durable. Otherwise I’ve been pretty happy with the bindings.

Observations on the cartels so far:

• The cap straps are extremely comfortable.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular toe straps.
• The ankle strap is very comfortable
• I like being able to rotate the Hi-Back, but it doesn’t seem to make a huge difference
• Having the hi-backs lock into place saves a couple seconds when strapping in, but they seem to pop out a couple of times a day.
• The hi-backs are a little tall for my tastes… maybe I should have gone for the p1 carbons.
• The rachets work well, but the levers could be a little more comfortable.
• Already had to take them to the shop after only 10 days riding. A very bad sign…

They already cost me a couple of runs on a beautiful day… If this keeps up I may have to replace them with some technine’s like the guy in the repair shop suggested.