The sad thing about an idea is when you fall so far in love with it that you can’t see the end result not being worth the actual investment to bring it to fruition. The snowboard world is home to a plethora of these bad ideas that lurk in the underbelly of our industry. SIA is always a great area to find these bad ideas, typically these are delegated to the far back corner often near the bathrooms so the stench of feces can help accentuate the level of shittiness these products exude.

Well low and behold this year one of these crap products made its way into the mainstream. For some reason the powers that be at SIA (read $$$$ spent) decided to let one of these horribly bad ideas get into a heavily trafficked area. Oh but it gets better still as the geographical location of this company comes from that magical arm pit of the universe, yes that’s right it’s another BroCal product! I would like to be the first to welcome Manic Snowboard Bindings to you.

Yes that’s right it has a suspension system oh but lets not forget it’s made out of 100% Magnesium. Now for those of you that don’t know Magnesium is a metal you don’t really want anywhere near your feet due to the fact it’s prone to breakage. There’s a reason Aluminum is used in the bases, disks, and heel cups, it’s a stronger metal. Magnesium is not.

Now lets think about this for a second, dead spots impair the natural flex of a board, risers impair the natural flex of a board, suspension definitely impairs the natural flex as well. So what the hell does this steamy turd do? It impairs the natural flex! How in the hell is this providing optimal performance when it’s about 2 inches wider than any other binding on the market and sits about an inch higher? Can anyone explain that one to me? And what about mounting this thing up, how the hell do you do that with a super extended screw or what? This is a recipe for disaster.

Now here’s another thing to consider when you’re sitting higher up on the board with a suspension system, you’re changing the whole dynamics and geometry of riding. Sure you’ll get better leverage on edge but how in the fuck does something with 4 springs allow for an even flex when powering through turns? Yes you can adjust them to your desired setting but still you’re elevated further off the board.

Now the beauty of these guys having prime real estate next to the Skullcandy booth was that you could over hear some of the absurd claims they made. At one point one of their people (he had a thick Texas accent which does not bode well in Colorado country) exclaimed that it was like Burtons EST. How the fuck is it like EST, EST gives better board feel by putting you closer to the board. This thing doesn’t do that.

Their marketing is all about reducing chatter because evidently all these new foams, gels, and cushions the industry has introduced aren’t doing that. Sorry but technology in boards, boots, and especially BINDINGS has come such a long way that chatter is pretty minimal these days and if you actually know how to ride you can use your body to absorb what’s left over.

But the true kicker for the absurdity of this junk show is that evidently it costs them $1,500 dollars to make and retails for $3,000. Who the fuck spends that much on bindings? That’s more than a Libtech Cygnus or a Burton Method. If you’re buying this you better have a tattooed tramp stamp that says “Compensating”. Seriously three grand is like a really expensive mortgage payment, hell do you know how many hookers and blow you could get down on Colfax Avenue at SIA for that price?

Now if there’s one thing that this product proves, it’s that BroCal is truly the epicenter of shitty snowboard related products. So to the first person that can send me a photo of them riding a Bitch Board with a Strap Pad and these monstrosities while rocking the snowboard pole I’ll send you a brand new snowboard. If you can actually get video of you riding with said set up I’ll give you a complete set up. (Disclaimer snowboard may or may not be new and may or may not be unrideable but will be 100% kook free)