How to get in and out of step-in bindings

For many of you, you'll probably start out using the step-in binding system on your rentals. These are a bit confusing to understand at first and can be a real pain. Fortunately, I've written this help guide for you to understand this system easier. **NOTE: read the tips and warnings also.

Things You'll Need

• Step-in bindings
• snowboard
• other usual stuff for snowboarding

Instructions

1. Sit on the snow facing down the mountain.

2. You'll notice on each side of the inside of the binding, there is a metal clasp thing. You want to get these metal clasps stuck in the holes along the each side of the sole of your boot.

3. Put your foot straight into the binding. If you put it in correctly, you'll hear a click, which means the clasps came up into the locked position.

4. Just to make sure you're completely in, hold the toe-edge of your board with one hand, and try pulling your boot out of the binding. If it comes out, it means you didn't get it in completely and you have to try again. If it stays put, you did good.

5. In order to get out of the binding, you have to push both of the small buttons on each side of the binding down at the same time.

6. By pushing these buttons down, you're raising back up the metal clasps on the inside of the binding. This means the clasps are pushing your boot upward a little bit.

7. As you're pushing down on the buttons, pull your boot out of the binding and be set free.

Tips & Warnings

• A lot of the time, you'll realize your boot just refuses to go into the binding no matter how much you push. This is a result of the clasps coming up into place on their own somehow, which happens a lot. In order to solve this, just push down the buttons to raise both clasps so you can put your boot in.

• As mentioned before, sometimes you'll find that your boot didn't go in completely. By this I mean one side of your boot got secured but the other side didn't. Sometimes it's just a case of pushing down on the side that didn't lock so it does lock. Sometimes, however, the clasp on the side that didn't get secured will have still locked in place without your boot. Just push the button to release it again.

• Once you become better at snowboarding in general, you may be able to do this standing up, in which case it may be much easier rather than pushing your leg in at a horizontal angle. You'll have your entire weight pushing down to secure the clasps. Only do this if you can "strap-in" while standing up.

• Be aware if the clasps are covered in snow. It won't close as securely if the clasps are covered with snow.

• The problem with step-ins is that they use a system which when gets frozen is a pain in the neck.

• By the end of the day, your thumbs might just be dead from having pushed down on the buttons so much.

• Because this system gets frozen so easily by cold weather, the buttons will be much stiffer which will also lead to thumb soreness by the end of the day, guarunteed. Don't let that detract from your overall fun, though.