Location: Breckenridge, Colorado
Snow Conditions: Mixture of hardpacked to slushy groomers.
Setup: I rode the Technine Mass Appeal bindings on the Technine Team Dennison with my Vans Veil Boots size 8.
Time to set up the binding: It was average time to set up the bindings, I actually rode these bindings a couple laps with the highbacks and then a couple laps without the highbacks to do the no-back test on them.
Fit: You take some chances with men’s bindings of the fit being a bit too large than you need for a women’s size 8 boot and this was the example of the mass appeal’s being on the larger size than I needed. The width of the binding made for gaps between my boots, the straps were too large and the toe strap tightened as much as possible but definitely overall too large for me. However I still rode them with and felt really comfortable on them even without the fit being exactly what I would have liked.
First Impression: Super comfortable and feels like I’ve got super padded bulky boxing gloves around my boots.
Appearance: For the most part the mass appeals were black but had yellow features to it with the straps, ratchets and baseplate. Overall a very simple design for technine with not much bling to attract to it.
Comfort: Technine’s have always been super comfortable with padding and the straps, there is so much material to hold you in and make you feel no pressure points on your boots.
Functionality: Nothing crazy with the mass appeal bindings. I ended up using the Mass Appeal bindings for the no-highback video experiment where you can see me turning on the Dennison board with the Mass Appeal bindings without highbacks being used. It was a very easy comfortable ride down the mountain with nothing to worry about.
Flex: The Mass Appeal’s are described to be soft but I didn’t find them as soft as I was expecting. The highback had the stiffer flex but the binding and straps offered a more softer flex to the binding overall. It’s definitely a binding you could consider for all mountain riding.
Response: The stiffer highback held some good responsive power that made it easy to engage into heelside turns. Toeside turns were just as responsive and easy to engage the edge with the bindings. They weren’t. Without the binding highback, it was less responsive but still capable of engaging into turns.
Toe Strap: Techinine’s have the baltimore cap strap so they really cover the front of the boot and offer a lot of support from the toe strap. I find them to be more on the bulky side for material but they didn’t give me any pressure points, just more bulk than I prefer.
Overall Impression: The Mass Appeal’s were an interesting binding to check out and by accident but they were super comfortable and consistent on the mountain. They offered a good all mountain feel without feeling too soft or too stiff for the slopes. As a men’s binding, I needed a smaller size but was still able to ride them and got in one mini park lap for kicks with them.
Shay’s Honesty Box: I took a couple runs to get used to the mass appeal’s and actually liked them a lot before taking off the highbacks for the no-back test which was more focusing on slowing down riding than trying the bindings. During the time I did try the bindings, super comfortable with some good response (even without the highbacks) that made for a easy consistent ride down the mountain. Not my style in sizing or aesthetics but I liked how they rode.
Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Technine Mass Appeal or shop their full line of Technine snowboard bindings
On Snow Photos
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Technine Mass Appeal Description
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Review Disclosure: I rode this binding at a demo day.