Maybe its messing with something that don’t need messed with but Burton Snowboard’s 08/09 product line takes a brave move forward (or backwards depending how you look at it) with most of their high-end boards switching over to the “Infinite Channel System”.
The Binding is the one snowboard component that hasn’t really changed a whole lot in the last decade. Yes, companies have entertained some pretty naff ideas in the name of progressing the old foot clampers but basically today’s snowboard binding looks pretty similar to those on my old Burton Elite from the 80’s.
Burton’s ICS technology is essentially an old idea that was introduced by companies like Forum and Capitaa number of years ago. Instead of mounting the bindings to the board by bolting into metal inserts in the boards core, the binding is attached onto a track system which runs lengthwise under your feet. Forum touted their ‘Slider System’ design as offering a more even flex pattern which funnily enough was bashed by Burton at the time, saying it offered no noticeable difference. I cant remember the exact date, but around 2005 Burton bought Forum and with it the license to their slider system. Et voila, here it is appearing on their 09 board line albeit with a few nice upgrades from the old Slider offering.
Note: Burton did offer ICS on a couple of boards this season (X8, Stria, and Custom ICS)
ICS offers riders almost unlimited stance options over the old 3D hole pattern that Burton has been using for the last decade or so. It also gives the board a more even flex pattern with no dead spots because it uses only 2 fixing points, and saves weight due to less metal inserts. ICS boards can still be used with standard Burton bindings but the big sell is pairing them with Burton’s EST bindings.
“Extra Sensory Technology” is fancy talk for a standard Burton binding with the rigid baseplate beneath your feet replaced with a removable super-cushioned pad. The mounting bolts are positioned outside of the baseplate area (Anyone thinking circa ‘93 Preston Baseless bindings?). Where your bolt heads used to be are three little plastic windows. One lets you know your stance setback, one the angle, and one the toe/heel position. I have to admit that this is a highly cool design that allows infinite adjustment within seconds. Imagine you arrive to 6″ of fresh pow and want a little setback on your board. Easy – loosen only four bolts and slide! Then after lunch (or 10am in Whistler) when everything is tracked out it’s super quick to centre your stance again. Whether or not ICS offers any difference in board feel, I’d consider the upgrade just for this quick adjustment feature.
Another nice feature that the designers at Burton have introduced is the DialFLAD, which basically replaces your standard forward lean adjuster with a thumb-screw style gizmo allowing for endless adjustment. I’ve also heard the 09 Un..inc EST bindings will have canted footbeds which is meant to relieve some strain off the knees of those fat-stanced park rats. We’ll see, sounds like a gimmick to me!
Burton is offering ICS on the Vapor, T6, Custom, Custom X, Jussi, Un..inc, X8, Jeremy Jones, Dominant, Malolo, Supermodel and Fix in the guys line and on the Stria, Feelgood ES, Feelgood, and G-Twin for the ladies. From recent test-ride reports I’ve heard the benefits of ICS are minimal with most riders finding little noticeable difference in flex. However a lot of positive comments are being made about the EST bindings. I’ll post an update next weekend when I should be able to demo all 09 Burton kit.
Also, look out for a design review of the top ten boards for 08/09 coming soon on Übergood.
Burton is forum and the ics is a dope setup
Written by: Tyler Madill on November 17th, 2011 at 11:07