I went to App Ski Mtn this past Friday, motivated by the chance to get one last day of riding and to try out my new Broko Bindings. From the parking lot, conditions appeared dicey, and my suspicions were confirmed by the presence of puddles and running water on the slope. This was my last shot though, might as well make the most of it. Slush is fun anyways.
My Brokos were provided to me by the company, for the purposes of review and testing. Brokos are a riser plate that attach between the bindings and board, composed of two plates with a large roller bearing inside, providing free 360° rotation of the binding angle. Normally plagued by knee pain in the days following going riding, I was excited to try these.
Instantly, it’s totally unlike anything you’ve done before. Pushing to the lift line is like riding a skateboard. The back binding occasionally rotated and got in the way of my rear foot placement, but could be easily adjusted by moving my foot around slightly. The lift itself was totally free of any pain normally caused by an awkwardly hanging board, a welcome relief. I remained optimistic about the experience.
The optimism was short-lived. Getting off the lift was challenging; trying to align the board under my back foot to exit was stressful, as the rear of the board swung freely from left to right. I made it without falling tho, and hoped that once strapped in, I would experience the same kind of enlightenment that telemark skiers claim.
To put it plainly, I did not. Not at first, anyway. The Brokos did reduce pressure on my knees, with my feet rotating counterclockwise for toesides turns and clockwise for my heelsides. Coming from a background in downhill skateboarding, the feeling of being free was not a new one. However, it did not translate well into snowboarding at speed. With my feet turning away from the effective edge and sidecut, I was losing leverage on that edge, and ultimate losing “grip.” The harder I tried to turn, the more my feet turned away and the more traction I lost. This resulted in a very drifty, slidey turn as opposed to being able to set and hold an edge. Some sort of limiter or variable resistance could possibly help remedy this, possibly a urethane torsion bushing.
At slower speeds and in deeper, soft snow (or slush, in my case), the concept works. It becomes more like surfing or street skating. Their benefits here also become their downfall. They are incredibly heavy, and combined with the free rotation, result in a very dead feeling board and very little board control. Hitting any sort of terrain features, natural side hits or man made, was out of the question. They did not inspire confidence.
I actually wanted to like these, so I was pretty bummed about how dejected I was over the whole experience. I went back to the parking lot, switched my bindings to a board without the Brokos, and headed back to the lift, pleasantly surprised by how much less the setup now weighed.
Riding without them was now strange. I felt claustrophobic in the lift line, unable to just face forward. The pain was present in my knee on the lift ride. I had liveliness to my setup and felt in control, but missed the free rotation to a certain degree, especially in my back foot and especially on toeside turns. Even still, my confidence had returned, and I ended up lapping the park as well as hitting several sidehit features I had my eye on earlier in the night, something I would not have considered on the Brokos.
The Broko Bindings are a novel concept, but it needs refinement. A limiter system could prove beneficial, as well as a serious weight reduction. They add quite a bit of ride height as well, something that could benefit larger footed riders, but makes them feel even clunkier. I’m not fully certain that I’m done with them yet, I feel as though I did not give them enough of a chance, but my return to them will have to be at a later date.
Don’t let my experience sway your opinion however! There are varying accounts from a lot more people than myself. If you’re interested in trying your own bindings, order from www.broko.co and put my name, Morgan, in the order notes!