Ride Contrabands - intial thoughts and feedback

Just got a set of these and thought I’d post up some feedback for everyone on here.

I was pretty skeptical about the whole single strap thing upon buying these but after riding them I can definitely say that they are pretty good and the single strap does work surprisingly well with plenty of support and pressure on the front of the boot.

The only negative points for me were with the design of my boots I had to take a little bit of time and hold the strap to get it over the centre of the toe box on my boot which negated the whole idea of quicker strap in time. But once it was in the centre it rode just as well as any conventional twin strap binding.

The other thing was the new ‘wedgie’ footbed on the bindings, initially it felt great as there was a little less stress on my joints in my ankles and knees but as the day went on I started to get a bit of pain in the front of my foot which was very similar to riding without proper footbeds in my boots which was a bit of a bummer as it feels like the camber in the foot bed has negated the extra arch support and is flattening out my feet again and putting a bit moe pressure on the balls of my feet. The thing is I’ve got relatively flat feet so I need all the extra support I can get to ensure that I get good circulation in my feet so this is probably something that not everyone would experience.

Hope this is of some help to others out there in the market for new bindings.

For further note I was riding on a yes typo 156 and my boots are 09/10 burton hails which seem to have a slightly larger and squarer toe box compared to the older ones I had (08 I think).

Cheers,
Mike

Strap is fairly rigid as soon as there is some tension in it and it’s adjustable all three ways, front side and where it connects to the main strap so you can get it really firm across the toe box without digging in at one specific point.

As for replacement straps, you can’t put a traditional one as it’s designed purely for the single strap but no doubt most ride dealers would be able to hook you up with a replacement. Obviously would have to be ordered in if out of stock but thats the same as anything really.

i was chatting with a dude in the park about his contrabands and he said they sucked because that strap kept breaking. Just one guy’s opinion though

Thanks for the review. I was set on the Contrabands, got me a pair and then found out my toebox was too big for the straps. Exact problem you had, I had to always hold the strap centred in order to get a good fit, so in the end it took as much time as regular bindings.

The straps on some 09 models were prone to breaking at a certain point (especially the Nitranes), but their new straps have improved and they will replace for free.

I’ve got last seasons set and haven’t had a problem with them, love them to death.

Tried some other bindings at the demo day afew weeks ago and nothing comes close to them.

The toe strap doesn’t really do anything, mainly cosmetic, I was considering taking it off just for a different look, and to see if it indeed doesn’t alter the response or comfort in any way.

Can’t wait to get me a set of Optimas, those things look very interesting indeed!

I just got a pair myself last week, been boarding all week with them and they seem to be working fine!

Alot more heavy then my other c02s but still a keeper!

Will let you know f anything goes wrong

im surprised i don’t see more of these around, i too assumed the foot hold must suffer but most people i’ve talked too that ise them don’t report any issues like that. not a big fan of ride but its nice to see some outside of the box thinking.

A mate of mine has got some and has some dc boots. With dc boots they can be a bit of a punish to adjust but you eventually get there. For the amount of time you spend messing around to set it up I would just go with the standard strap setup. Works a treat every time.