Why We Chose The Nidecker Supermatic: If you like the idea of speed entry but want to keep your favourite boots, the Nidecker Supermatic should be top of your (very short!) list.

*Note – Nidecker changed some release dates so the Dune Orange colourway shown in the video review below is an early peak at a mid-season release. That’ll be out on 15 January 2025.

In case you missed it, there’s a revolution underway in the world of bindings. Having dabbled with various dubious step-in systems in the 1990s, manufacturers appeared to have settled on the classic two-strap as the best solution – and were happy to simply refine it each year. Then along came Burton in 2017 with the Step On. It works great, with a few caveats: you need to buy compatible boots; being connected at the side does feel slightly different; and the whole set-up is expensive.

“The Supermatic looks and feels much like the two-straps we’ve all grown up riding”

The arrival of Nidecker’s Supermatic shook things up big time. It’s major selling points are that it’s automatic (i.e. you can click right in off the lift); it’s universal (i.e. you can use whatever boots you want); and it’s dual-entry (i.e. you still have the option to use it like a regular binding).

This last point’s pretty huge. The Supermatic looks – and feels – much like the two-straps we’ve all grown up riding. So while people might argue about whether Step On works well in pow, or on steep icy runs (fans will assure you it’s just a question of getting used to them) in the case of the Supermatic, you can always revert to good ol’ ratchets should you want to. Plus, unlike Clew (who are the only other competitor besides Burton) you don’t have to walk around with half a binder attached to your feet. Instead, you step in through the reclining highback and press down on a heel pedal to flip it back up. As the many viral clips on insta will testify – it looks like frickin’ sorcery.

Who Are The Nidecker Supermatic For?

On the face of it, the Supemratic’s core market is weekend warriors and older shredders with creaking knees who can’t be arsed to bend down to mess with their buckles. But parents who want to keep up with their kids, or riders who regularly shred with skiers, will also appreciate how quick you can get going off the lift. And to be honest, the actual performance is good enough for almost anyone – we’ve seen videos of pros like Taylor Gold and Mat Crepel ripping on these things.

Baseplate

The Supermatic® baseplate is what sets it apart from a standard binding. It’s a chunkier design to accommodate a special heel pedal that operates on a hinge. As you step into the binding and push down on the pedal, it flips the highback up automatically and instantly locks in place. To get out, there’s a lever on the inside which you press down, then pull up with your foot. The whole mechanism is pretty robust – and at this point, it’s been thoroughly battle tested – but along with that thicker baseplate it does add a few grams vs a regular two-strap. While that might put off would-be Olympians, most riders won’t actually notice the difference when they’re turning – if anything, it feels more powerful and responsive, at the expense of the more relaxed flex you’ll get with a pure freestyle model.

Releasing the binding feels different to a normal binding, mainly because you move your hands to the inside rather than the outside of your boot, but as with any speed entry system you do get used to it. Aside from this, the baseplate is made from the industry-standard mix of fibreglass and nylon (aka plastic) with rockered corners to help the board flex, and a full-length footpad for cushioning.

“Riders who regularly shred with skiers, will appreciate how quick you can get going off the lift”

The footbeds on the Pro version are canted, meaning that they sit higher on the outside of each foot and lower on the inside. As well as making life easier for your knee and ankle joints – especially if you prefer a wider stance – they also take some of the effort out of ollies.

Straps and Highbacks

The ‘Ultraback’ found on the standard Supermatic® is another glass-infused nylon affair. That makes it sound stiff, but with the sizable hole towards the top we actually found it to be mid-soft and park-friendly. Its asymmetric shape is designed for a natural fit with your boots.

The toe and ankle strap are connected via an unusual ‘hybrid’ layout. It doesn’t actually feel any different, it just helps to keep the rig in place when you’re stepping in and out. Both straps are made from familiar AuxTech material, a tough and lightweight webbing that expands evenly over your boot. AuxTech is found in a lot of bindings these days and provides great foothold and overall comfort – plus it doesn’t freeze up like squishy padded straps.

“We’ve had a lot of experience with the system at this point, and strap set-up is key to getting the most out of it”

The ‘LSR’ buckles can be locked in place and the press of a button, which lets you fix the same strap tightness every time you step in and out. The only downside to this is that it requires a little more fiddling if you’re adjusting things on the fly – a point Nidecker have addressed with their fancy auto-locking buckles on the new Carbon Supermatic (which don’t require a button press). Hopefully we’ll see that tech trickle down to the regular Supermatic soon.

Roundup

Will all snowboard bindings be speed entry one day? Maybe not, but the explosive growth of Burton’s Step On and Nidecker’s Supermatic proves that more and more of us have had enough of fumbling around with straps. Comfy feet are the starting point of a good day on the mountain, and the beauty of Supermatic is that you can choose from any boot on the market. Plus, they look (relatively) normal and you don’t have to tuck your pants into a cleat.

We’ve had a lot of experience with the system at this point, and strap set-up is key to getting the most out of it. If you like to run your straps bone-crushingly tight then you might want to stick to regular entry. For everyone else, Nidecker provide some great set-up videos that will help you dial everything in – there’s a QR code in the box.

Pros:

• Rapid entry system gets you riding in under a second
• Works with any boot on the market
• Familiar two-strap feeling (with option to strap in normally)

Cons:

• Baseplate is slightly heavier

“It takes a little bit of time to set everything up so it’s tailored to your boot but once you have you can just use the switch on the ratchet and it’s locked in for the day and super easy to get in and out. I used them for some coaching and it was great to have that speed when I had a bunch of kids running around all over the place!

Once you’re in, you really can’t tell. I just didn’t even think about them being step-in’s when I was riding. They felt like a high-performance binding that didn’t feel unstable on my feet, had a bit of forward lean and the high backs felt good. I didn’t really feel there was a big trade off on performance. One thing I would say is they did feel a little heavier, so if you’re super sensitive to that it is worth noting. They do have a new carbon version that has been released this season.

The hybrid system is useful too. The first time I was on something steeper I just couldn’t think how you get into step-in’s but you can just use these like normal strap bindings when you need to, it was really nice to realise that and use the straps when it made sense.”