“Regular Whitelines Buyers’ Guide readers might by now know I have had somewhat of a hard-on for the K2 Lien FS bindings for the last couple of years, so when I flicked through the catalogue to see this winter’s new colourways and couldn’t find them I freaked out. Like a panicked Scotsman trying to buy up the last pre-recipe change Irn Bru, I was already on the phone to my dealer trying to get hold of a stockpile before I noticed the Lineup.

Concerned that people were getting confused between the Lien FS and the Lien AT (a slightly stiffer version), K2 decided to confuse everyone this year and rename it with an anagram. Anyway, the new surf-inspired name is pretty appropriate, as this is a snowsurfer’s ideal footstrap.

“It doesn’t just flop around laterally; it properly snaps you back to the middle point”

The tripod chassis and urethane highback come together as one to let you really crank out those tweaks, but it doesn’t just flop around laterally; it properly snaps you back to the middle point. It’s the same difference between a really soft board and one that lets you load it up before it pops.

Brilliant stuff, and all without compromising edge-edge response. I’ve tried both, and if you’re into the sound of these then I’d recommend riding them without the optional base padding they come with to get more from the tripod baseplate.

The new – wait for it – Bender ankle straps (brilliant) do a good job of spreading out the pressure across your whole ankle rather than just on certain points, so that’s good too.

Basically, they renamed my favourite binding and made it more comfy – what’s not to love?”

[monetizer101 search=’k2 lineup’]