The idea is that energy transfer is a lot more effective as you turn, with unpleasant foot fatigue reduced at the same time. The results have won over freeriders (Jeremy Jones, Manuel Diaz) and freestylers (Frank Bouregois, Austen Sweeten) alike, so if you’ve never tried it then perhaps this winter is the time to fix that.

“If you’re serious about snowboarding then the NOW Conda is the only binding that you need this winter”

Helen Schettini rides the NOW Conda when exploring the BC backcountry, where the asymmetrical hinged highback provides the necessary support without being too rigid. The ‘baseless’ nature of the chassis means that her YES Hel Yes snowboard can flex more freely too.

This year you can buy separate mounts for different boards, and use the kingpin system to quickly and easily swap your bindings between boards. It’s a completely tool-free process, and one that will save loads of time and effort when you need to change up for a pow day.

For this reason, and several others, if you’re serious about snowboarding then the NOW Conda is the only binding that you need this winter.

Most of us thought there was never going to be any new technology through bindings anymore. As long as they held your boot in, they were good enough.

Well, not anymore. JF [Pelchat, NOW founder] has created possibly the best new innovation to snowboarding in the last decade. These bindings are genius!

The hardest thing about them is explaining why they are better than any other binding out there. But trust me, once you ride a pair, you’ll never go back.