OBrien 08 Closed Toe WBM(Pic)

Check it out, what do you think?

Looks good, and nice to see some companies are keeping their bindings under $300.

ronald mcdonald called

said he wants his shoes back....

I hate close toe they look fugly

But ill be rocken these shortly lol.

Conflict of interest

I am pretty sure the colors have been changed for Josh's bindings.

i am totaly into it. i love the fact they are size like shoes instead of the old, sm, m, l, xl, xxl. O'brie is really stepping it up this year.

OMG someone with a brain finally designed a binding!! Not sure why all the manufacturers thought M,L and XL were great sizes for so long, but its REALLY nice to see this from o'brien.

Between last the 07 boards and the 08 bindings, I'll have to take a hard look at o'b before i drop the cheese.

You guys stepped into one of these yet?

I'm very excited about O'Brien's entire 08 line of goods.

Hasn't Ronix been doing bindings in shoe sizes?

lf has since day one of the CT shanes...

I am really like all the stuff OB has been doing for the past few years, but those are fugly.

Lots of current CT are shoe sized. Nothing new there.

The sizing isn't whats new...

Unlike most CT bindings out there these are built using shoe/boot construction techniques. Meaning they didn't just slap a CT wrap on top of their existing footbed/baseplate design.

I believe OBrien and Slingshot are the only ones doing it this way.

Just my opinion but those are the ugliest closed toes I've seen so far

Looks like some broken ankles, torn knees, and dislocated hips to me...

^^ lol, what makes you say that?

Closed toe looks goofy to me no matter what. Still, I think that LF makes the most rediculous looking CT around. I think it's cool that O'Brien went at it from a sneaker perspective and will probably give these a try.

T-Bag, I'm also curious why you think that. What makes these different than other bindings?

As they stated, they are using shoe/boot technology to design their CT bindings. It looks like just that, boot, it has a flat lower area over your arch and then goes staight up the ankle area. It looks as though it would lock your feet in and not be prown to releasing, ie broken body parts.

They look sweet to me, look similar to my 32 snowboard boots, id like to see what the Watkins CT are gonna be like. Ill be trying both of them on the 08 natuarl.

Sorry J. I ain't likin' 'em. Even in another color, yuck.

Come on Dave...You know it's function over form!! And trust me, when these are done they are going to be sick.

Stay tuned.......

Maybe if they where white so they matched the boat, board, trunks, vest and new truck.

Sorry but I had to laugh when I read "Ronald McDonald called and he wants his shoes back". That's funny!

Actually Dave, last I have seen they are going to be white, they will be Josh Sanders boots(Vice), and a black set(Natural) for Daniel Watkins.

the liner looks weak and cheap. i agree with the blown ankles... is toe hold down not important these days??? everyone is trying to make wake boarding boots like snow boots...... but do companies forget there is no toecap or toe strap?

but kids they have the off axis rotation system so the must be good right.????

Man I cannot believe that so many people a saying they look fugly. They are dope looking. And in Bling white they will be popping! I have seen the all black Watkins boot it is awesome!

Adam, I dont get what you mean about no toecap or toestrap on snowboard bindings, 50% of the bindings on the market no have toecaps on them, like the Technines or the Burton Misson bindings or Cartel, just to name a couple. Turns out toecaps on snowboard bindings made bindings way better and way more comfortable. Also, I can assure you the liners are rock solid.

Just so everyone knows... That's not the binding for 08 that's an old design and that ad was not supoce to be ran in the mag. The boot that will actually be on the 08 line look waaaay different and way better... And josh's aren't red, they are white and black and daniels are all black.

Adam,

You need toe straps in snowboard bindings because the boot isn't attached to the binding!! Here the boot is the binding, so no need for the straps.

I thought this was kinda obvious, but I guess not

How you can tell anything about the liner from the picture, I don't know, but like has been stated many times before, this is not a production binding and things have and will change!

"it has a flat lower area over your arch and then goes staight up the ankle area"

uh.. isn't that how shoes, feet and bindings work? I would be concerned if they did not go straight up to the ankle area.

toe hold down! is a freaking closed toe! WTF did you guys eat yesterday? it's making you crazy!

OK, here is the latest update of the Natural boot, remember it's still a work in progress, but I think they are moving in the right direction.

fo sho.

Now those are sweet. I would wear them to class

Those Naturals are 110x better looking than the vice. I would buy the naturals definetly not the vice.

What is up with toe hold down crap. Everypair of binding I have ever owned held my feet tight to the bindings, that includes some cheap starter bindings.

The Vice bindings are going to be sick, trust me. I will try and get a hold of a pic of the latest update of the Vice so you can see for yourself!

those are sweet..good thing they gave ronald mcdonald his shoes back

hmm..might have to give em a try

Damn, when you are done riding, you can go hiking in those boots.

The vice will be the same boot as the natural exept white and black

Ps. Those are not the final boots either.

Let's see the vice! The black ones look better, but it's still all about the fit/feel.

Couple of questions for ya (sorry if this has all ready been covered). Is O'Brien planning on having removable liners like slingshot, or permanent liners? What's the weight gonna be on these bad boys?

Thanks

Lantz,

They are removable, and they are very light!

Looks sweet, but why don't they put the similar lace-lock system on these as on the Xenon's?

Obrien Shox?! Lawsuit from Nike approaching! Those are funky.

The naturals are sick, the red ones look terrible. terrible. I'm not really supporter of LF but I do believe they don't just close the toe. these look like a knock off version of LF's. there is strong material over them, The murrays are like that but I love My Murray's.

(Message edited by hawk7 on October 04, 2007)

j jakober i get it man. i have been snowboarding and wakeboarding for a long time. in my shop...i sell closed toe boots...i sell open toe boots. i have ridden both...... i was saying closed toe boots do not hold down toes as well as a traditional open toe boot. my point is 90 % of "new product" out there is for looks and marketing purposes.

you are obviously connected to obrien in some way shape or form. keep on pushing your amazing new wave ground breaking product. thanks for the dis.... i love that •••••

Adam,

It's all about marketing and looks, they need to change things up every year or what are you going to sell in your shop, last years stuff?!?

I still don't get how having nothing over your toes(open toe binding) can have more hold down then having something over your toes(closed toe binding)? Trust me, I really don't see any control advantage gained by having a closed toe binding. I think the overall fit might be better in a binding built like a shoe or boot, whether it is open toe or closed toe. Being from the northwest, the only really big advantage I see, is warm feet on cold days!

Maybe you didn't notice, but I wasn't the only one to dis you. Sorry

what ever. i live in northern canada. quit being a pussy.

WOW now my feelings R really hurt

I'd be concerned about heel/toe lift with such a small baseplate. I rode Ronix boots this summer and that was the one thing that bothered me about them - the baseplate was too small and there was too much lift when edging. Funny how the closed-toe design is toted as way more responsive than its open-counterpart, yet the baseplates on these boots are so flimsy that all that extra responsiveness is lost in heel/toe lift. I'm surprised no big name companies (considering Slingshot to not be a big name company) have moved to a 4-hole plate configuration - seems like a double attachment point on both sides of the boot would result in a much more locked down binding, resulting in improved responsiveness.

As long as they are lighter than the LF Shanes, I'll be sporting em.
p/s, bindings dont make a rider...