This type of binding is very popular in snowboarding, yet still it is considered to be lacking. Strap-in binding is an old concept and was being used before boots were made specifically for snowboards.
Without snowboard boots riders use to bind there feet to the snowboard by any means necessary in order to gain stability and the balance needed to manoeuvre the boards. In the days previous to snowboard boots, riders tend to wear snow shoes called sorrels, but they were not effective for snowboarding, and making turns as they did not provide the proper support needed to do so.
The first set of strap bindings were called highbacks, there were patented and made commercial by Jeff Grell, it then became the technology behind binding equipment made by manufacturers during that time. Compared to the regular shoes and simple bindings that riders were used to, the highback was great as it provided more stability and gave the riders more control over their snowboards. It however soon caused strains on the feet of the riders as the strap would squeeze their feet. Some snowboarders started to apply plastic “tongues” such as those from a shoe, to their feet to shield the strain from the straps.
Snowboard equipment brand name companies such as Burton noticed the riders dilemmas and the solution that they had came up with, what the companies did was to start offering the tongues themselves. As the sport got more popular, companies started making boots specifically for snowboarding which would help to shield the riders’ feet from the pressure of the highback binding straps. The snowboard boots are made with soles that are thick yet flexible and is padded at the top.
In the binding process the foot is fastened to the snowboard with two buckle straps, one is strapped across the top of the toes, and the other is strapped across the ankle area. The straps can be drawn tightly to give the rider better control over the board, however doing this can cause pain and damage to bones in the feet. An additional disadvantage to strap-in binds is that it can be untimely as each strap has to be manually adjusted to fit each rider. The Cap strap which is a newer version of strap binding also has its issues, while it provides a tight fit to the toe area, which aids in snowboarding stability and control; it also constricts the feet of the rider from the toe to the heel, thus causing the rider to need a boot with a rigid sole.
The boots with rigid soles will help to reduce the pain when snowboarding with a cap strap binding, and will also cause a reduction in the possible diminished performance that the tight cap straps would have caused. The cap straps have different models made by several snowboard equipment manufacturing companies, such as Burton, K2, Rossignol among others.
