Reviews by User: Speede541 (2)

I've been happily using K2 Cinch bindings for a few years now, and just recently made the move to the '08 CTS. I see many comments about weight, so I weighed mine and compared them to some traditional bindings that I own. 2008 Cinch CTS: 45 ounces each. 2005 Cinch 05X: 50 oz. 2007 Burton Cartel: 35 oz. 2002 Burton Mission Black: 35 oz. 2006 Salomon Malamute boot: 48 oz. So 10 ounces difference is about a 12% weight difference when the boot is factored in. Big whoop! The convenience is worth it. The biggest improvements on the '08 models is the redesigned closing lever, which has a new way of retaining the cable so it can't accidentally work loose (that seemed to happen once per day on the older models). They've removed the extraneous padding along the side plates that came unglued on my '05s, and reduced the amount of padding along the back plate. Setup is pretty easy with two different mounting plates to center the binding on the board, and qucik lean & tension adjustment using just a screwdriver and 4mm allen wrench. The Cinch took some experimenting to learn the best way to get into it without sliding down the hill, but now i just dig my back edge into the downhill side of the snow and shove my foot in. The lever can be difficult to pull up, but if it is, I simply lean forward into the hill (Take a knee!) and reach back to flip it closed. But the new '08 latch / strap design is easier to grab and close compared to previous years. All in all it's about 5-6 seconds to shove my foot in this binding, flip it closed, and I'm sliding! Great stuff!

I've been happily using K2 Cinch bindings for a few years now, and just recently made the move to the '08 CTS. I see many comments about weight, so I weighed mine and compared them to some traditional bindings that I own. 2008 Cinch CTS: 45 ounces each. 2005 Cinch 05X: 50 oz. 2007 Burton Cartel: 35 oz. 2002 Burton Mission Black: 35 oz. 2006 Salomon Malamute boot: 48 oz. So 10 ounces difference is about a 12% weight difference when the boot is factored in. Big whoop! The convenience is worth it. The biggest improvements on the '08 models is the redesigned closing lever, which has a new way of retaining the cable so it can't accidentally work loose (that seemed to happen once per day on the older models). They've removed the extraneous padding along the side plates that came unglued on my '05s, and reduced the amount of padding along the back plate. Setup is pretty easy with two different mounting plates to center the binding on the board, and qucik lean & tension adjustment using just a screwdriver and 4mm allen wrench. The Cinch took some experimenting to learn the best way to get into it without sliding down the hill, but now i just dig my back edge into the downhill side of the snow and shove my foot in. The lever can be difficult to pull up, but if it is, I simply lean forward into the hill (Take a knee!) and reach back to flip it closed. But the new '08 latch / strap design is easier to grab and close compared to previous years. All in all it's about 5-6 seconds to shove my foot in this binding, flip it closed, and I'm sliding! Great stuff!

If you've been to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, you know how wet and windy it can get at times. After the '07 fiasco, I researched wind shelters and the Paha Que Screen Room came out on top, short of some ultra-pricey mountaineering domes. ***It's packed in a large nylon carry bag, with a separate heavy duty bag for the large-diameter aluminum poles. This second bag has a small exterior pocket for stakes. Total weight is about 23 pounds. Assembly was a breeze for two people. I watched the video on the website, and armed with this knowledge we had it up in just minutes, without referring to the instructions. ***This year at Sea Otter, winds were intense, but the 10' x 10' Screen Room mostly met the challenge. It stood for four days, on the top of an unprotected ridge. The worst day my buddiy's pocket doohickie measured sustained winds to 20 MPH with gusts to who know what. It was likely even worse than indicated. It was mayhem at the campsites and down in the venue -- sleeping tents and exhibitor shelters blowing all over. We had our Screen Room fully guyed down on three sides, with three 5-gallon water-filled buckets as additional ballast. The shelter danced a bit, but it remained standing and did an excellent job of sheltering us and our picnic table so we could sit around, cook & eat in relative comfort. ***It comes with yellow plastic stakes, which worked surprisingly well, but I opted for metal blade-style (military surplus) stakes for the corner guy-lines, due to the loamy soil conditions. This shelter has two guy-lines per corner, plus two additional per side (all with good quality cord included), plus four (I think) webbing loops per side to tack the base down to the earth. ***Take-down, even in windy conditions, was almost as quick and easy as set-up. Almost? Yeah: There were probably two dozen stakes that needed to be pulled up after the shelter was down. The buckets of water came in handy loosening up the dirt, easing stake removal. Pulling stakes took longer than collapsing the Screen Room and stuffing it (and poles) back into the generously-proportioned stuff-sack. ***Problems? A couple worth mentioning: ->>Paha Que tied some piss-poor knots on the guy lines where they connect to plastic clips, which in turn clip to the shelter. Do yourself a favor and learn to tie a bowline knot, and retie all of theirs. One of "theirs" slipped loose on the windward side of the shelter (on a mid-section guy-line), forcing the other to take up all the strain. It couldn't handle it, and the webbing loop ripped from the fabric. It'll be a minor fix for the local tent repair shop -- no structural damage to the shelter, and it continued to withstand the pounding. ->>Secondly, the micromesh bug screen is fairly delicate, and as the wind beat the side of the shelter against our enclosed table, it tore a pretty decent gash along the mesh fabric. Unfortunately, a 10-foot table inside a 10-foot shelter doesn't leave a lot of room to spare. I can't fault Paha Que for that tear... just be careful with it. ->>Lastly, Paha Que sees fit to include reflective cord for the mid-section guys, but invisible-at-night black for the main corner guys. How about reflective all around? The outer cord is the stuff we kept tripping over. ***It didn't rain this year, and I didn't pick up the rain fly. The Screen Room is nicely domed on top, but the fabric isn't any thicker than it need be, so I expect it will hold up well to light rain but probably drip under a heavy downpour. ***All-in-all, a worthwhile purchase that should last a while. My wife was 100% opposed to it, deeming it an unnecessary expense, until she arrived at camp. She immediately saw the value in this large, sturdy, quality environmental barrier :D