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Bindings

Rome Katana 2021-2022 Snowboard Bindings Review

Tested and selected for our top 100 snowboard products of the year: the Rome Katana

  • Price: £340 / €380 / £380
  • Sizes: S, M/L, L/XL
  • Flex: 7-8/10
  • Entry System: Classic

Why we chose the Rome Katana Snowboard Bindings: They’re a proven all-terrain binding with the best straps in the business – and they just got a major upgrade thanks to a 20% lighter baseplate.

The Katana has been a staple of Rome’s binding range for years. It’s your classic all-mountain freestyle model for riders who wanna poke stuff out in the park and charge the backcountry when it’s on. There wasn’t much wrong with this model before – in fact we selected it in The WL 100 as recently as 2019 – but the latest incarnation has been refined to perfection.

“It’s your classic all-mountain freestyle model for riders who wanna poke stuff out in the park and charge the backcountry when it’s on”

MORE INFO:
ROME.COM

Who Is The Rome Katana For?

The overall flex suits intermediates and up on any terrain, while riders with their own defined style will appreciate the customisation options; the Katana can be configured for loose, surfy turns or more locked-in power.

Baseplate

The Katana is built on Rome’s unique AsymWrap platform, which pairs a glass-infused nylon baseplate with an aluminium heelhoop. The hoop is longer on the inside than the outside, delivering edge-to-edge control in spades while freeing up lateral movement to help you tweak out tricks and bring some soul to your turns.

The baseplate itself is lighter than ever (a full 20%, we’re told) which adds to this binder’s freestyle credentials. Rome have spared no expense on the padding, either. There’s a layer of DuraCush dampening underneath the baseplate and another in the footbed, supplying useful cushioning during heavy landings and minimising foot fatigue over a long day in the saddle.

As you’d expect from a premium design, the baseplate/heelhoop interface can be easily adjusted for a perfect fit with your boot.

“The overall flex suits intermediates and up on any terrain, while riders with their own defined style will appreciate the customisation options”

Straps and Highbacks

You’ll find AuxTech straps on quite a few bindings these days, but credit where credit’s due: Rome pioneered the technology before licensing it out to a select few brands. The Katana remains one of the purist examples of AuxTech in action, too, since it’s featured on both the heel and toe straps. A clever mesh of hinges expands evenly around your foot without stretching or distorting the material, providing grippy support with zero pressure points. Tightening them is a piece of cake thanks to a set of premium grade ratchets with a silky smooth action. Noice.

Elsewhere, the highback is a minimalist glass/nylon affair that keeps the flex dial in the mid range for versatility, with a simple tools-free forward lean adjuster that even your grandma could operate.

A major selling point with the Katana is its adjustability. The highback can be canted to compensate for your binding angles, while Rome’s Pivotmount Max system offers no fewer than 64 different positions for the ankle strap. High or low, straight over the boot or asymmetric; you can really dial in the fit according to your riding style.

“The baseplate itself is lighter than ever (a full 20%, we’re told) which adds to this binder’s freestyle credentials”

Roundup

A couple of years ago we went on record to say that the Katana was right up there as the best all-mountain binding in the world. The latest version has done nothing to change our minds. It boasts the same winning balance of response and comfort, only it’s shaved a little weight into the bargain. OK, they don’t come cheap, but you simply won’t find a better set of straps anywhere on the market. If versatile, creative snow sliding is your aim then look no further.

Trade Secrets

Matt Stillman – Marketing Manager / Team Manager, Rome

“The binding that changed the conversation about how a binding should ride, the Katana is all about customizing your ride to make any board ride better. These sleek futuristic game changers feature our priority PivotMount Max technology designed to allow riders to adjust where their ankle strap sits on their boot. New for this season they are built with DuraCush™, our newest subbase pad material for advanced impact absorption and chatter dampening. As if that wasn’t enough, they feature the ProFlex ankle strap and ProGrip toe strap, powered by AuxTech™ for industry leading grip and durability. Dang, that’s a lotta tech!”

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