“My days riding sideways were well established on a skateboard long before I took to the mountains and the white stuff. Even today, that still really influences how I like to ride on a snowboard – I’m always looking for fun little sidehits, jibs, and just to feel a bit more free and less “locked-in” on the snowboard.

“I could really feel what the board was doing underneath me and felt way more in tune with its flex.”

While the Highlander’s feel absolutely solid and connected through the straps and that wide, contouring high-back, it’s the ShadowFit baseplate that really does it for me. The amount you can tweak and shift your weight between the nose and tail is super impressive, and yet you never feel like you’re leaving the binding behind as you do so.

Personally, I can’t vouch for their freeride performance, as I didn’t have a chance to get onto anything super steep or technical. In terms of comfort and response, I’ve no doubt they’d handle bigger lines and sketchy conditions just fine. The absence of any forward lean perhaps suggests that they’re not made for the die-hard mountain goats, but I’m also guessing implementing that to the highbacks would come at the expense of the Kevlar wire wrapped around the heel-hoops. I think I’d rather stick with what’s on offer here, to be honest.

The Highlanders tick a massive box for freestyle rides, but I think they’d have widespread appeal to anyone that just prefers a more natural feeling flex underfoot. I could really feel what the board was doing underneath me and felt way more in tune with its flex.”

“The Highlanders have the look of the CIA Mainframe – black on black, cross-hatching, and a bunch of wires and components here, there and everywhere that you’re not entirely sure what they’re there for, but you better not touch them, just in case.

I rode the Highlanders on two very different boards. The first was the 157 Äsmo – a pure powder surfer. The second was on my old trusty steed – the Salomon Assassin. While these bindings are geared as all-mountain performers, I have to say I think they work better for those looking for a much looser, mobile feeling on the snowboard.

On the Äsmo, riding with the Highlanders felt like surfing on a cloud. I could move across the board with total freedom and feel completely connected to what was happening underfoot. On the Assassin, riding a little harder around the pistes and through the park, they just felt a little too sluggish between the edges for me.

The Kevlar wire running from point to point around the back of the heel cup works well and like nothing else I’ve ridden. There’s loads of lateral flex with them, but you feel the entire binding moving with you and not, as you can sometimes experience, like you’re pulling your foot out of the baseplate.

“On the Äsmo, riding with the Highlanders felt like surfing on a cloud. I could move across the board with total freedom and feel completely connected to what was happening underfoot. On the Assassin, riding a little harder around the pistes and through the park, they just felt a little too damp between the edges for me”

Where they didn’t feel quite as responsive for me was between the edges. Despite that really supportive highback, I never felt the sensation of getting sprung from the heelside edge back to the toes. Maybe that was down to the Kevlar wire, maybe it’s just a softer overall flex than what I’m used to.

One thing worth noting, the heel hoops on these are pretty high up, so you definitely feel fully enclosed in the binding. The downside of this, for me, was that I felt a pressure point on the inside of my ankle for most of the time riding them.

Overall, the Highlanders sit as one of Salomon’s more premium bindings in the line and offer a bunch of support and a unique flex pattern. With the right boots strapped inside, I’d have no doubt they’d be super comfortable too.”