Unarguably, the Burton Cartel binding is one of the most popular freestyle snowboard bindings in existence. And this is for a good reason: First the Cartel offers light weight, great freestyle flex, and response. This isn’t to mention the quality straps that it has to boast as well. This is part of the reason why you see so many pros that ride for companies other than Burton with Cartels on their board.

We do have to clarify the Cartel binding and some of the myths around it. Some people commonly compare other bindings, like the Rome 390, to it and argue that one is better. Well, most of the time this is a pure apples and oranges argument. Both are great bindings, but I see more differences between the two than similarities. I think it is easy to see that the Cartels are not the ideal binding for the kid who spends all day in the jib section. However, where the Cartels do excel is where freestyle response is paramount: Jumps, Halfpipe, All-Mountain, etc. So if you are this type of freestyle rider, the Burton Cartels will be without a doubt be one of the best performing and comfortable bindings you will ever own.

For 2008, Burton Snowboards has made some slight changes to the Cartel. Now the Cartel comes with the canted Living Hinge Skyback II with DialFLAD. Without diving into the technical aspects of these terms, you basically get a more easily adjustable binding with added comfort and power transfer.