Bataleon Blaster Asymwrap FASE Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my Bataleon Blaster Asymwrap FASE snowboard bindings review.

The FASE fast entry snowboard binding system has become very popular very quickly. And it's not hard to see why. Essentially having bindings that feel like regular two-strap bindings once they're strapped in and not adding significant weight are a win in my book. 

We really rate the regular Blaster ASYM, so, so long as the FASE system didn't affect how they felt too much, we were very likely to rate these. So how much like their non-FASE counterparts were they? 

In this review I will take a look at the Blaster AW FASE as freestyle snowboard bindings.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Blaster AW FASE a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other freestyle bindings.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Bataleon Blaster Asymwrap FASE 2026

Price: $379 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freestyle

Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)

Flex Feel: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating Score: 89.9/100

Compared to other Men’s freestyle Bindings

Overview of the Blaster AW FASE’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Blaster AW FASE’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the Blaster AW FASE Most Suited To?

The Blaster AW FASE is best suited to someone who: 

a. values agility/quick turns over stability/hard carves, but still wants at least a decent amount of carving ability/stability. Particularly good if you're looking for good board feel and shock absorption and have some freestyle in your arsenal; 

b. wants a fast entry system; 

c. prefers the feel of traditional two-strap bindings over other strap systems (or lack of straps) of other fast entry; and 

d. wants a good flex-match to a board in the 3/10 to 6/10 flex range and a great flex match to boards in the 4/10 to 5/10 flex range. 

Doable for beginners, but at a stretch, unless you're a particularly strong/athletic beginner. Not that it's a binding that requires  an aggressive input or anything. Not at all, but needs a certain amount of energy. 

Test/review details for the Blaster AW FASE

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Blaster AW FASE are capable of.

Demo Info

Binding: Bataleon Blaster AW FASE 2026, M

Date: April 5, 2025

Mounting

Mounting these was straight forward. Same deal as with Bataleon's non-FASE bindings, for mounting. 

Flex

In-House

Highback Twist Flex: . If I had to say I would say that the Katana has the slightly stiffer twist flex, but they’re both pretty stiff. Both are actually stiffer than my control bindings (Burton Malavita's) for twist flex, which are pretty stiff themselves for this. Not by a lot vs the Malavita's, but difference from Blaster to Malavitafelt a touch more than the difference from Katana to Blaster. I would say Blaster twist an 8.5, Katana 9, Malavita 8. Something like that.

Higback Pullback Flex:  Blaster and Katana really very hard to tell apart. They both have a little bit of pullback on the lateral side but basically none in the middle and medial sides. Still a little more than the Malavita which really has pretty much no pull back flex. 

Ankle Strap Flex: Torsionally (squeezing) the Blaster is stiffer on the top and bottom than the Katana but is kinda the same in the middle, with the Katana being stiffer in the middle and quite soft top and bottom. Then the outside inside and middle of each are pretty consistent. This differs to the Malaviita which is stiffer on the medial and lateral sides and softer through the middle. Malavita softer in the middle but stiffer on the outsides. Longitudinally (bending) flex Blaster and Katana both relatively stiff – I’d say stiffer than average. Malavita is a little softer when bending .

Toe Strap Flex: Blaster stiff on the outsides when squeezing and softer in the middle. Quite a soft bend flex. Katana is also stiffer on the outsides for squeeze flex and softer in the middle but not as soft in the middle as the Blaster. Bend flex is quite soft on both with the Blaster being just a touch softer. But you can basically fold both of them. On the Malavita squeeze flex also stiffer on outsides and softer middle but its stiffer than the Blaster in the middle and about the same as the Katana in the middle. Bend flex is quite a bit stiffer on Malavita vs both Blaster and Katana.

On Snow

On Snow the Blaster AW FASE felt really in-the-middle. A very medium flex feel. I'd say just a touch softer than my control bindings (Malavita) but not by a whole lot.  

Responsiveness

The Blaster AW FASE felt best to me for quick turns at slow to moderate speeds. They made my board feel super nimble and made quick edge-to-edge transitions feel pretty effortless. 

That's not to say that they didn't feel good at speed or leaning into a carve - they still had the ability to support a good bit of speed and decent carving but their better response quality was in their nimbleness. 

Board Feel/Butterability

Like their non-FASE counterparts, they had really good board feel - typical of Bataleon bindings, in my experience, particularly the AsymWrap's. Ollies were easy to initiate and pressing and lateral feel in general was really good. 

Pop/Ollie Power

In terms of total pop power (as opposed to how easy to initiate that pop), they felt normal to me. 

Adjustability

Heel Cup: Not the heel cup alone, but the whole frame can move forwards and backwards - essentially the same in terms of its usefulness to heel cup adjustments. This is great for helping with boot centering.

Stance Width: Mini-disc but stance width options are full length of the disc, basically, and the distance between holes spans 4cm, so you can use it with slam backs and can get right on reference stance (as opposed to some mini-discs that are too small to span 4cm). 

Highback Lean: Yes and tool-less. Though I couldn't figure out how it was done - they were in a good position for me already. I had a play with them to see if I could do it without instructions, but failed miserably! 🤣 - I'm sure it's fine when you have instructions. 

Ankle Strap Position: No Yes. Thanks to Artem in the comments who bought these and apparently you can swap the ankle straps over from left to right, which gives a more locked-in feel. 

Toe Strap Position: Yes – 2 positions

Ankle and toe strap length: Tool-less - and super easy to use.

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: Yes – 3 positions.

Highback Rotation: No. 

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | The Channel | 4 x 4

Shock Absorption

Again, something that Bataleon bindings typically do well - and the FASE are no exception. The good thing about the way the FUSE system works is that they can design the bindings similarly to their other bindings, so things like board feel and shock absorption can be the same or similar as other bindings in their line. 

Good amount of padding in the heel – there’s nothing hard in there and it feels nice and springy/reboundy, rather than spongy. 

Entry/Exit

A particularly important part of these bindings is their entry system. FASE is the newest fast entry system to hit the snowboard binding market and has some noticeable differences to previously existing fast entry systems.

These differences mean that can get a typical two strap feel and with a binding that has a normal weight. It also means that the entry and exit is more natural for those of use who have ridden traditional two strap bindings for a long time. 

I got used to this system way faster than any other system and felt the least awkward and most natural to me. That said, it wasn't super smooth going first time. Still something to get used to - just way faster, in my case, to get used to to other fast entry bindings. 

How the FASE binding system works

Essentially you set the toe strap  and once you have it where you like it you can lock it in place and leave it there. 

I did find it took a bit of trial and error, like it can with other speed entry binding systems, but once you get it where its good, you can leave the toe strap alone. 

Then when you put your foot in, your heel pulls the highback against the back of your boot automatically and then you can just ratchet down the ankle strap, which was nice and smooth and easy to do. 

Overall what did I think of the FASE system?

It's definitely my preferred system for fast entry. I didn't find it was super smooth or without getting used to - I think particularly getting used to putting in and removing your feet on an angle like that. But as far as quick entry systems go, it felt the best to me and the easiest to get used to. 

I liked that I could do them up like I typically would (but skipping the toe strap step) and even more so that I could undo them like I typically would. This made it more intuitive for me. 

That said, I would still need to ride these for a bit before it felt natural and smooth to be going in and exiting on that angle. And I'm not convinced I wouldn't end up just using them like regular two strap bindings and just use the toe strap as I would typically. Hard to say for sure.

But the great thing with them is that I'd have that choice, so there isn't really a downside, given that they can make them pretty much the same as their two-strap counterparts (apart from that higback lean adjustment that managed to elude me! But I'm sure that would be something pretty easy to figure out).  

Comfort

Overall nice and comfortable. No noticeable strap-bite or calf-bite. 

Ankle Strap: Pretty standard feeling honeycomb-ish with a slightly on the stiffer side overall feel and a harder frame on the outside.

Toe Strap: Pretty flexy/malleable in the middle, and that helps them to be conform well to the boots and something that I didn't notice when riding - which is always a good sign. 

Canted Footbed: Yes.

Padded Footbed: Good padding - see shock absorption above. 

Highback: No padding as such, but I didn't get any calf-bite or any discomfort from it. 

Ankle Support 

Felt normal to me. Nothing special, but not lacking in any way for me. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Blaster AW FASE were very similar to their non-FASE counterparts, which is a win, IMO - to be able to maintain that same performance, but also have that quick entry component to them. 

I'm still not sold on the need for quick entry, so it's not something that I'm going to rush out and buy, but if I was going to go for fast entry, this is the system I would go for. Being able to have that typical two-strap feel and with a normal weight and essentially being able to produce bindings very similar to non-fast entry bindings, but just having that fast entry as an added bonus, makes these an easy decision, if you're looking to get quicker entry (and in the case of the Blaster, looking for the other characteristics that it has).