K2 Lien AT Review: All Mountain Bindings Review

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Lien ATs are capable of.

Demo Info

Bindings: K2 Lien AT 2018, Large

Date: April 15, 2017

Conditions: Cloudy with some sun in the morning. Started snowing around midday (have had so much snow in April – it’s awesome!) Some fresh overnight snow made the snow nice and soft in the morning – hardened up as it was compacted but was still soft-packed. Then Softened up again a bit in the afternoon with the snow.

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Flex

While some label this as a mid-stiff binding, I definitely felt that it was medium. It feels like a 6/10. So on the stiffer side of medium but still medium. Which I think is great for this type of binding.

I have ridden the Lien ATs on a few different flexing boards too and they worked just as well across a range of flexes.

You can also change out the tripod ‘grommets’ in the baseplate to fine tune that flex even further (see video below for more details). I only tried them with one set of grommets so I’m not sure how much they actually change the feel.

Board Feel/Butterability

The bindings flex really well with the board and this makes them great for buttering. The kind of buttering you might expect out of a softer flexing base plate.

Whatever they’re doing there is working. They achieve great response but also great board feel.

Adjustability

These things are super adjustable and super easy to adjust.

These were one of the easiest bindings I’ve had to adjust and everything is tool-less, so if you’re like me and you’re fussy with how you bindings are set up – you can make small adjustments on the fly until you have tweaked them just right.

You can even adjust their flex (see video below) which is pretty unique!

Shock Absorption

They’ve got some really good padding in the footbed and that really helps them to absorb shock well.

Entry/Exit

Easy to get in and out of. The ratchet system is smooth and it’s pretty fast to get in and out of. What you’d expect from this level of binding.

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Comfort

The Lien ATs felt really comfortable. This is down to a few things.

• Firstly, the ankle strap is really nice and I didn’t notice it on at all.
• Secondly, it has a canted footbed which aligns your hips, knees and ankles better.
• Finally, that padding in the footbed also really adds to the comfort.

Responsiveness

The responsiveness of the AT is just that little bit better than you’d expect from a medium flexing binding. This is great because you get some great response but you still get some movement and forgiveness too.

Ankle/Boot Support

I felt that I could get the straps dialed in tight without it feeling uncomfortable. So if you like a really firm, locked down feeling, then these do a great job of that without digging into your feet. They have a good level of ankle support.

Changes for the 2020 Model

As far as I can tell the 2020 model is essentially the same as the 2019 model.

Changes for the 2019 Model

The “pod” on the heel in the tripod chasis is now much larger. Not so much a pod anymore. See video above for explanation and visual.

Changes for the 2018 Model

As far as I can tell the 2018 model is the same as the 2017 model except for the different colorways available.

Changes for the 2017 Model

K2 have added a different toe strap for the 2017 model. I didn’t notice this make too much difference but the toe strap felt nice nonetheless.

The 2017 model also includes the 3 different types of ‘Grommets’ for the tripod chassis (if that made no sense to you check out the video above – it explains it better than I can!), which is great because it allows you to customize the flex.