Salomon Highlander Bindings Review

The Highlander is a great option for anyone looking for a responsive pair of bindings, that still have some forgiveness to them and can still ride them at slower speeds when needed. 

And just for those that want an all-round quality binding that doesn't have any areas of weakness. 

Not for a beginner - too stiff for that, but great for solid intermediate and up riders.

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 550mm (21.7″)

Board demoed with: Rossignol One LF 2018, 159

Baseplate Length: 25.7cm (10.12”)*

*measured on the top side of the footbed - a little bit of angle down to underside of baseplate

Highback Height: 16.5cm (6.5")*

* from bottom of heel cup to top of highback. Highback itself if 18.5cm (7.28") - it extends below the bottom of the heel cup. Heel cup is quite high. 

Flex

To me they felt 7/10 when flexing in hand and 7/10 on snow. The rep said he considered them 8/10, but I felt them just a touch softer than that. 

Responsiveness

I really liked the response with these bindings. Felt I could hold a carve a little deeper and a little longer too vs my control bindings (Burton Malavita). But at the same time there was still maneuverability at slow speeds, which was great.  

Board Feel/Butterability

Decent board feel, despite there not being any mini-disc or anything else in the base plate that would suggest it - and there was decent shock absorption at the same time. Maybe something to do with the flexible heel loop/shadowfit tech? And maybe because of the shorter highback. 

Pop/Ollie Power

Could get good pop out of these. Made my board feel subtly more poppy.

Adjustability

You can't adjust the forward lean, and that's probably the biggest downside with the adjustability of the Highlanders. For me, I didn't mind the position that it was set in, so it wasn't a big deal for me, but if you prefer more forward lean, this might be an issue. 

Heel Cup: No

Stance Width: Can run disc horizontal or vertical, so good for stance width adjustments when running horizontal.  

Highback Lean: No 

Ankle Strap Position: No

Toe Strap Position: Yes

Ankle and toe strap length: Yes

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: Yes

Highback Rotation: Yes

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | channel

Shock Absorption

Decent amount of padding in there. Not epic, but more than enough, IMO. That flexible heel loop helps to absorb shock too, I would say. 

Entry/Exit

Ratchets were nice and smooth and felt solid. Maybe not the smoothest I've ever tried but nothing that would ever be an issue. 

Comfort

Overall very comfortable binding - didn't notice them much in terms of comfort, which is a good thing. 

Ankle Strap: Nice ankle strap. Conforms well with no pressure points. 

Toe Strap: Good toe strap too. Nothing to complain about there. 

Canted Footbed: I believe so, but I will have to double check, when they become available (new for 2020). Forgot to look when I was testing them. But most Salomon bindings above a certain price do.  

Padded Footbed: Good padding and the heel loop also helps to absorb shock I think. 

Highback: Didn't notice it at all, which is usually a good thing. No calf bite or anything. 

Ankle Support

Solid ankle support. Doesn't give you different ankle strap position options, which would be nice to see. But the position it's set in offers good ankle support. 

Overall, the Highlander was a binding that I really enjoyed riding with. I felt I could hold my carves a little deeper and a little longer than the average binding and they were comfortable and still worked well at low speeds. 

For the individual factors, I wanted to score them higher, because I felt the bindings were better than the overall score. But there wasn't room to move on those individual factors - maybe a 4.25 for response, but that's getting overly complicated. But they were a binding I really enjoyed - and if there was an x-factor rating, I would score them higher overall - definitely the total in this case is better than the sum of the parts.