Hello and a big welcome to my 2016 Salomon Mirage binding review. In this review I will rate the Mirage’s according to how well they do the job for a female all-mountain rider.
To be a good all-mountain binding the bindings need to be able to handle anything and everything that the mountain throws at them.
First I’ll cover all of the important aspects for all-mountain riding, then show the breakdown of the final score, some videos and my opinion as to whether I think these bindings are value for money.
Bindings: Salomon Mirage
Smart rating score: 84.4/100
Flex: Medium (5 out of 10)
O.k. let’s check out the details.
What Were the Mirage’s Rated On
Specifically the Mirage was rated on the following:
- Flex;
- Adjustability;
- Entry/Exit;
- Shock Absorption;
- Butterability;
- Comfort;
- Responsiveness; and
- Boot Support
Flex
The Mirage’s have a medium flex. This is ideal for all-mountain bindings. They are stiff enough that they respond well enough for the tight turns and big carves but still flexible enough to be playful both on the slopes and lapping the park or pipe.
The Mirages rate as 5 out of 10 on Salomon’s flex scale so they right in the middle.
The flex isn’t just in the highback though – the base plate of the binding also flexes with the board to give you greater board feel and helps to really bring out the flex of the board.
Adjustability
They have some decent adjustability and you shouldn’t have any trouble getting a good fit. The ankle strap has something called ‘micro max adjustments’ which essentially means you can tweak the straps with tiny adjustments to get them centred just right over your boot.
O.k. this is more compatibility than adjustability, but the Mirage’s come with Salomon’s universal base plate disc so they are compatible with all binding mountain systems available on the market today. This universal disc will fit 4 hole, 3 hole and Burton’s channel straight out of the box.
This should be the way all bindings come and it’s good to see it with the Mirage’s so you don’t have to worry about making sure your bindings will be compatible with your board and you don’t have to muck around getting a conversion disc.
Entry/Exit
No special technology for getting in and out of these bindings but they do have a smooth ratchet system and should be pretty standard in terms of getting in and out of them.
Shock Absorption
With a full EVA padded baseplate the Mirage’s have really good shock absorption. This is great to have, especially if you are landing a lot of jumps, shredding through some tough conditions or your boots are lacking in padding.
It’s also great for a really comfortable set of bindings (ore on comfort below).
Butterability
Important for those all-mountain riders that like to do some freestyle riding – whether that be presses, butters or hitting jibs. The Mirage’s aren’t the queen’s of butters but they’ll do the job pretty well when you feel the urge.
Comfort
As well as all that EVA padding mentioned in the shock absorption section above, the Mirage’s also feature super-comfortable toe and ankle straps that you should really minimize the chances for any pressure points.
On top of that the flexible heel cup will allow for greater comfort as it allows your ankle to flex with it.
The only thing they could do to improve the comfort is by providing a canted footbed (which would align the ankles, knees and hips for a more comfortable ride) – had it had that it would have received full marks for comfort – but they should still be really comfortable.
Responsiveness
To be a truly good all-mountain binding the Mirage’s would need to have some good responsiveness – and they don’t fail to deliver.
They strike a really nice balance between playfulness and responsiveness to give your some good fast sharp turning ability through good energy transfer from the boots to bindings to board but they won’t have that locked in feel so you get a more chilled out ride than you would with a super stiff binding.
Boot Support
With all that adjustability and the ability to make micro adjustment you should be able to get these suckers as tightly wrapped around your boot as you like or as loose you like (if that’s what you prefer).
The women’s specific highback is not only designed to better suit women’s calves but it also moulds really well to the heel of the boot which also adds to that boot support.
Final Score
O.k. let’s see how the Mirage bindings scored overall.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Flex: | 5.0 | 15/15 |
| Responsiveness: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Adjustability: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Boot Support: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Shock Absorption: | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Comfort: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Butterability/Board Feel | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Entry/Exit: | 4.0 | 4/5 |
| TOTAL | 84.4/100 |
As all-mountain bindings the Mirage’s do a great job! In fact they scored high enough in my rating system to make my list of the top 5 all mountain bindings for women.
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