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Burton Cartels or Union Factory for LT Hot Knife

3K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  LuckyRVA 
#1 ·
Just picked up a 159 Hot Knife and I am debating whether or get the Cartels or Factory. I would think the Factory matches my board more but I have heard good things about the Cartels.

I got this board mainly to do some fast carves down the mountain and a bit of jumps and trees as well. Thanks for your input. :laugh:
 
#3 ·
I'm riding the Now IPO's this season and I was just looking for something a little different since bindings hadn't really changed at all. I ordered them without ever riding them and the first time I took them down the hill they blew my mind. What I noticed immediately was how much easier you can actually carve every turn (both toe side and heel side) like you're supposed to opposed to kind of sliding the tail back and forth. I still carve my turns with standard bindings it just takes more effort and puts more pressure on my knees. Also combined with my 32 Lashed boots (my second pair in 4 years best boots i have ever owned by a mile, super comfortable and plenty of support) I never even think about my feet all day. I'm super stoked on them. Do yourself a favor and at least demo them before you buy something, theres nothing to lose.. for reference I'm 36, riding 20 years, 5'11" 175 pounds riding a 2013 160 Jamie Lynn C2BTX primarily at Mammoth. to sum up, easy to carve, more positive edge control/hold throughout your entire turn both toe side and heel side and less pressure on your feet so they are less fatigued at the end of the day. I didn't get them free, and have no affiliation just stoked. I bought them online from Shoreline of Tahoe August of last year and paid about $175 for them. I'm interested to try the Drive model because with that different high back it seems like you could get even more edge hold with no more effort.
 
#4 ·
Both of those bindings will work perfectly fine on a HK. It's just a matter of your personal preference. I was on Cartels for the 2 previous seasons, and loved them (11/12 and 12/13 model years). I picked up a pair of Factories early this season, and was smitten to the point of buying 2 more pairs and ditching my Cartels. The Factory feels a bit more substantial to me. More damp, more responsive, more cush, just more all the way around. That said, they're still pretty similar, the difference that it makes in my actual riding experience certainly isn't drastic. I could ride either of those binders until the end of time and be perfectly content. I'm a big fan of the canting, and I think that autocant, and the canting on the Factory are virtually indistinguishable.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I just set my forward lean adjusters up high enough on the Factory to where they are not even touching the heel cup. I've heard of others taking them off completely. Still more stock forward lean than the Cartel for sure, but they match my Burton boots perfectly with this adjustment. Not a lick of calf bite, but I also have big ass boots so it might not affect me anyways.

One thing that concerned me about the Cartels was a weak point in the highback where the forward lean adjuster is. I'm sure it's not that common, but I saw several online reviews where this had broken and when I handled them in the shop I just didn't like it. Again, I'm definitely no expert and I'm sure these were anomalies but I like the one solid piece highback of the Factory.
 
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