I was fixing up a pair of second hand bindings from 2002 the other day. The rubber grommets holding in the toe straps had rotted and basically disintegrated resulting in the straps pulling out last season (both of them, while on the hill and about 5 minutes apart!). At the time, the ski shop couldn't help me (they had no idea what I was talking about) so I ended up folding pieces of gum tape until I had a sturdy enough rod to feed through the hole left by the grommets that anchored them into the binding. Happily enough, I was good for the rest of the day. This has got me thinking about how viable old gear really is. I've since replaced the gum tape with metal rods and the straps feel as sturdy as I imagine they originally were.
Snowboarding is a sport that is heavily dependent. Having gear you can rely on is definitely a big part of it but on the other hand, I'm really not adverse to using gear that is 10 years plus old. In my mind, the tech hasn't really changed that much, especially in the case of the snowboards themselves. I was wondering about other people's opinion on old gear vs new gear is. Do you still use any gear that is 10 or more years old? Have you had any experience of gear giving up on you that made you wish you hadn't used anything so old?
Snowboarding is a sport that is heavily dependent. Having gear you can rely on is definitely a big part of it but on the other hand, I'm really not adverse to using gear that is 10 years plus old. In my mind, the tech hasn't really changed that much, especially in the case of the snowboards themselves. I was wondering about other people's opinion on old gear vs new gear is. Do you still use any gear that is 10 or more years old? Have you had any experience of gear giving up on you that made you wish you hadn't used anything so old?