Are The FASE System Bindings The Compromise Riders Have Been Looking For? A Quick and Honest Review After Trying Out The New Jones Mercury.

The Jones Mercury in Lime Art. On the right: The high back tilts back allowing for rear entry.

The FASE System in short.

It’s been a few years since my very popular Burton Step-On review, and I’m excited to have now tried the newest addition to the small family of quick entry bindings. The FASE System relies on a high back that tilts backwards to allow for a quick rear entry. Its design makes it so it's necessary to bend over and tighten the ankle strap, as opposed to say a Supermatic from Nidecker which seems to be completely hands free. The toe strap can be left alone as once it is set in place, the rider's boot will just come and budge against it. When the heel of the boot is pressed down on the foot pad, a small lever in the heel cup is activated locking the high back into its riding position. The two parts of the ankle strap not coming apart from each other, makes it so it is very quick to tighten. But the big questions are: does it work, and is it what riders are looking for? Keep reading to find out the story behind me getting to try them on snow, my first impressions, and the biggest pros and cons I could come up with.

THE TEST

As I was riding around Zermatt and Cervinia last week, I bumped into 3 guys with very interesting snowboards. One of them noticed my Stranda Snowboard and BAM! The ice is broken and we start chatting. They are touring around Europe showing off their own brand: Radair. 

The next day I bump into them for the second occasion. Only this time I go for the kill. Very intrigued by their boards, I ask if I can try one out. Sandy and I compare stance set ups and binding sizes and come to the conclusion we have very similar specs. I get one run. The Radair Tanker 181 destroys the choppy slope! But it’s not the board that catches my attention. Sandy has a pair of Jones Mercury FASE bindings hot off the press on his board. And since fast entry bindings are such a hot topic, I thought I’d give you my take on them. 

This wasn’t my first encounter with the FASE system. I’d bumped into it a week or so earlier when I was at a local snowboard community event. Already then I’d gotten to test getting in and out of the bindings, but it was indoors, I didn’t have the right size boots on, and I hadn’t even laced up. At the time the friction between the ladder and the ratchet felt sluggish. Jakob from inlandet.se assured me this was because we were indoors and it was warm. See, the plastics soften in the indoor warmth and so the friction between the ratchet and the ladder is higher. I was eager to find out what it would really be like out on the mountain. 

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And so we’re back in Cervinia, where a nice American man lets me mount his ride. Since our feet are roughly the same size, I think to myself: HA, let’s see if this really works! I don’t change anything. I leave both the ankle and toe straps as they are, thinking I am about to bust open a new trend and expose it for what it might be. I slide my foot in. Shoop! (As we say in Sweden). The toe box of my boot budges against the toe strap. My heel presses down on the FASE mechanism, and by doing so raises the high back into place and locks my boot in place. I put my two hands on the ratchet and ladder, the friction is gone in the cold Italian mountain air. Click, click, click. My ankle is cinched down and my front foot is ready. I repeat the process for my back foot. Boom, just as easy and quick. And all while standing up. 

After strapping in, I make my way down a dark blue slope. It is mid-day, it’s snowing, the piste is really choppy. The Jones Mercury is built on a Union Binding Co. platform, and having ridden multiple binders from them before, the feeling is very familiar. In fact there is no difference. As mentioned in my previous article about Burton Step-Ons , I am a big fan of NOW Bindings (changed to YES) for their SkateTech which I find is a game changer, so I will probably not change to a FASE system until YES add it to their product line. But if you’re a fan of Unions or anything made by them, you will feel right at home on these.

As we approach the lift station, I start thinking about getting off the Radair so I can give it back to Sandy. I release the ankle strap and lift my heel out of the binding. My boot glides like butter and I am off the board completely in no time. I give the board back to Sandy and he pops his front foot in in less time than it takes for me to say thanks. Just like me, no toe strap readjustment, it was already snug from before. We part ways and now follow each other on Instagram, and I hope I’ll bump into him again in the future.

DEMO UPDATES

Showing off my new FASE skills. This was attempt number 3. EVER. And this is last year's demo.

Since I started writing this review, something I've heard from people who had tried the demo bindings last season, was that getting in and out felt sluggish. Once I got back to Sweden, I took part in a snowboard test event at my home resort in Åre, Sweden. There, I found the Jones

tent so I could give them another go. Fortunately for me, the rep told me he only had a pair of the last year's demo bindings left, and explained to me that the glide pad on the footbed of the demo binding had too much friction then, and that it had been rectified on the retail version of the binding. Having already tried the retail version in Italy a week earlier, I was able to confirm his claim. But as you can see in this short clip of me stepping in and out of the demo binding, the foot bed was never that "grabby".

WHO SHOULD USE THIS?

I’ve written before that, in my opinion, the Burton Step-Ons were great because they would keep people in the sport who can’t be bothered to bend down to strap in. The FASE, I think, is for a slightly different crowd. The need to bend down and do up a ratchet is still there. The fact there is only one strap to take care of, though, means there is much less time spent bending over; meaning someone who gets used to doing them up quickly could actually avoid spending extended periods of time in a back breaking position.

In white: last year's demo binding I tested. In black: one of this year's retail Jones Mercury my riding buddy tested.

I would also argue that the FASE was easier to get in than a Burton. Bear with me on this one. Getting into the Burton relies on clicking in 3 different points of contacts in a somewhat unfamiliar way (of course everyone would get used to it), but with the FASE, you’re just putting on a slipper. And I really mean that! One may think that the movement required to get in may be tricky with snowboard boots on, but even with my 10/10 stiffness K2 Thraxis I was able to easily get the right move done on my first go!

The user is then someone who is ok with the forward bend, but who also wants quickness when strapping in and out without compromising other aspects of the riding. There is also no awkwardly positioned lever that needs to be depressed in order to get out, just a good old pull of the ankle strap.

PROS	CONS
Familiar Union platform/normal binding feel and weight.	Young concept, has yet to prove itself in terms of durability.
Insanely quick and user friendly	Still the need to bend over to ratchet in.
No need to change your beloved boots.
Good compromise for those looking to speed up their lift transitions.

CONCLUSION

So, are the FASE System bindings the compromise riders have been looking for? After riding them on snow and seeing how they perform in real conditions, I’d say they very well might be.

The FASE system delivers on what it promises: faster transitions without forcing riders to change boots, relearn how to ride, or sacrifice the familiar feel of a traditional binding. On snow, the Jones Mercury with FASE feels exactly like what it is: a solid, proven Union-based binding. And that’s probably its biggest strength. Once you’re strapped in, there’s no gimmick, no disconnected feel, and no noticeable penalty in terms of performance, weight, or comfort.

Yes, you still need to bend over. And no, it’s not completely hands-free like some other systems on the market. But the reduced complexity (one strap, consistent fit, quick entry and exit) makes a real difference over the course of a day. Especially for riders who value efficiency at lift transitions but still care deeply about how their setup rides.

The FASE system won’t replace every binding, and it doesn’t try to. Instead, it fills a very interesting gap between traditional strap bindings and fully step-in systems. For riders who want speed without compromise, and familiarity without giving up performance, the FASE system feels like a genuinely well-thought-out solution, and one that’s worth keeping an eye on as it continues to evolve.

CG out.

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