Nidecker LT Supermatic Snowboard Binding Review

A Detailed Objective Breakdown Of the Nidecker LT Supermatic Review by The Good Ride

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How The Nidecker Supermatic LT Was Tested:

I/We borrowed the   for an extended demo and sent it back. 1-day demo. A few laps at a demo. I liked it so much I asked to keep it (only do this with favorites).  I liked it so much we bought it.  Precious Good Ride dollars were spent to buy this and review it.

Days: 2
Conditions: Good late-spring snow — nothing special. Soft, uneven in some places, with some good groomers and good turns to be had in other places.
Riders:  James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards, over 180 bindings, and 100+ boots
Boots: Nitro Team TLS,
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout, Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Boards:

Nidecker Megalight

Similar (but not the same) Bindings:
Union Atlas Step On, Nidecker Supermatic, Nidecker Carbon Supermatic, Rome Katana FASE, Jones Mercury FASE, Flow NX2

Weight

These are 2 pounds 14 ounces — that’s almost 3 pounds. That’s really heavy. The Rome Katanas are 2 pounds 7 ounces, so a good bit lighter. You really feel the difference underfoot, and these aren’t even that light. They’re on the heavier side of medium. Comparing the Nidecker LT Supermatic to the Flow NX2, the latter weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces. My Union Forces are 2 pounds 5 ounces. Many bindings are in the 2-pound to 2-pound-4-ounce range. So these are really heavy—almost 3 pounds per foot. That’s with all of these, with discs and inserts. Usually, I don’t care about weight, but I do feel it with these.

Highback Flex

This is stiffer than the OG Supermatic, but it’s still got some twist and give. They put some EVA foam on top, so it’s not as super stiff as the Carbon Supermatics. Compared to the Katana, there is less twist and a little less give, but both have a bit of give, like mid-binding there. Flow’s always weird because it’s hard to truly measure the flex there, where the latch is. But on the sides, there’s a little bit of give, and you feel that twist more when you’re in the binding than what you see here. There’s a little bit of give at the top, but less than the other two for sure.

Adjustability

This is a straight-up loss. All you have is an adjustable gas pedal. You don’t have an adjustable heel loop, so you can’t really center your boot in this binding as well as you can in other bindings, like the Rome Katana, which has an adjustable heel loop. You can slide this back, slide it forward, slide the gas pedal out and in, so you can really center your boot in the binding and therefore turn the discs sideways and slide them tip to tail. Most of you in this suggested size range will have to turn your bindings edge-to-edge so you can slide this binding forward or backwards to center it on the board. You won’t be able to turn the disc sideways and get adjustability.

I was close to being centered in this binding, so I could do that, but I didn’t feel as dialed as I do with the Katanas or my Force. The Flow NX2 doesn’t have adjustability either, so this is the same. The Katana is far superior when it comes to adjustability, and I think that’s one of the most underestimated features about a binding because when you’re centered on the board perfectly with your boots and your bindings, the feel is so much better edge to edge, and it often fixes a lot of problems.

Flex Underfoot

There’s not a lot of flex or butter-ability compared to something like the Katana, which has all foam and then a hybrid mini disc. You just have so much less contact with the board, and it doesn’t hurt your top sheet. The Nidecker LT Supermatic is a top-sheet breaker, and that’s a big problem with this. I wish they’d find some way to add a softer bottom without adding weight.

In comparison to the Flow NX2, that’s top-notch — full-size disc and quite comparable to the Katana’s hybrid mini disc. The Katana has all rubber and such a cool flex underfoot that feels a little stiffer underfoot than the Katana, but a lot less than the LT Supermatic.

Shock Absorption Dampness

You don’t have a very damp binding here, but it is heavy, and it can absorb chatter. It does stiffen up the flex a good bit underfoot, and that helps. Then you’ve got some EVA foam here, but this goes down deeper into this little thing right here than it looks.  Then you’ve got some EVA foam throughout some of the footbed, but as you get to the gas pedal, it’s plastic.

Turn Initiation/Response/Carving

When it comes to turn initiation and response, I thought these were very responsive in comparison to the Carbon Supermatics, which I took out on one day. These are not really that comparable. That’s why I didn’t put the Carbon Supermatics in, but I put a Supermatic on my front foot and kept this on the back foot, and I couldn’t believe how much faster the turn initiation was with the Carbon Supermatic.

That has a carbon gas pedal instead of plastic and a much more responsive entire base. So the turn initiation was much faster, and on top of that, it has a stiffer highback — just everything stiffer, more responsive. It didn’t feel as smooth a ride, though, and I don’t really need that much response. Most of the response was on the toe when I leaned forward to initiate the turn. I just felt like it turned that Nidecker Megalight really easily, but as I went through the entire radius of the turn, I felt like the Nidecker LT Supermatic started to catch up with the Carbon a little bit and finished the turn in a similar fashion. Overall, the Carbon Supermatics are ahead throughout the entire turning radius in terms of response.

I found that the Katanas, because of their adjustable ankle straps that give you more response when the ankle strap is higher, have more leverage. It gave the Katana the edge, and it was the winner in terms of turn initiation and response. The Flow with the hybrid strap did a very good job as well, and turned this very fast.

Support

I love the support of this hybrid strap. I think it’s very good. I needed to keep it a touch looser than I normally would with traditional straps if I wanted just to step in and go. What I ended up doing almost all the time was giving each a couple of clicks just to get it snug, to get that extra response, and it’s still so much faster than traditional straps. So if that’s what you’re into, that’s a great thing.

I thought the support on the Flow NX2 was great, and I had to do the same thing — give it a few pops — and the same with the Katana. I actually like the support the best because I can put it up higher and get more support and response, or put it lower and get less if I want that easy feeling. But when I put this on, I had to strap it like a normal ankle strap and then finish off with a few clicks in the toe to get it secure, and then undo them when I got down to the bottom, like I did with these as well.

Stepping In/Out

Speaking of easy entry, there’s just nothing easier than Supermatics except for Burton Step On and Clue. But I like this technology better than Clue because you walk and skate with high heels. I don’t like that. Reaching down to here is easy. Getting off is just reaching down to the strap, opening it up, and stepping out this way.

Vs. The Rome Katana FASE

The Rome Katana was second for me. This feels like a real binding, but it’s faster getting on and off. It’s not as fast as the Nidecker LT Supermatic, but I get it. I get adjustability, I get that traditional binding feel, and I get a better flex underfoot — all that jazz we’ve talked about throughout this entire review. That’s why I like this personally — the best of all the quick releases.

Vs. The Flow NX2

The Flow NX2 is a close second to the FASE Katana because it has easy entry, good support, excellent shock absorption, but it’s missing adjustability. And I don’t like reaching from behind. Many people actually get on their knees in order to strap these on. I rarely, if ever, sit down to put my bindings on, and I don’t want to get on my knees. Like most 70-100-day-a-year riders, I like to stand up, strap in, and go.

With these, these were hands down the easiest to get off the chair and step in and go. These were very hard to do. It takes a lot of practice and better timing, but it still can be done. This is the most difficult because you have to reach behind as you’re going, and that can be a little awkward. With the Nidecker LT Supermatic, you can step in off the chair and, as you start going, tighten the straps. That’s how I feel about the easy entry.

Final Thoughts

For me personally, I still like my Union Force. That’s all I need. I’m okay taking just a little extra time getting out of the chair, strapping in, and getting that great feel. But as FASE keeps evolving, I think that might be where I go next.

For these Supermatics to work for me, I want them lighter, a better feel underfoot, and a lot more adjustability — especially boot-to-binding. That’s what’s going to turn me on to something like this. Until that time, I’m willing to take the extra time to get a better feel underfoot. But if you want the best in non-Step On quick release, this is it. You can keep up with your skier friends with these. You can just get off the chair and go. That’s what a lot of people love about the Nidecker LT Supermatic, and you still get a pretty responsive, supportive, good-feeling binding.