Clew Freedom 1.0 Review (From a non-sponsored average user!) 

he is biased person as well. He thinks he is clever by getting angry and opposing favourite opinion

Saying Avran unbiased is wild as he already hates Buckhouse to begin with. Not that Buckhouse represents clew but we all can see the co-relation

Tbh, I found Avren's review a lot more detailed than this one. I'm glad there's another unpaid review out, but Avren and TC really know their stuff. I was subbed to Buckhouse and ProCamp for a little bit, but didn't stay long as I got sick of how blatant they both are with "give me your money so I can be a snow bum"; they're both clearly sell-outs trying to live the dream while everyone else watches in envy. While there are other channels that do this to an extent they at least offer something of substance (Tommie Bennet has great instructional vids). Both of these channels basically do shallow, useless, lifestyle vlogging and promote products with little to no useful info on them.

Not a fan of the angry snowboarder. He reviewed the Burton step on. And really trashed them. Pointing out it's hard to get in and out. And you aren't faster than regular bindings. I have the Genesis reflex and I have to say that they are great and your at least 5x faster than a regular binding for stepping in, and just as fast for stepping out.

@@Freezera86 well i am using clew bindings. They are really way faster than conventional bindings i used. Of cource everybody has theri on opinions

Thanks! I had a fun time putting this video together. $500 is steep. Hopefully they can lower the manufacturing/parts costs to bring the consumer price down to ~350. Glad you found the video worthwhile!

Cheers! Thanks for commenting. Glad you've been having a good experience too!

Just wondering do you feel chatter from the base plate like he mentioned? I’m also curious about the toe strap coming up has that happened to you?

It's vibration from your snowboard that is transferred to your bindings/boot during moderate-high speed turns. A high-end binding will generally have a base plate that greatly reduces or eliminates the transfer of that chatter to your foot. These base plates are about 10 years behind in that regard. It's not an end all be all though, a good boot and orthopedic foot insert can also absorb a lot of the experienced chatter. To me, it feels like someone tickling your foot. Not the worst sensation, but not particularly pleasant either. Really doesn't effect too much riding-wise, but something that should be flushed out for a binding this expensive! Hope this helps! Think you'll love them.

My method is pull lever first then foot when standing. When youre sitting, you gotta push the board into the snow, pull lever, then foot.

Hell yea! Glad you like them too. Must be very convenient as an instructor getting in and out at ease.

It looks like they may have disabled stackable codes this year. That is a bummer. Getting an extra 10% off that pre-order price makes these a really good deal- I suppose that's why they're not doing it anymore. How do you like the supermatics? I enjoyed them when I tried them, but don't think they're too much worse than clews to justify buying another pair of bindings.

​@@twocatssnowboarding I really like the Supermatics! They are a great pair of quick entry bindings if wanting traditional strap experience and good performance while using any boot. I haven't learned to step-in while riding yet, will need to practice that next time I go out. The Clew bindings look much easier to step-in while moving. I don't think I would mind the highback on boot deal and I would be really interested in getting a 2nd base-plate portion to be able to easily swap and step-in my park board. I am happy with the Supermatics but just really interested in quick entry bindings in general and would love to try all of them (only missing K2 and Clew)! hahah. I've owned Burton Step-On which I thought was really well-made and great performance, but personally had comfort issues with pinky toe hotspot pain and the Burton and D/C boots did not work that well for me. Thought about getting K2 clickers, but the propriety boot required is a big turn-off for me. I rode Flow NX-2 for almost 2 seasons and really liked them but they are wore looser than my strap bindings with a different feel, so wanted to try something new. I was actually going to pre-order the Clews for this season, but then they announced the Supermatics so ended up pre-ordering the Supermatics instead. Definitely bummed that the Clew preorder pricing is higher and no longer can combine coupons for next season. If I was able to get them for the same early bird pricing as last season, I could definitely talk myself into getting them to try out. Probably wait for a 2.0 version now as want to see how they improve these bindings in the future. Out of all the quick entry bindings I see on the mountain, Burton is definitely the most popular followed by Flows. I've only seen Clew bindings three times in the past 2 seasons and was only able to chat with one person last season about them. I've seen three other Supermatics already this season. Always great to hear what real owners think of these interesting new binding designs. I do want to thank you for taking the time to put out this type of review. One of the reasons I hesitated on purchasing the Clew bindings was that all the reviews I saw on the bindings were by people receiving free bindings and giving out promo codes, and that is definitely not really trust-worthy reviews. Very happy to see a review by someone without any affiliations with the company who who paid for the bindings themselves put out some content about these bindings. I really appreciate the content and thank you for your feedback on the bindings! Very helpful :)

Really pleased with the tech. Will be interesting to see how they continue to develop- but as this is only their 1.0 model, only can go up from here! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

For shorter runs, I liked the supermatics too. Very convenient to ride right up to the lift line and be out without stopping. I'm not in the best of shape though, so when I'm at the bottom of these 3 mile CO runs I tend to gracefully fall over and sit down for a minute and let my breathing and feet recover before getting back in line. It is totally a user specific issue though, haha. Very fun to see the step in/on innovation, though. Now we've got a solid 5 options (flow, supermatic, clew, buron, k2) that will only keep advancing in the next few years!

@@twocatssnowboarding Yeah, our runs are really short over here in the midwest. Usually takes you about 30 seconds to get to the bottom of the hill haha.

The thing most people forget about the price is that you can buy just the base for $200 if you already have the backing. So for people with multiple boards the Clews will end up alot cheaper once you're on your second board.

@@anseljohnson9954 Yup. Very true. Very convenient if you're bringing multiple boards on a trip, or just wanting to switch boards midway through a riding session

@@anseljohnson9954 That's insanely overpriced IMO. You're better off just going with a system like the NOW Kingpin Tool-Less at that point. Not sure why people act like it's such a huge deal to switch bindings over to different board. It's 8 screws.

I have them and have rode them at least 8 times. Do not be concerned with the weight, It is not an issue. I also have not had any issues stepping in or out. They are worth every penny. Hope this helps. Enjoy them if you get them. I have also not noticed any chatter from my base plate. I ride Salomon dialogue boots.

@@sollybiz2809 100% agree. Weight is a non-starter. Other reviews have weighed them at ~2.4 pounds each. For reference, supermatics are 2.8, burton step on's are 1.8. Unless you're doing a lot of park riding, this is a pretty negligible difference. Standard binding weight hovers at about 2.2 pounds. I'd go ahead and pre-order them. Looks like they are 24% off on pre order rn! And youll have them in time for the full next season

Are you from wisconsin- the shirt is from a shop in Minocqua (hopefully you can't tell too badly from my midwest accent). But yeah I've been to pike lake quite a bit. Obv not as much now living out in CO, but something I'd love to record in the future!

Feel ya. I've gotten lazy about taking them off too. This past weekend they made a few trips into the bathroom with me lol

You could always just record something on your phone! This is the first youtube video I've ever put together like this. Always nice to hear people's thoughts!

I actually just received my GNU Freedom's after returning the Clew's. How are these in comparrision? You mentioned less chatter? Still good getting in/out?

@@ccyrusohmc These are directly comparable! Freedoms were great to get in/out, I just had a size too small to there was some issues with heel pull when closing them if there was any snowpack. Baseplate on them is fantastic though, no chatter at all, and they ride very well. Also very consistent run to run. You'll def like them. What stance angle do you run your back foot at? I wonder if that is part of the issue getting that second latch to click in. I only ride from -3 to -6, but could see issue with any angle greater than that. Cheers, feel free to stop me if you see me at copper or wp this season!

@@twocatssnowboarding I run -9 and max forward lean. Based on it being the rear binding only and specifically the outter latch , I can only assume it's because of the angle and the lean. I liked them otherwise. I'll call you out if I see you out there!

I've got ~6 more days on these since this video, and I've figured out how to get the rear foot toe strap to work perfectly for me. Just takes some time to fully dial in. Glad you love them too!

If they weren't in stock at the time you bought them, it looks like September 2024 is the next re-stock date, so well before next season.

i take what angry snowboarder says with a grain of salt honestly. he's WAY too biased to care about innovation. HOWEVER, he does make good points about the cheap material for the cost of the binding. $500 for a binding that feels like its from 2002 is unacceptable. I understand they're trying to make money but come ON. These should be $250 maximum. i feel like these are OK if you're not a professional rider and require some form of accessibility to ride. i also demoed Nidecker bindings and absolutely hated them. I have not demoed Clew yet, but would like to wait to see what else they come up with. i'm rolling regular bindings until they can close the gap between the two. my primary binding is burton freestyle and secondary is k2 formula bindings. i've been riding for almost 30 years now.

Unfortunately not- my feet DO NOT agree with burton boots. Did not want to spend the $$ on those and be uncomfortable. I'll keep an eye on the demo days this winter and see if they're anywhere in CO to try them.

​@@twocatssnowboarding Yeah let us know, do a demo day and see how they feel. From my experience when switching to step ons after 4-5 years of regular bindins I was SHOCKED how responsive the step on bindings were. Almost too responsive for some, but i love it.

I'm planning to do a follow up review before the next season starts- but I really fell in love with them. I went on a trip with 9 skiiers (as the only snowboarder) and had 0 problems keeping up all day. The hook getting stuck was my main gripe with them too. Eventually I kinda just gave up on trying to ride switch and set the back angle at 0 degrees and it fixed the problem. Great product though. Hopefully they consider licensing the tech out to other companies.

Not sure. Next year's release is also 1.0

Have you noticed your backfoot latch not clicking in both times? A few other commenters have noticed, and I also noticed it this weekend. Was able to get both in with a firm stomp though. But yeah, now that theyre broken in, the convenience is unmatched.

@@twocatssnowboarding sometimes. But only with alot of snow. My tip: pull the lever

@@twocatssnowboarding got them 2021/22 CLEWs, and it sometimes happens when the binding is full of snow/ice. In most severe cases stomping doesn't help cuz the highback part gets misaligned in the baseplate (you get 2 clicks on one side and a single click on the other, which leads to you pretty much pushing the whole contraption into the side of the baseplate instead of downwards direction). I just lean and push on the highback with my hand when that happens.

Did they seem chattery to you?

Def a downside. They'll prob have larger sizes in the future

Because they are dumping their money into marketing instead of a product beyond a gimick.

@@neoc03 firstly it is nort a gimmick. It is sound rpoduct that serves to a certain consumer, like burton step on does. I am using them and had no problems at all. And i am entitled to my own opinion.Secondly, you need to check their background, these are three young engineer who have been snowboarding for 15 years. They have done this project long before as a thesis for their graduation. Years later they decided to go back to this product and pursue their dreams They had no money, or marketing budget like the big guns. They literally, worked in a 40 square meter office. they worked their ass out. How do i know , i followed them since t heir first product, know all the story about them. Thirdly, of course you may not like the product, you may critices the product. But not like this angrybird:) He personally insults the founders. and he cannot even handle criticsm. Who the f..k he thinkshe is? If he had criticized the product in a constructive way., without personally attacking the founders, and people like me it was all okey. He is way out of line. Somebopdy needs to teach him. He can say none of the thinks he says here to way face.

@@neoc03 I am using it , it is not a gimick, it is a solid product

Hello! I bought these directly from their website!

@@twocatssnowboarding where is the website?

@@twocatssnowboarding but thank you so much for replying

@@twocatssnowboarding can you leave a link to where the direct website is?

@@twocatssnowboarding whats there direct website?

I can assure you that they do not feel cheap. They are super sturdy, I'm 230lbs and they have been holding up great for me.

@@brohammer how many days do you ride a season?

You're confusing cost with function. Quality socks don't necessarily mean thicker. I wear the thinnest 100% Merino wool socks from top brand Icebreaker. Also, stiffer boots generally ARE the more expensive ones because they are meant for advanced riders. Soft boots are usually for beginners and are not usually great quality.

No they are not, they are similar to other step in bindings out there like Supermatic or flow

why do you think so? i own a pair they work perfectly

Just some angrysnowboarder dickrider troll, ignore them@@georgeclooney1293

@@georgeclooney1293 highback ejected mid-air

@@treehugger420wow, to me nothing like that happened. with even my traditional burton and bent metal bindings i had issues with broken straps etc. just unlucky. adn all bindings i believe sometimes have rare issues like that. but i agree, not everrybody needs step on bindings. there are advantages and disadvantages