“The Boot Is The Binding” Snowboarding’s First Built-In Magnetic Interlocking Connection System

Very interesting new Kickstarter campaign advertized as “snowboarding’s first built-in riding system: the boot is the binding.” Read the pitch, watch the videos and get to know more about Machina Boots featuring MagIC (Magnetic Interlocking Connection) and understand why this New Hampshire based startup has crowd-funded $132,365:

Here’s the pitch:

1. Hands-free entry/exit: drop in, twist, locked. No straps, no sitting.
2. Ride lifts and dismount with both feet: no single-foot board hang or riding off.
3. Skate flats seamlessly: pull leash, skate, step back in.
4. Lightest full system: no separate bindings means lightest boot + binding combo.
5. Narrowest footprint: board flexes naturally as the shaper intended.
6. Superior pop & control: narrow sole + direct force transfer = explosive pop and sharp edge response.
7. Instant toe-to-heel turns: no dampening, power goes straight from foot to edge.
8. Custom stiffness: dual-zone BOA through carbon shell dials in soft for park or stiff for carving.
9. Rock-solid lock: helical cams resist twisting under load.
10. Self-cleaning: rotation ejects snow/ice every run.
11. Life-saving: hands-free release could save you in deep snow or tree wells.

KICKSTARTER:

After 35 years riding everything from East Coast ice to big-mountain terrain in British Columbia, I realized one thing: bindings have always been the worst part of snowboarding.

Freezing on a bench, fighting ratchets, skating across flats, and watching beginners struggle just getting off the lift — it all felt outdated.

So I stopped trying to improve bindings and accepted the truth:

The binding is the problem. So I eliminated it. Instead, I built the connection directly into the boot.

That’s the MagIC Ride System (Magnetic Interlocking Connection). MagIC integrates everything into the boot, no separate binding needed. Rare-earth magnets in the sole and board plate align the boots and baseplate effortlessly, while on a chairlift or on the fly. With a quarter-twist, the boot engages precision helical cams, providing a rock-solid lock for snowboarders to ride directly off the chairlift without wasting time playing around with straps.    

Inside the boot, an ultra-light carbon fiber internal shell wraps heel-to-calf, replacing baseplate and highback. Dual-zone wire lacing routes through the shell for custom tension without straps. Tethered leash (connected to belt and worn under outer wear) rotates cams open instantly for unlocking with no bending required. 

“Hey, I’m Brendan Walker, founder of Machina Boot Company. I’ve been snowboarding for over 35 years, starting back when bindings were still metal-edged dinosaurs and lifts were rope tows. I’ve chased powder from the Northeast to the Rockies, built prototypes, filed patents, and even got nominated for design innovations. Through all those seasons, one thing never changed: bindings. The cold-finger ratcheting, the one-footed lift exits, the flat-track pushing, the straps that loosen mid-run. It frustrated me enough that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. So I set out to fix it—not by making a better binding, but by making the binding disappear. That’s how Machina was born. I’m not a big corporation with endless resources. I’m a rider who got tired of the same old problems and decided to solve them myself. This Kickstarter is about turning years of testing, riding, and refining into the first real production run — so you can experience snowboarding without the noise of traditional bindings.” -Brendan Walker

• Categories:  
• GearSnowboarding