BURTON AND TECHNINE JOIN FORCES TO PROTECT BINDING CAP STRAP TECHNOLOGY



01/07/04 - Press Release


It was just good old fashioned coincidence that Burton and Technine independently invented a similar, breakthrough cap strap design that revolutionized comfort and control in a binding's toe strap.

The story of Technine pro rider Marc Frank Montoya's "Baltimore steez" toe cap strap begins in Utah. Three winters ago Marc Frank Montoya and his homies were putting their toe straps over the tips of their toes instead of over the top of the foot. He quickly discovered the advantages of this simple idea because it pulled the foot back into the binding and felt more snug. Marc Frank went to Technine's factory and developed the design for the "Baltimore steez toe strap" found on his 2004 signature Technine model. It came out in January 2003 at SIA, and everybody loved it. Marc Frank sums it up by saying "Why is my toe cap strap so bangin' and everybody wants to bite it? Well because sh*t, just look at it and think about how it works. It's so damn good. It pulls your foot back into the binding, holds it down all nice, keep everything all snug, and doesn't slip out of its position. Sh*t, all that!"

Meanwhile, development of Burton's patent-pending Capstrap(tm) began at Mt. Hood. A couple of summers ago, one of Burton's on-snow testing coordinators, Sean McVeigh, noticed that a lot of kids at Hood were folding their toe straps down in order to pull their boots further back into the heelcup of their bindings. In a "eureka" moment, Sean decided to build a toe cap strap out of a hockey helmet chin strap. Despite the strap's rudimentary construction, the testing crew instantly noticed that the chin strap provided excellent and accurate heel hold and enhanced board control without the pressure points that are sometimes associated with standard toe straps. Soon after, Burton's binding development team began work on a production version of a telescoping adjustable Capstrap that they launched in January 2003 at SIA on the 2004 Mission Greed.

When Burton pro riders like Jeremy Jones got their hands on the new Capstraps, they immediately bagged their old toe straps and began rocking the new Capstraps. Now the majority of Burton's team rides the Capstrap because it provides superior heel hold and comfort as well as enhanced board control compared to traditional toe straps. Jeremy Jones, Dave Downing, Keir Dillon, JP Solberg, Natasza Zurek, Victoria Jealouse, Anne Molin Kongsgaard, Colin Langlois and Mikey Rencz are all devoted Capstrap converts.

After many conversations back and forth about which company came up with the idea first, Burton and Technine decided to join forces to protect this valuable new technology. Burton will control the patent, but Technine has exclusive rights to produce its own version of the cap strap. Once the patent is issued, Burton and Technine will be the only companies authorized to produce the breakthrough cap strap design.

Technine's "Baltimore Toe Strap" is featured on its 2004 Marc Frank Montoya pro model binding. Burton's Capstrap is offered on two models for 2004 - the Mission OLS and Mission Greed. Check out your local retailer and get 'em while you can, 'cause they're selling out fast.

Marc Frank Montoya and Burton Snowboards - the pioneers of toe cap strap technology.