Review: Enfuse Shift Bindings

A Guide’s Review of the Enfuse Splitboard Bindings

Enfuse’s first offering, the Shift, is a bomb-proof splitboard binding with a unique but straightforward attachment system that’s simple enough for beginners and strong enough for advanced riders. They took the abuse of touring and heli-skiing without a problem and have seen a few new updates for 2022/23 that will make them even better.

Splitboard bindings aren’t just for Splitboarding. Here they get an assist to the top of the mountain.

Overview

Material: 6082 Aluminium, Bronze
Sizes Available: Medium and Large
Weight: 2096 g all in
Designed in: The Alps
Country of Origin: Czech Republic

What are the Enfuse Shift Bindings?

The Enfuse Shift bindings are a brand-new take on splitboard bindings. The team at Enfuse wanted a strong yet minimalist binding that could take the abuse of splitboarding without the worry of parts breaking easily. They didn’t want to use pre-existing tech and went about redesigning the splitboard binding, the result being the Shift. We think they are a long way down the right path in creating a legit contender with a grip on new ideas to the already established splitboard bindings on the market.

The Orbital Locking System

Out are pucks and small fiddly parts. Enfuse’s Orbital locking system is in. The Orbital Locking system consists of four brass pins and an excentric rod. As you rotate the excentric rod, its ovalized endings pull the board to the binding and lock the binding hooks into place. It’s incredibly simple and easy to set up. With the 2021/22 Version I tested the excentric lock would flex when there was a little too much Pacific NorthWest Pow on the pins but always locked into place well. For the 2022/23 season, the excentric rod has been beefed up and will be even sturdier.

The New Excentric Rod of the Orbital Locking System

Thanks to the Orbital locking system, adjusting the binding angle is a breeze. Lock the binding in place with the excentric rod, loosen the four bolts on the binding that sit outside the ring (don’t remove them), and rotate the binding to your favorite angle. Done. Tighten the four bolts again and you’re good to go. It may be easier to adjust the angle on the Shift binding than a regular binding.

The brass pins that the Orbital Locking System Mounts to

Tour Mode

The Enfuse Shift bindings keep life even simpler with their tour mode. Hold the bindings at 90 degrees to the board’s surface and slide the bindings onto the pins from left to right. Rotate the binding down into position and the notched pins lock the bindings into place. That’s it.

I had some reservations with this system, worrying that on hard kick turns I may knock the bindings loose but this never happened. Rotation was easy and the receiving slots on the bindings never filled with snow. To further the bindings utility, the tour brackets also have slots for Dynafit-style crampons.

The receiving pins of the Enfuse Shift Bindings

The touring pin receivers on the Enfuse Shift Bindings

The Highback

The 2021/22 Ensfuse Shift Bindings came with a standard Nitro-styled nylon highback. The highbacks for 2022/23 have been improved by adding carbon for more rigidity. If you are into railing hard turns then the new highbacks should be even more responsive.

Where the Enfuse Shift bindings part with the norm is their Hexagon Angle Adjuster. On the back of the binding is a hexagonal dial with six different angles. Simply rotate the adjuster and you have a new amount of forward lean. There is no mechanism to lock it into place, and no screwdrivers are necessary. The Hexagon Angle Adjuster is totally toolless and near flawless. As the Hexagon Angle Adjuster is metal and the heel loop is metal, the heel loop has dented a little. It’s not the end of the world but a bit of padding (perhaps a small strip of an old CrabGrab stomp pad?) would soften the blow. New for 2022/23, is a negative angle to allow for longer strides in uphill mode.

The Hexagon adjuster of the Enfuse Shift Binding

Straps + Buckles

The 2021 Enfuse Shift bindings came with a canvas-style strap that has now been replaced with a custom nylon strap that looks to be a significant upgrade. The buckles remain Nitro-branded buckles that get the job done well.

The 22/23 Straps on the Enfuse Bindings. Photo Courtesy Enfuse.

The Nylon Straps and Nitro Buckles of the 22/23 Enfuse Shift Binding

The Nitrop Toe Buckle on the 21/22 Enfuse Shift Binding

The Heel Riser

The heel riser on the Enfuse Shift bindings is a simple affair with a nice little trick up its sleeve. The heel riser on the Shift binding sits to the back of the binding, opposite of all bindings on the market. This works to the rider’s advantage twofold: The risers are never under the bindings which allow the rider to be able to see the riser better and be able to engage it for steeper sections of the skin track. Secondly, when you first step down on the risers they cantilever and lift ever so slightly off the board. Not enough that you notice them until you need to lift them. Sitting slightly proud from the board makes them a breeze to engage with the handle or end of a ski pole. The risers have two positions.

The 22/23 heel riser with added plastic protection

Solid Bindings, Solid Board

As an added bonus, Enfuse has created a mounting plate with the identical four posts required to lock the Shift binding onto a splitboard but with the bolt pattern to mount it on a solid board. The Enfuse Shift rides really well on a solid board. The only caveat is that these are stiff bindings without any footbed padding. They are designed to hold soft skis together so they can be a little unforgiving on a solid board if you hit some chop and transfer a lot of chop. That said, if you are looking for bindings that’ll allow you to lean hard into a carve and serve double duty, the Shift has your back.

The Enfuse Shift mounted to a solid board

Solid board connectors for the Enfuse Shift bindings

Overview

When I received the Enfuse Shift bindings I immediately put them on my board. I love new bindings and wasn’t about to wait to put them on. It took me all of five minutes to get them mounted. I then noticed an email from Jan asking if I needed help setting them up. Nope. Setting up the Enfuse Shift bindings is really that simple and intuitive.

They are burly bindings. They are not light by any means but the trade-off is they can take an absolute beating Heli Skiing proved this. Repeated bashing in and out of the basket makes short work of a lot of touring equipment if you are not careful. The Shift bindings took the beating well.

Everything on the bindings is held in by a 5mm hex bolt which is awesome, One tool to rule them all, Frodo would be stoked. That said, some of them have different shafts which meant carrying a variety of spares, or a few different trips to Home Depot should a bolt unexpectedly fall out while riding. Really, we should all be carrying spares in the backcountry. Why get stuck when a fifty-cent part could be the difference between a wicked decent and a wicked boot pack home?

Who are the Enfuse Shift Bindings for?

The splitboarder who is looking for a simple system that can take a lot of abuse and wants to be able to share bindings between their split and solid.

Who are the Enfuse Shift Bindings not for?

The splitboarder who is looking for the lightest thing possible.

If you are interested in picking up a pair of Enfuse Shift bindings head on over to their site and pick some up: Enfuse

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Black Sheep Adventure sports was provided with a free sample of Enfuse Shift Bindings. This in no way affected our opinion and review of the bindings.