Binding Review: 10-11 Salomon Celeste

Location: Winter Park, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to icy conditions on the mountain, flat-light riding conditions.

Setup: I rode the Salomon Celeste bindings on the  Salomon Pop Star with my Vans Veil Boots size 8.

Time to set up the binding: I think I made the guy nervous because it took a lot longer than normal to set them up.  But it’s not because they were difficult, they weren’t and normally they are easy and quick to get set up.

Fit: The celeste fit was good with my boots, no gaps in the width of the binding and I could have pulled out the toe ramps to be more aligned with my boot but I was able to ride them no problem.  Ankle/toe straps fit my boots.  In the past I’ve have issues with the salomon toe straps and this time I didn’t encounter any slippage or problems with it sticking on me.

First Impression: Comfortable and so far good all around especially with the toe strap staying on.

Appearance: Definitely a girly binding look but more subtle than you think, you hardly recognize the flower power until you really start looking at the bindings.  The white overall appearance helps tone down the girlness.  Some pink in the highback and ratchets to give it color.

Comfort: Quite comfortable to be riding in.  Overall the ankle strap had good padding so you didn’t have any pressure points and decent padding in the highback and baseplate on the binding.

Functionality: Typical binding on functionality, it has new improved toe straps for 10-11 that are supposed to be lightweight, cored out and grips the toe box better.   The eva padding on the baseplate helped with choppy bumpy terrain when riding but didn’t get a true test in really bumped out areas.  The bindings overall are pretty lightweight to begin with and a functional binding with the upgrades on the toe strap they made.  I didn’t find any issues from riding them.

Flex: The Celeste’s were more entry level forgiving flex, it’s marked as a 3 from salomon and I’d agree with that.  A stiffer highback flex that gave you more support but the straps were on the softer side, so more comfort side to side and stiffer forward and backward on the binding.

Response: Middle of the road for response, it was on the mellow side for riding so you could enjoy each turn at your own pace versus little movements that make the binding and board go on edge.  The highback was a bit stiffer so you could hold heelside turns with decent support.   If I had pulled out the toe ramp more I probably would’ve gotten better response but unsure how much more.

Toe Strap: In the past I’ve had issues with the toe straps on salomon bindings but this year they have the true grip toe strap that actually I enjoyed a lot better than previous years toe straps. It was snug and comfortable around the toe of my boot, no pressure points and the ratchets stayed tight during riding.

Overall Impression: I like when companies describe bindings how they are, the celeste’s are a match to what Salomon says, lighter forgiving binding that can range from freestyle or freeride depending on the rider.  Comfortable all around and no complaints on the toe strap or ratchets with this one.

Shay’s Honesty Box: My one dislike has been the toe straps from salomon because I’d find them slipped off after a run in the past…but this time I didn’t have that happen so they were an improvement and overall a good binding, I wrote down in my note that the “bindings were great!” so definitely an improvement that won me over.

Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Salomon Celeste or shop their full line of Salomon snowboard bindings

On Snow Photos

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Salomon Celeste Description

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Review Disclosure: I rode this binding at a demo day.