This fall, Spark R&D, one of the premier splitboard binding companies, teamed up with ATK to introduce a new tech toe for hardboot splitboarding. This toe piece is based on the popular ATK Trofeo, a staple of the light and fast ski community. The toe-piece’s mount pattern has been redesigned by ATK engineers to be compatible with the standard hole pattern on a splitboard. This toe piece weighs 120g/binding, which is quite light for the splitboard world.
The initial unboxing revealed exactly what they described: a splitboard adapted Trofeo. I have a set of Trofeos on a pair of Voile Objective BCs that I attempt to ski, and I really love the bindings. They offer smooth touring, a secure and snappy lock to get into touring mode.
The Spark ATK Tech Toe is ski crampon compatible with the Spark R&D D-Rex crampon. However, the slots look very similar to the ATK ski crampons. I do not own a pair of these ATK ski crampons to confirm, but I suspect they probably would work.
The piece I was most curious about was how ATK engineers would navigate the lead bolt in the three-hole standard splitboard pattern. This has been my biggest issue personally; these bolts loosen due to the forces of split skiing and skinning. The three-hole pattern with a tech binding design places the lead bolt directly under the ski/walk lever’s pin arm connection point. I have seen several different ideas, but it does look like the ATK folks hit it out of the park. It works this way: The toe piece essentially becomes a wrench, and you screw down the toe piece with the toe piece! This locks the toe piece in, preventing the screw from moving unless the binding rotates. I have one tour on these this year and was quite pleased with them.
I have high hopes, as ATK and Spark R&D are both at the forefront of their respective disciplines. I’m excited to see how these toes perform over the course of the season. Stay tuned.
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