Jones Mercury FASE Snowboard Bindings Review: The Best Fast Entry System

In! Out! In! Out! Jones’ latest fast-entry snowboard bindings mean you’ll never get left behind by a bunch of skiers again. Brent RoseGearMar 6, 2026 7:30 AMReview: Jones Mercury FASE Snowboard BindingsIn! Out! In! Out! Jones’ latest fast-entry snowboard bindings mean you’ll never get left behind by a bunch of skiers again.Photograph: Brent RoseTriangleUpBuy NowMultiple Buying Options Available$360 $288 at Evo$370 at Jones SnowboardsCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyRating:8/10Open rating explainerInformationWIREDSaves time and energy getting in and out. Every bit as responsive as standard two-strap bindings. Can use any boot you like with them. Solid build quality.TIREDCan be a little tricky to step into on steep slopes. Boots sometimes jammed. No SkateTech. Footbed seems to ice up more than usual.The current landscape of snowboard bindings is a story of trade-offs. On the one side, you have the traditional two-strap bindings that offer maximum control and hold but are notoriously slow (skiers love to point that out). They require a fair amount of bending or sitting when you want to get in or out. On the other hand, you have step-on bindings, which have no straps. That allows you to stomp in and go, but it forces you to use specific step-on compatible boots. Unless they fit perfectly, you could have control issues.In the past couple of years, we’ve started seeing hybrid solutions—systems that provide faster entry and exit but allow you to use your favorite boots from any brand and can provide the locked-in feeling that two-strap adherents demand.The latest entrant into that category is the Fast Entry system (FASE), a new technology that has been licensed to legacy snowboard brands such as Jones, Rome, Bataleon, and ThirtyTwo, all of which have introduced models with it for the 2025-26 season. I spent the bulk of this season testing the Mercury FASE binding from Jones, and here’s what I found.How FASE WorksPhotograph: Brent RoseAt first glance, FASE bindings look like a standard two-strap system. While it does indeed have two straps, the toe strap is different. It has a locking mechanism on it, so once it’s set to your liking it won’t move again until you manually adjust it. The ankle strap (which FASE calls the FastStrap) is much longer than is typical. It has the standard ladder teeth for the ratchet lever to grab onto and hold, but it also has an extension that’s totally smooth aside from a bump at the end that helps keep it from disconnecting entirely. That’s so it can open wide enough to allow you to step in and out with your boot while staying a closed loop. This will be important in a second.Jones Snowboards Mercury FASE BindingRating: 8/10$360 $288 at Evo$370 at Jones SnowboardsThe biggest change is in the highback of the binding, which is called the AutoBack in the FASE system. While it can still fold all the way forward for travel and low-hanging chairlifts, when it’s open it leans much farther back than your standard highback. On the bottom of the highback, on the inside, is a sturdy plastic lever.When you step into the binding, your boot presses down on that lever. That shunts the highback up into its full, upright position, pressing it into the back of your calf like normal. Then you just tighten the ankle strap, and off you go. When you want out, you just reach down and open the ratchet on the ankle strap. It releases, and you can step right out.The Jones Mercury FASE binding I tested shares a lot of DNA with Jones’ standard Mercury bindings. It’s a fairly stiff binding, designed primarily for freeride (i.e. off-piste) and powder rather than the terrain park, but it works well as an all-mountain binding. It has a layer of foam padding both on top of and underneath the foot plate, which does a nice job of dampening vibration and giving you a little cushioning from hard landings.Jones highbacks aren’t known for their customizability, and that trend continues here. You have two settings for forward lean, but that’s it. If you’re used to Union bindings, which allow you to tweak the rotation of the highback, you may find that disappointing, but for me, these highbacks fit my calves like a glove. They are stiff, which provided great responsiveness, but they’re lightly padded at the top, and I found them to be very comfortable.The biggest departure from the standard Mercury model is that most of Jones’ traditional bindings use something that the company calls SkateTech. There's a fulcrum in the sides of the binding that lets you put a little more weight on your edges for more control. I’ve become a big SkateTech convert over the years, so I was disappointed that it wasn’t included here, though I adjusted quickly, and they still felt very responsive while using them. However!In UsePhotograph: Brent RoseI tested these bindings on a snowy road-trip through British Columbia and got them into a wide array of conditions, from steep and deep powder to icy groomers of death. I also got to try them while cat-skiing and heli-skiing in the backcountry, which is where I’ve found quick-bi