More than 19 years ago, Scott Stevens joined the team at Union bindings. Now, it’s time for the next phase of his career.
Stevens has joined the ThirtyTwo FASE binding team. He posted a video of him riding the new bindings on his Capita Big Nice Burgundy Snowboard on February 5, 2025. Check it out below.
It’s a move that makes sense on a number of levels. Stevens already rides for ThirtyTwo, and has a signature boot and outerwear line with the brand. The FASE system also gives Stevens the ability to get crafty. The man rarely posts clips with both feet strapped into his board, and the FASE system might give him a chance to showcase the creativity that makes his riding so special.
“Thank you guys for everything. Union Binding Company, I didn’t plan on it going this way,’ he said in an Instagram post. “Maybe some miscommunications in the last month but I appreciate you guys so much and I always will. I’m moving on and I hope everyone knows how hard it was to make this decision.”
FASE is a new "ingredient technology" for snowboard bindings that will debut next season. Think of the tech as the bindings version of Vibram, Gore-Tex, or MIPS. Four brands within the Nidecker family – Jones, Bataleon, ThirtyTwo, and Rome – will have bindings with the new technology next year. For ThirtyTwo, a brand that specializes in boots, gloves, and outerwear, it will be the first binding from the company.
Photo: FASE
FASE bindings will feature a highback that pulls back, allowing for easier rear entry of a binding, mimicking how the majority of people put on regular shoes. A lever will lock the highback into place, and a rider will be able to customize their ankle strap appropriately. The invention is an answer to Burton’s StepOn system, which has grow this year to collaborate with Union and Nitro.
“We feel (that market) is still growing, but we also see that the core is not really accepting it, or the performance user, because they do miss the two-strap feeling of a standard binding,” Xavier Nidecker said in an interview with Snowboarder in 2024. “So this was kind of where all this started. The inspiration to make the strap-in process hassle free, but keeping the two strap look and performance.”
The FASE team has continued to add members to an already stacked lineup. Pat Fava, Tor Lundstrom, Chris Bradshaw, Victor de Le Rue, and big mountain Jeremy Jones all had signed on at the original announcement of the brand. Since then, Stale Sandbech, Cody Warble, Scott Blum, and Joe Sexton have all joined the squad.
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