Review from the owner
of the Wakepark "WonderWake"
Saint-Petersburg, Russia
“

A couple of years ago, we wrote an overview article about rental bindings, but time flies, and at the beginning of the 2023 season, we faced the question of replacing our entire range of rental bindings in our wake park. In this article, we won't provide a general overview, but instead, we will share our experience of using Why Not bindings - the Domino 2.0 and Banger models - for one summer season.

Why did we pay attention to the Why Not Domino 2.0 bindings?

By the end of the 2022 season, our rental bindings, Slingshot KTV 2017 and Option 2019, had been significantly modified and repaired, losing their attractive appearance. Taking into account the situation on the wakeboarding equipment market, buying new Slingshot bindings in such large quantities would cost us a significant amount of money. Besides, I had been thinking about manufacturing my own bindings for quite some time.


So, I decided to find out how much it would cost to make my own bindings, using the KTV as a basis and a sample. I found a manufacturer in China, sent them photos of what we had, along with a description of what I wanted to get. During the price negotiation process, I realized that I was not the only one with this idea, and someone else was also interested in pursuing it.

After calculating the costs of material investment, required time, and labor to simply catch up with the guys, I put the idea of making my own bindings on the backburner. And then, after the New Year, seeing an advertisement for the new Why Not bindings on Instagram, I realized that I made the right choice, as the guys were already on their second pair of bindings and had experienced the issues that I would have had to deal with.

So, that's how I decided to replace my Slingshot bindings with Why Not bindings. The difficulty was that almost all members of our crew disagreed with my decision to take on an unproven brand and switch all the bindings at once. But for me, that was the only way to see all the problems and get a real picture of this product.

After lengthy discussions, I was able to convince the team, and we bought a complete size range of Why Not Domino 2.0 and Banger bindings from the wake park for rental purposes, totaling 8 pairs. And I also took one pair of Domino 2.0 bindings for personal use.

My experience with different brands of bindings

Throughout my years of wakeboarding, I have not used Slingshot bindings for several reasons. The first and most significant reason for me is their cost. The price of Slingshot bindings, specifically the KTV model, is generally justified. The Slingshot brand has made improvements from model to model, and by 2023, I had almost no complaints about the quality of their bindings. However, there is one main issue - depending on usage, the boot tends to detach from the sole after a season or two. Perhaps, this is a commercial move to encourage more frequent replacement of the bindings.


All the minor issues that arise annually have been addressed over time, but this problem remains relevant year after year in all Slingshot models. Since it wouldn't be too difficult to add an additional stitch and use thicker thread during the binding assembly process, there must be some hidden meaning behind this.


The second reason is more personal - the Slingshot KTV bindings didn't fit me in terms of width. Even the ones we had in our rental shop for many years squeezed my foot so much that training became unbearable. Why the KTV model instead of the Rad? Because I like the three-strap system, where during a trick, you can be certain that no matter what goes wrong, the rubber straps will stretch and your foot will come out of the binding without injury.


That's why I bought LiquidForce bindings with laces year after year. LiquidForce fit me well, but their laces no longer hold tight and easily come undone when I fall. And if they don't come undone, I had to bring the bindings to "Traektoriya" store for warranty because they either broke in half or fell apart, detaching from the platform.


In 2023, I bought the Hyperlite system and initially, I was very happy with it. However, after a short period of use, the boots lost their stiffness, and even in tightly laced bindings, they would loosen on my foot, which negatively affected the quality of riding.

After purchasing the Why Not Domino 2.0, I decided to give the Hyperlite the system another chance and not sell them, but use them while kiteboarding. However, even there, the system disappointed me - it takes two hands and some dexterity to get into the clasps and fasten the straps on the bindings. Walking in boots in cold water, on rocks or shells, is comfortable, but when you're trying to strap into the board while lying in the water and a wave with sand washes over you from behind, all the advantages quickly fade away.

So, going back a bit and looking ahead, I must say that I was very impressed with the durability of the Why Not bindings. I ride at my local wake park almost every day, and not just for 10 minutes. I often fall and come out of the bindings, and with Liquid Force bindings, I would go through pairs (sometimes even two) during the summer season. But after three months of use, the Why Not bindings were still in good condition, not ready to be discarded.

At the end of the third month of use, one of the strap hooks broke, so I flipped the remaining straps and hooked them onto the hooks in such a way that the force of the tightened strap worked in the opposite direction, instead of both ends of the strap pulling in the same direction, which caused the hook to bend. Additionally, the inner linings of the boots wore out on the heels, despite the fact that I always wore socks. And towards the end of the season, in September, one of the boots had a thread come loose that holds the boot to the sole.


I contacted the manufacturer about all of these issues, and even though the two-month warranty period had ended, WhyNot sent me a new pair.

Using the Why Not bindings in the wake park rental

I can say that they performed very well. Initially, both models were very stiff, and it was difficult to feel any significant difference in stiffness, as stated in the description. However, after two or three weeks of rental use, the Banger model became much more flexible, thanks to the cut of the outer boot.


Now, let's talk about the problems. During the rental period, one of the Banger bindings experienced a tear in the material at the designated flex point of the boot. I didn't take immediate action to repair or reinforce it, and with intensive daily use, the tear significantly increased. I had to rip the material open, sew a nylon strip inside the boot at the tear location, and tightly fold the material along the tear line, stitching it along the edge. I didn't observe this problem with other pairs.


On the same pair, due to constantly overtightening the strap, the hook bent and eventually broke off. Instead of the hook, I inserted an M6 bolt into the strap, and continued using the bindings.

Heel and boot seams
Both Why Not models, from my observations, are manufactured in the same production facility as other well-known brands in the world. It seems that the guys at Why Not have taken some design decisions from Jobe bindings – a rigid, durable, but lighter and simpler platform compared to the Slingshot brand.

The outer boot patterns are also very similar to some Jobe models, and with the same patterns come similar problems: the heel on Jobe bindings tends to compress under intense use, and the seam that runs from top to bottom on the back of the heel experiences unwanted stress. It is quite difficult for a rider to compress and deform the heel on smaller-sized models, but on larger-sized models, it is much easier. This is the reason why the material at the seam would tear on Jobe bindings. With Why Not bindings, the material in this area is stronger, so it is the thread that connects the two pieces of material that gives way first. In the new Why Not models of the 2024 season, which already have photos circulating online, the pattern for the heel has been changed to a solid piece of material without a seam in the center.

None of the bindings used throughout the season in our wake park showed any problems with wear on the boot liner's heels, as I have experienced with my personal bindings, so it is likely that this problem is purely individual.


As a result of using the 2023 season bindings in our wake park, we have decided to upgrade the entire park to new Why Not bindings for the 2024 season, and I will continue to fly from the Domino 2.0 model.

As a result of all the above, I can say the following

All bindings, regardless of the brand and price, are not eternal. Depending on the quantity and quality of riding, they quickly (or not so quickly) require repair or replacement. WhyNot bindings are repairable bindings, and in my observations, the manufacturer responds to identified shortcomings in the product by improving them in new models.


In my opinion, the price of the bindings is justified, but the warranty period is not very long (we had two months). If you plan to ride wakeboarding on a weekend basis, these bindings may be the only ones you buy. And they will serve you faithfully for many years, and if repairs are ever needed, a shoe repair technician can easily handle it.