xstarrider - I have been riding the systems for 4 years and the Marek for 2 years, so this is right in my wheel house. I will try not to be too lengthy in my feedback but i am a big fan of both the systems and the Marek. If you want more details, just let me know and I can go on and on.
Systems -
Pros: supercharged response when edging, minimal heel/toe lift, durable longer than traditional bindings (when the boots wear down over time, just click a few more notches on the ratchet to achieve more support, and if desired, replace just the boots over time instead of boot+binding)
Cons: ladder straps can break (only had this happen about 2-3 times in 4 years of riding at the Outlaw level, easily replaced by Hyperlite), tough to swim in since you cant straighten your foot/ankle like normal
The System pro's are sick, they come with an extra footbed to really cushion landings, and they have the new toe strap which can be worn over the top of the foot or "toe cap" style like snowboard bindings. I will say that I actually prefer them over the top of the foot since the volume of the toe box on system boots is smaller than a snowboard boot. As for taking diggers and breaking the ladder straps, yea this may happen, but its pretty rare and requires a hell of a hard edge catch to strip out the teeth. And Hyperlite has always sent me replacements no questions asked. On 95% of falls you wont come out and I've never had an issue. I have never noticed the weight being an issue, but they have DEFINITELY made them lighter and sleeker in more recent years.
Marek -
Pros: very fast for both glide speed and on edge (pretty much fastest ive ridden), generates lots of speed/line tension in a short distance, great edge-to-edge transition, tons of explosive pop (whether its vertical or into the flats depends on the width of your approach), softer landings in the flats (i feel all w2w landings are fairly soft no matter what board, just IMO)
Cons: a tad on the grippy side (i fixed this with 0.8 p-wings for my taste)
The Marek is sort of the evolution of the 3DS and the Premier, and has obviously been refined in the 2nd generation. Its more user friendly than the 1st gen marek, which was crazy sensitive edge-to-edge. I used to ride the Covin back in 08 and really liked it, and I love how the Marek rides. Definitely stoked to go out and ride again, hopefully the snow melts real soon. Hope this review helps and let me know if you want more info about either one.
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