Ok, here goes:
1) how many pairs of reactors have you or your team broken?
Personally, it's the only binding I rode all season, and I have never broken one. I've seen a few pairs broken by team riders, but all were pretty extreme circumstances. They still trust and use the binding.
2) what will be the changes to the '06 models?
The toe and heel piece are on a track. The majority of the breaks occured when the bindings were not set properly (or adjusted by someone other than a tech) and the teeth inside the track were not correctly set. The force of your boot in the binding could rip these teeth out, and the toe and/or heel would slide on the track. The new teeth are thicker and longer.
The toe and heel pieces are also woven together at a microscopic level. Sometimes they would crack. Dupont looked at the design, and determined that if the microscopic fibers were shorter and woven tighter, they would be much stronger. Think of it like a rope.
Now, that being said, almost everyone that came in with a broken reactor had admitted to trying to adjust it themselves. Just because it looks simple to do, there's a lot going on that you need to know about before you try and set the binding. We demoed them at our camp, and I personally set them all, and not 1 binding was damaged the entire time.
3) when will these become available?
I expect to recieve my first shipment in early August.
4) what price will jibij be retailing these for?
From what I've also been told, there is no camo binding being made anymore. For the R10, Jibij will sell it at $249. For the R12, $299.
Disclaimer: All of the info on the new bindings I was told and shown by Jason Levinthal this February when he stayed with me at Copper Mountain. From my understanding, none of it has changed. If it has, I apologize.
Jibij Pro Shop
2714 28th St.
Boulder, CO 80301
303-440-1244
www.jibij.com