Hi, I have a pair of Burton Step-in boots, and was wondering if I
could simply take off the support ratchet across the top of the boots
and use strap-in bindings instead?

I can't remember what the Burton step-in mechanism looks like - as long
as it doesn't get hung up when you put your foot in the strap binding it
should be OK.

The issue I guess would be whether the SI boots are designed with less
padding on the top of the foot, and whether this amount of padding
would be enough with step-in's.

I wouldn't guess that this would be an issue but if it is you can always
add some padding yourself - just duck-tape a little extra padding to the
top of your boots.

Mike T