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Help with board bindings


julz m

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cool ill check 'em out. what are some other trusted and good binding makers? and ive heard bad things about flow binders but that quick insert thingy seems so damn handy.

 

The higher end ones are nice but the mid and low level ones are not as great. For your price point (which I think is the ideal price/performance point) Salomon, Burton, Rome, T9 are good. I am a huge Ride fanboy (with one of each EX, SPi, Teams, and Alphas that I love) but I find their $150 bindings have fallen off a cliff in the last few years.

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Just my 2 hundredths of a dollar but I've got a pair of K2s now with one of those convertible cap straps and I absolutely swear by them now. I feel funny notice a major difference now when I have the strap up in its normal position.

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I really liked my SPi's minus the terrible ratchets.

 

Glenn, there was a time when they were the best selling binding in our shop for sure back when they hadvthe flight series. You couldn't go lower than the EX but at the time they were so much more solid than the Birton ones it wasn't even funny. And who else did you have, Drake? So I went through the first three pairs up there and loved them. Coming from skiing I liked the feel of the stiff back and big heelstrap. The only major weakness were the crappy ratchets and a thin toe strap. I mixed T9 MFM cap straps with Ride SPis for an epic binding.

 

Their sales across the board started dropping off a cliff about 3 years ago. I defended them when we made our purchasing decesions but that ended up being a mistake. We then dropped everything but their bindings - which they really tried to prevent us from doing - but still lost money. We dropped them entirely this year.

 

My girlfriend bought me the alphas last year for Christmas knowing I was bummed about it. They have a great frame and base plate, and great toe straps. But the heel straps just aren't the same. My previous Ride binding was the Team from a few years back and it feels better but is showing it's age. I do think the softer back is a plus but over 5 years Ride has been stagnant and even I an convinced Burton has moved way ahead.

 

For me Salomon is the best value today, Rome feels like what Ride did a few years ago, and Burton leads the pack. Flow has great innovation at the high end but you can't buy their low end. T9 is great but a bit heavy in my mind.

 

So long answer to say,yeah not many today like them but there was a time when many did.

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i always look for bindings with the least amount of screws holding them together. i figure the less there are the less there is a chance one is going to rattle loose and end up causing some major damage to the bindings. that is my SOUL reason for buying burton bindings. the base plate is one solid piece of material, the back support is pretty much one solid piece, and only the heel strap is screwed on. you can actually adjust the back plate on burton bindings with the 2 screws that attach it to the baseplate. so i usually dial it in there and completely remove that stupid little "quick adjust" block/screw on the back to have one less thing to worry about. so yea, i like burton bindings, and i know many are going to bash me for it, but that is my theory and i'm sticking to it.

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yea i have ride bindings right now and dont like them. the heel strap is HUGE

 

Haha, I see that as a feature not a bug. I'm used to the really stiff ski boots and I paired up K2 T1's with Ride Teams for basically the stiffest setup I could make without going to plate bindings. I'm backing off that setup now because while it is amazing for carving and pipe it blows out your knees on hard landings. I'm going to swing the pendulum in the other direction this year and go with Burton Custom's and some soft boot for a really really forgiving park setup.

 

And if you want to see a HUGE heelstrap, go back to the Drake's from 02ish. They basically have a piece of tire for a heelstrap.

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Haha, I see that as a feature not a bug. I'm used to the really stiff ski boots and I paired up K2 T1's with Ride Teams for basically the stiffest setup I could make without going to plate bindings. I'm backing off that setup now because while it is amazing for carving and pipe it blows out your knees on hard landings. I'm going to swing the pendulum in the other direction this year and go with Burton Custom's and some soft boot for a really really forgiving park setup.

 

And if you want to see a HUGE heelstrap, go back to the Drake's from 02ish. They basically have a piece of tire for a heelstrap.

I have the custom's and paired with 32 Team 2s sans the stiffening tongue plate.. I dig that set up. Lil on the soft side, but I come from skateboarding. So that is preferable to me.

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I have the custom's and paired with 32 Team 2s sans the stiffening tongue plate.. I dig that set up. Lil on the soft side, but I come from skateboarding. So that is preferable to me.

 

That is a really light-weight setup, I could see that being a great combo. I really wish 32 boots fit my foot I have no idea what boots I will end up with but I've had the Missions and the Cartels in years past and I liked them - though I broke both - and Burton seems to basically shift their technology down one rung each year so I would basically have the same bindings I used to for less money.

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