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Softboot binding recommendation for large feet


TimW

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Any recommendations for softboot bindings that minimize overhang? Lacking some knowledge on softies...

 

Last year I got myself some softboots (northwave) and a matching board for those powder days. This year i got myself a wide board (277) to match my feet (mondo 305) 

The 'problem' is that whenever I hit a groomer I start carving. This is fine on a blue run, but when it gets steeper and I get to 'speed controlling' lean angles, I wash out because off too much overhang.

Now my bindings are far from optimal, they are too small, not fitting well too my boots(heel could go a bit deeper in and no toe support). In addition the hoop supporting the highback sits low and is very thick, making it worse.

So time to spend some money on proper bindings, but there is too much to choose from and no local shops with decent advisory skills.

So any recommendations? Some requirements(I think):

- minimize overhang

- work with forward angles on both bindings (something like 30f, 20b)

- decent stiffness ( although the boots offer a lot of support, don't need that much more)

- adjustable forward lean

-.other important things?

 With my current setup I can tilt to something like 50 degrees before touching the ground, so I guess I don't need to gain too much for it to work. 

Any advice appreciated, Tim

 

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9 hours ago, TimW said:

Any recommendations for softboot bindings that minimize overhang? Lacking some knowledge on softies...

 

Last year I got myself some softboots (northwave) and a matching board for those powder days. This year i got myself a wide board (277) to match my feet (mondo 305) 

The 'problem' is that whenever I hit a groomer I start carving. This is fine on a blue run, but when it gets steeper and I get to 'speed controlling' lean angles, I wash out because off too much overhang.

Now my bindings are far from optimal, they are too small, not fitting well too my boots(heel could go a bit deeper in and no toe support). In addition the hoop supporting the highback sits low and is very thick, making it worse.

So time to spend some money on proper bindings, but there is too much to choose from and no local shops with decent advisory skills.

So any recommendations? Some requirements(I think):

- minimize overhang

- work with forward angles on both bindings (something like 30f, 20b)

- decent stiffness ( although the boots offer a lot of support, don't need that much more)

- adjustable forward lean

-.other important things?

 With my current setup I can tilt to something like 50 degrees before touching the ground, so I guess I don't need to gain too much for it to work. 

Any advice appreciated, Tim

 

A lift might be the ticket, pretty much everything becomes a trade off. Flows have no heel cup but this becomes apparent when you feel the cable stretch. I don’t like them. They ride fine, just can’t like them. 

My favorite binding is the now O-Drive. Not very adjustable though. Super responsive without being harsh, no canting is the only thing that really bothers me about them. 

Ride el hefes are super nice, a little softer than the Nows. Little bit slimmer heel hoop but it’s negligible.  Way more adjustable than the now bindings.

drake Podiums are quite nice! Have an older set, the new ones have a bunch of improvements over my set so those are an option.

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Both the o-drive and the nidecker have L as largest size. With the o-drive a mondo 305 is the upper limit, for the nidecker it is out of the range. The El Hefe and Podium both come in XL where I am right in the middle of the range, so that seems like a better choice to me?

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As others have said, the flows have one of the smallest, if not the smallest heel cup which does help for overhang and heel boot out. But there is a love them or hate them relationship for most people with them. They can be finicky to get setup at first, and some just don't like how they feel. The general consensus is to NOT do the hybrid strap that goes over the toe. I like my flows but they aren't perfect. 

Some question on reliability too if you hard charge them. @slopestaralmost exclusively uses them and seems to never leave home without a bucket full of spare parts or atleast one spare binding set. 

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18 hours ago, AcousticBoarder said:

 

Some question on reliability too if you hard charge them. @slopestaralmost exclusively uses them and seems to never leave home without a bucket full of spare parts or atleast one spare binding set. 

Truth ^

all bindings break. Flows too. Victory favors the prepared. 

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25 minutes ago, slopestar said:

Truth ^

all bindings break. Flows too. Victory favors the prepared. 

So true ive yet to find a soft boot binding that hasn't eventually blown apart in a somewhat spectacular yet so i travel with spare parts and a spare set of bindings if possible.

May i also suggest as a outsider the Rome Targa the heel cup is a little lower than on the flows but its low profile enough that the heel of your boot will touch down generally before the cup will. It has possibly the best ankle strap ive found for powder transfer on a traditional binding and the chassis itself is supremely adjustable in terms of tweaking. the highback is stiff but with a little give so isnt quite as hard as say the now o-drive/recons but still has alot of response. 

There fashionable but i would say to avoid union unless you want to join my adventures in carbon strengthening lol

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Thanks for all the advice.

I bought the Ride El Hefes. They fit well to my boots and the it is now the heel of my boot and not the binding anymore that is limiting edge angle. I also liked the adjustability (centering etc.), I don't have much to compare but everything I need is there. The bindings hold my boots a lot better, the shape matches well and the straps without cushioning is better, I do not have to do them overly tight anymore to remove play.

Thanks.

 

 

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14 hours ago, TimW said:

Thanks for all the advice.

I bought the Ride El Hefes. They fit well to my boots and the it is now the heel of my boot and not the binding anymore that is limiting edge angle. I also liked the adjustability (centering etc.), I don't have much to compare but everything I need is there. The bindings hold my boots a lot better, the shape matches well and the straps without cushioning is better, I do not have to do them overly tight anymore to remove play.

Thanks.

 

 

@TimW Did you get the 2019 El Hefes with the reversible ankle straps? It’s a great option. @bobdea you’re missing out 😉

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14 hours ago, bobdea said:

Yeah! I really like them. Now that I have significant time on the Nows I’m missing some of the el hefes features but the Nows turn just a little bit better ugh, nothing is perfect. 

If theyd put an adjustable heel cup and rotatable high-back on the Now's id be all over them but i'm out until they do.

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6 hours ago, scottishsurfer said:

If theyd put an adjustable heel cup and rotatable high-back on the Now's id be all over them but i'm out until they do.

Yeah, I feel you, I figured if they didn’t work they’d be easy to move here. 

The highback is bigger (wider, more wrap) than most so it’s fine for me with 21-10 angles. 

The no canting though, that hurts as I have grown to like softboot canting more and more.....

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I'm 33 on my lead foot so I kind of need the rotation. My big issue with not having the moveable heel cup is centering the boot via the disc will mean unless your lucky and get it perfect your going to end up with two of the little drive feet you put power through closer to one edge than the other two are which might hinder the system a tad.

[Edit]
Extra thought the ideal would be the ability to extend or retract the feet so they line up with the edge of the board perfectly no matter the angle also.

Edited by scottishsurfer
extra thoughts
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4 hours ago, scottishsurfer said:

I'm 33 on my lead foot so I kind of need the rotation. My big issue with not having the moveable heel cup is centering the boot via the disc will mean unless your lucky and get it perfect your going to end up with two of the little drive feet you put power through closer to one edge than the other two are which might hinder the system a tad.

[Edit]
Extra thought the ideal would be the ability to extend or retract the feet so they line up with the edge of the board perfectly no matter the angle also.

The truth is I don’t think it makes much of the difference, as much as I like the bindings I’m very skeptical of the “skate tech” doing what they claim. The pressure comes from your boot pressing on the pad under the boot mostly....... those arms aren’t all that stiff, can torque them right off the board. That might be the secret to why the binding works so well allows more flex of the board under foot without being sloppy. 

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1 hour ago, pauleleven said:

Given Northwave boots, Union Force and Atlas both work pretty well with my northwaves. I think both are offered in a large, Atlas is a bit stiffer, bootbed also has inward can't.

If your strong enough the union Atlas bindings will give you lots of inward cant and so additional heel lift after a few hours riding..... 😂🤣
KSK0xg4.jpg
This is why i cant recommend them the disc was tight and didn't break the whole back section of the chassis just flexed up causing snow to pack under and become ice.

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On 3/5/2019 at 4:10 AM, Emdee406 said:

@TimW Did you get the 2019 El Hefes with the reversible ankle straps? It’s a great option. @bobdea you’re missing out 😉

Yes I got the 2019 version. The reversible ankle strap looks nice, but to be honest I wonder if it make a significant differences. 

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2 hours ago, TimW said:

Yes I got the 2019 version. The reversible ankle strap looks nice, but to be honest I wonder if it make a significant differences. 

It definitely does on the Now Drives. My three sets of El Hefes are older ones, and I switched all ankle straps to more responsive ones. I am very curious to hear about the performance of this new one. How is the response and support @Emdee406?

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A hybrid binding made of the Now Drive and Ride El Hefe best features would be sooooo awesome! The Drive hiback and "skate tech" baseplate combined with the El Hefe thinner and adjustable heelcup (redesigned to be a little higher for even less drag). Then the El Hefe footbeds with even more canting options, and El Hefe aluminum micro-disk for maximum stance and setback fine tuning. And a stiffer and more responsive version of the Burton Hammockstrap anklestraps with the El Hefe toestraps. That would make me very very happy.

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Using El Hefes also but other Ride bindings.

 

My local shop as all in stock Ride parts. Something very useful. Broke 3 just this year so very handy. Small parts easily changed.

 

As for large boots, all my boards have risers. I guess you need +27.5 waist to eliminate boot out on a 29.0 boot with 25/15 angles. 

One thing I really noticed. The narrower boards are quicker edge to edge. More nimble and I like it also on some boards. 

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9 hours ago, Mig said:

It definitely does on the Now Drives. My three sets of El Hefes are older ones, and I switched all ankle straps to more responsive ones. I am very curious to hear about the performance of this new one. How is the response and support @Emdee406?

I just got off the mountain, my second time on the new El Hefes, mounted on my new Custom Coiler. The first time was in Japan, poorly groomed, icy, rough and flat light. 

Today was better weather-wise, but not much. I was on my home mountain, full-on blizzard, zero visibility and flat light. 

I’m starting to think this board is jinxed! 🤣

Anyway I did manage to hit a few tree-lined groomers, where I could almost see! I have the straps adjusted for max power...and they delivered! The carves felt like hard boot precision, it definitely makes it more responsive than the 2018 version. Really good power transfer. The combination of the binding, stiff Salomon boots, and the Coiler? I’ve ridden less responsive hard boot set ups...except this is more versatile. Loved it! 

@Mig, I love your idea of the ‘Frankenstein’ binding, it would be awesome! 👍🏾👍🏾

11 hours ago, TimW said:

Yes I got the 2019 version. The reversible ankle strap looks nice, but to be honest I wonder if it make a significant differences. 

Yes it does!!! Leaving pencil lines everywhere. The 2018 strap definitely has more ‘give’.

Edited by Emdee406
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6 hours ago, Mig said:

A hybrid binding made of the Now Drive and Ride El Hefe best features would be sooooo awesome! The Drive hiback and "skate tech" baseplate combined with the El Hefe thinner and adjustable heelcup (redesigned to be a little higher for even less drag). Then the El Hefe footbeds with even more canting options, and El Hefe aluminum micro-disk for maximum stance and setback fine tuning. And a stiffer and more responsive version of the Burton Hammockstrap anklestraps with the El Hefe toestraps. That would make me very very happy.

Rome targa strap would be my suggestion, very stiff and responsive.
xqnR4GF.jpg

Edited by scottishsurfer
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