JRAZZ

Not the only one.... (insert John Lennon joke here) I've had nothing but good results with Burtons. I do think that the Driver Xs are still "the" stiff boot. However, I like the Insanos a lot! My feeling is that the DXs derive the stiffness from the outside of the boot while the Insanos seem to rely more on the tongue. Both are good but different. The only other thing is the price. DXs are ~$350 while the Insanos can be had for ~$270. I've also tried Malamutes and K2 Thraxis. The Malamutes were really plush and comfortable and the Thraxis seemed really tech-y with 3 boas. Compared with the DX and Insano these seemed to have a larger footprint. It's crazy how stiff and supportive the Insanos feel. I think it could give a hardboot setup a run for its money if we could find a way to connect it to the board as well as we can HBs, and yes, I've seen Knapton's setup but I want no part of it! :)

Sry, I had a nice shot of the hardware in my wrist but must have misplaced it. Turns out wrists are fragile, who knew?!? Anyhoo, I'm a weak person. Got the go ahead from she who must not be crossed and bought a pair of Ride Insanos. Glad I did! Took them with the Steepwater and Fluxes to Loveland. Weather: 8" fresh, 40mph wind, minus bazillion degrees wind chill (not chill at all). You know, usual Loveland weather. I love my SW but in these conditions it sucked! For such a big board it does a wonderful impression of a submarine. No amount of moving the bindings back and standing on the tail persuaded it to show it's nose. So I did what any reasonable person would do when faced with the prospect of losing the only pow day I have had this year. I threw money at the problem. Went to the shop and took out two demo boards. A Never Summer Swift and Jones Ultracraft. The Swift is nice and pretty agile through the trees but the Ultracraft blew me away. It's like the Geico commercial - yes but more! More hold, more float, more damp, more awesome. How does this relate to the boots and bindings? These were an absolute blast! The Fluxes are pretty comfy and reasonably stiff. I was concerned with the lack of shock absorption but I didn't feel any issues plowing through chunder. The boots though were absolutely fantastic. Really comfortable, seem to have a lot of lateral support, the boas were very very nice and they fit me great. I would say that they are as stiff as Driver Xs but the best part is the tongue. The tongue gives the boot tons of support on toe side. It was great especially with the Ultracraft. The boots threw the board side to side with what felt like general contempt. Leaning into the tongue was super rewarding. The whole setup was damp but poppy and very responsive. Floaty to boot! So my take on the Flux/Insanos combo is really favorable. Very comfortable and responsive. Definitely fun. The only con is the plasticy straps on the Fluxes. They worked great, felt strong, and didn't stick but in the car they rattled like crazy. Drove me nuts!

Sorry to hear Pete! Take care of yourself and come back to shred next year!

In my experience the Ions are mid flex and the Driver X's are stiff. Over time both kinda went softer. I'm bummed that the ones they chose to do next are the Ions. Great boots but waaaaay overpriced. I mean it makes sense for them but definitely won't make me buy into the system.

Just a bunch of thick washers from the HW store. Beckmann is right. Don't rely on the strength of the plate, make sure the pin is bottomed out on something.

I’ll give it a shot. Mario, James, Ink, Odd Job, Arne, Lance and Katie, Aaron and Rachel, yamifumi and his crew and Ryan and Kristen. Day started off slow and then just became fun. Everybody was having a blast. Just another awesome day at the luv.

Flux XF

OK, so I tried them Fluxes aaaaand... Don't know. The laces on my 4 yr old Burton boots broke and I had zero toe control. Guess I do need to get those Insanos. The bindings themselves felt fine. Heels were very positive and the lack of padding was not really felt through the damp board and boots. They were very very comfortable and provided no pressure points. But (and this is the important part) I got to switch between soft and hardboots and I figured that the hardboots felt better! The softboots were definitely more comfortable but the sideways stance just felt wrong! I guess I got used to the front facing stance of hardboots. I'm need to research this a bit more. The really weird part is that earlier this season I switched from hardboots to softboots midday and was having a blast! I dunno, I'm confused.

I tried some thin plastic I have at work. I think 0.2mm. Not perfect but gave me peace of mind. That hammer work is theraputic. I don’t blame you for going ove. :)

Also DC Travis Rice and K2 Thraxis. But the Insanos are a screaming deal right now

Moved the heel bail to the front. Gave it the aforementioned love with the mallet. Drilled and tapped two M5 holes in the back (difficult because there's not a lot of width to work with) Mounted the steel receiver from Bomber. Works like a charm. Check out the 3D printed toe bail holder that prevents it from flopping too far forward.

I was seriously hoping you'd hate them #grrrrr #nomoneyinthebank

The spacer isn't absolutely necessary but you're bending the plate which never feels really good. You're not going to break it on one day but I certainly would put the spacer on ASAP. Yeah, that bail isn't confidence inspiring. I've had good luck putting it in my vice and giving it some love with a rubber mallet (I modified mine to be Intec compatible so I moved it to the front). Seems to respond well to mild violence. Do not try to heat it or bend it too much.

Went ahead and got the Fluxes... Nice quick-n-fast shipping. The bad: Plastic-y and feels kinda cheap. Absolutely no cushioning on the footbed - just plastic. The straps also feel plasticy as do the highbacks. The good: They are stiff. Carpet surfing seems to indicate a very positive connection to the board. The straps might feel cheap but they hold the boot really well and are super comfortable. They are also very very adjustable. No problem moving things around to fit my stance, including rotating the highbacks. Bottom line, they don't feel as nice (build quality) as Burtons or Flows but they are comfortable and stiff. We'll see Sunday as I use my Steepwater to fend off inebriated students.

Thanks! I was wondering what the difference is between the TM and XF. Right now there's only a $10 difference between them ($210 to $220). Seems like the XF is a no brainer.

I'll ask here since nobody answered the other thread.... Any experience with Flux bindings? Pretty inexpensive right now and look pretty stiff.

Does anyone have experience with the Flux line of bindings? Especially the TM range. They are pretty cheap right now and I thought of getting a pair. What are your thought/experience? http://www.flux-bindings.com/products/tm/

Pictures? Ya mean like the ones below? Price? I dunno, about $7 in material and 24 hours of printing per pair. @jim_s did a great writeup on the cost if you don't have a 3D printer here. I thought about printing for members but I don't fancy the litigation potential.

Ya got me beat by $2 Did you see this thread?

I’d love to hear how the insanos work out. I saw the deal and was thinking about pulling the trigger. I don’t particularly like the hard plastic tongue, I’m worried that it’ll dig in on my foot. OTOH if the fit is right it could be an awesome boot.

Could not agree more. What are these made of?

My wife is... understanding. (or very very weary)

Oook.... Ere ya goo. Caveat here... There are some finicky parts in this model. I still need to polish it. Don't expect to plop these files in a 3D printer and get a functional heel. However, this should be a good base to create parts and to design an improved version. (which I intend to do... someday...) The zip file includes a Parasolid assembly to make importing into other CAD packages easier. Fintec Heel.zip

Getting there.... btw, doing this has given me an idea on how to do the internals. And that we could 3D print the soles as well

Working on it... Geometry is surprisingly complex.