newcarver Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Which flows are best for backcountry powder riding in terms of ease of use and best performance? Was thinking this would be a good purchase. I used my standard bindings and had problems with the buckles not catching because of ice. Also was a bit of a pain in general getting into them with my boots getting covered in snow. Want to use them specifically on my powder board for other backcountry cat trips and riding resort pow on hike to terrain. There are a lot of different models of the Flows. Didn't know which would be best for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Stevens Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Flows are not a binder I would choose for b/c riding. Firstly, they are hard to clear of snow and the highback in the open position is a perfect funnel to channel more snow in once you do clear it out. Secondly, they are the worst design when it comes to strapping in heelside on a steep slope, like something you might hike up and not be dropped off on in a cat. The bindings will want to close when the slope behind you is gnarly. No question, Flows can be the most comfortable and high-performance bindings out there, but for pow, there are better choices. Ultimately, you don't really need much of a binding for powder, if any at all. Even the most budget binders out there will work properly. The big shortcoming of cheaper bindings is their flex. Well, no problem there... The board isn't fighting to stay flat, flexing the **** out of your baseplate, like it's on hardpack. Straps? Well, cheap binders, cheap straps. If you have to tighten them overly (again, like on hardpack) they can dig in, but its POW... Tighten them only to the point of contact with the boots plus a couple of clicks and no more. **In re-reading your post, you mention two problems Flows won't solve. Ladder straps are ladder straps, for the most part. That said, the bigger the guage of teeth, the less problems you'll have. Boots getting covered in snow? Your binders can't help you there... Especially Flows. They're likely to compound the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdboytyler Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Flows are not a binder I would choose for b/c riding... I'm in total agreement with Rob. I used Flow bindings and Dupraz 5'5" on a snowcat trip with Steamboat Powdercats last season. The board worked great. The Flow bindings on the other hand sucked. It was fine when I was strapping in on one of the cat tracks. But when I fell in the deep pow and had to unstrap, it was a pain to get the binding totally cleared. It's stressful knowing the rest of the group is waiting for me, while I'm having technical difficulties. This only happened once, but once is enough After the trip, I sold the Flows and bought Burton C60 bindings. Haven't had a deep pow day yet with the Burton bindings. But as a plus, the Burton bindings are a lot more comfy for carving on hardpack. With Flows, I had to really keep the straps tight for toeside carves, which killed my feet. With the Burton C60, I only need to keep the straps snug for good toeside performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I'm with both of them flows are hard to get OUT of in some situations, the idea having to deal with them in situations like tree wells makes me cringe. I say this because I've pretty much been hung up with my back down and as well as face down before and standard straps I got out of. I've troubles with just at certain angles in flows because it's hard to open the things if you are pressing on the high back. most modern bindings will work really well, burton tends to be easy to find and good for that application. light and reliable are all I'm worried about for hiking. well, now, I don't hike. but when I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcarver Posted March 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 OK. Thanks for the advise. Sounds like my current bindings are fine. They rode great and were easy to get out of the few times I got stuck. Only time I had troubles were near the end of the day when everything was getting iced up. Even one of the guides had his ski pop off because of ice in his binding. Just thought the Flows would be better. Good to get first hand experience from you guys and save myself some $'s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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