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Soft Board Bindings


Toodles

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6 hours ago, John Gilmour said:

The now binding is interesting in concept as it offers some sort of isolating suspension and turn commitment (like the old Funky hard binding ) but at a huge cost in weight . Still there are times I sorta wish I was off the fancy Union FC and back on my heavier FORCE DLX. So maybe the Now bindings are like that ??? Anyone ridden them both at speeds over 40 on hard snow?

never rode the force dlx, but tried the Union FC and lasted a day and a half. bolt connection from highback to baseplate cracked the highback at a bx event. couldn't take the force from carving i guess. i remember it did have a very responsive ride. At the time, I gave Union the benefit of the doubt and tried a more forgiving travis rice model binding. that lasted a little longer, but blew a toe strap during an event and walked down the rest of the course i was so disgusted. i'll never consider Union as a binding option again. hassle dealing with warranty, refund, exchange, etc., nevermind going without a binding for two weeks.

 

Now odrives are a great binding. i run +33-39 on front and anywhere between +12-21 on back foot. don't really "need" to rotate the highback as i thought i'd need to too prior to buying and trying. they're just a solid hold and solid response kind of binding... if that's what you're looking for. if you want a binding with more give, look elsewhere. i've had to replace a couple ratchets and a ladder strap or two over the past couple years. still holding up pretty good. some ankle strap integrity is disappearing slightly, or maybe i'm just used to the support and now wanting more.

 

Flow NX2 - CX. similar hold and response as an odrive but more comfortable and doesn't wreck your boot shells. only drawback from these is the hassle of getting in/out. also the whole forward lean deal. i can't get my front foot (0 lean) ankle strap as tight as i'd like... as to cut off circulation. however, they're worth the compromise. ya ya, can't rotate this highback either. lightweight

 

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15 hours ago, John Gilmour said:

Going faster will help. Also I should make a video of fitting bindings and how to properly “buckle in” for The best combo of performance and comfort.

I go snowboarding next week, for any tips on setting I will appreciate so much! 🙂 

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18 hours ago, John Gilmour said:

The now binding is interesting in concept as it offers some sort of isolating suspension and turn commitment (like the old Funky hard binding ) but at a huge cost in weight . Still there are times I sorta wish I was off the fancy Union FC and back on my heavier FORCE DLX. So maybe the Now bindings are like that ??? Anyone ridden them both at speeds over 40 on hard snow?

@John Gilmour yes, I have ridden the 2019-20 Now O-drives at 40+ on multiple occasions with my 201 Team Edition Tanker in hard snow and they perform exceptionally well.

I am so impressed with them as I was very skeptical of both the skatetech and their response after riding the Jones/Now Apollo’s (which were a bit soft for my tastes).  

The O-drive is in a different league compared to the Apollo, Burton Genisis X, Union Force/Forged FC/Atlas, Flow NX2-CX or GT.

The only Softboot bindings this year that are more responsive are the Flux XV, but they have zero padding or dampening and are very brutal as they transmit every single thing from the board straight up into your legs and lower back (I had a very expensive early season as I bought all of the above bindings before the O-drives. Should have just bit the bullet and bought them first and it would have saved me time and money).

The O-drives are not bindings suited for everyone of course, but they do perform as advertised and are simple, ultra-light, and high performance with good straps and ratchets.

cheers,

sandy

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43 minutes ago, svr said:

I am so impressed with them as I was very skeptical of both the skatetech and their response

Sandy is there any noticeable lag/deadband between heel and and toe with the skatetech?

Edited by Lurch
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10 minutes ago, Lurch said:

Sandy is there any noticeable lag/deadband between heel and and toe with the skatetech?

@Lurch On the Now Recon and the Jones Apollo, there is not any more delay/lag than all of the other “minimal contact baseplates out there from everyone except Flux who have taken the opposite approach and maximize their baseplate to board contact.

I have not noticed any lag on the O-drive as the hanger is stiffer than the Recon/Apollo and I am only using the hard bushings. I am thinking to make a few hard snow carving runs with my gopro pointed at the bindings just to see how much they move on the pivots. Will let you know how that turns out 👍

cheers,

sandy

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  • 2 weeks later...

I picked up a set of Rome Targa bindings a few weeks ago.  I am really enjoying the responsiveness and it seems I'm losing my heel edge (boot-out, heelcup-out) a lot less compared to my Cartels as well.  It takes a little longer to make adjustments but it's not too bad.  Might want a little more forward lean but we'll see as I play around with them.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Coming from k2cinch, I tried flow nx2, but the flow system drove me nuts.

F2 emiminator carve fastec was nice regarding heelstrap and baseplate, though the highback was a joke for a carving binding. The overall build quality looked puristic, not to say poor. But it's a cheap binding, what can I say.

Reading through this it looks like there's hardly a value for money tip around? I don't get to board much anymore sadly, so putting down 500 bucks for bindings doesn't seem reasonable.

I'd love a canted footbed - and some angled gas pedal toe section, don't know what to call it.

I'm riding an oxess BX boss board with ride Insano boots.

Any other bindings to point to?

Thx!

Edited by curvy
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13 minutes ago, MR. JOHN DEERE ! said:

So I noticed allot of guys and gals on these for the Italian BX teams. 
anyone know who makes these, just wondering. 

6B73DB9F-21B8-4E3E-9FE5-1FF1C64B9FAF.png

Those are K2’s (Formula’s to be exact).

Edited by svr
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Though is that not just because of sponsoring maybe?


Any first hand impressions?


Sounds more like a medium stiff binding, K2 lists them as 3/5 stiffness, same than the Cinch.
Don't know, how stiff they've gotten, but my older Cinch CTS ones are just too soft.


Otherwise a lot of bang for the buck on paper:
Canted footbed, adjustable toe ramp and dual adjustable toe strap, Highback lean & rotation
Though how responsive is it really?

There's a Formula C as well, that has a less padded strap, and *drumroll carbon fiber in the chassis.
No 2020 version of it obviously - and the 2019 pretty much gone. Wonder, why it's discontinued...

Edited by curvy
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There is something to be said about using a binding that works well with a specific board. Companies invest a lot of time into creating their gear pairings and often it has a very positive outcome.

Not an answer for everyone. No single thing will meet everyone's needs. 

I enjoy flexy soft boots with malavita's (burton boots fit my feet well and hands down fit very well in burton bindings) on many decks. I thought that I might miss some response due to the slightly softer baseplate coming from a cartel. I don't. Works beautifully on a endeavor korean hammerhead. I tried the cartel and in the end I found it to be a more suitable "fit."

The wingback also handily deflected a straightliners ski away from my leg when he hit me. I view that as fairydust.

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  • 2 weeks later...
5 hours ago, curvy said:

Nobody? Or everyone already in summer season or practicing digital distancing as well?

Popular in Europe, but they had a More than a few years of quality issues and that has led to them losing a lot of riders to the other big brands and they lost their North American distribution a while back and that has just made them harder to get so that did not help either.

 

Radar and Podium are both high end freeride/bx style bindings as they are on the medium-stiff to stiff side of the spectrum.

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On 2/5/2020 at 7:51 PM, svr said:

I am so impressed with them as I was very skeptical of both the skatetech and their response after riding the Jones/Now Apollo’s (which were a bit soft for my tastes).  

Jones Apollo are soft to you ?  You Monster ! 

always wondered which Now binding they were made of. Definatly stiffer the Drive, but "softer" the O-Drive. Guess that would be the Recon ? 

I agree on one thing Genesis X are noodles compared to the Apollo. Love the Gen-X none the less. 

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59 minutes ago, Maxlanaudiere said:

Jones Apollo are soft to you ?  You Monster ! 

always wondered which Now binding they were made of. Definatly stiffer the Drive, but "softer" the O-Drive. Guess that would be the Recon ? 

I agree on one thing Genesis X are noodles compared to the Apollo. Love the Gen-X none the less. 

I agree the Genesis-X were super comfortable just too much nose-tail flex.

on the Apollo’s, they are right where you guessed...in between Drive and Recon (basically give the Recon a Hanger 2.0 base).

cheers.

Edited by svr
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  • 4 months later...

Some quick Q's as I'm eyeballing bindings again:

NOW O-Drive
anything worth mentioning that has changed from 17/18 to 19/20?
Ratchet and strap padding seem a little different. Anything else?
Anyone has checked out both?
Found a barely used offer for ~300€

Now Drive:
How much less stiff are they compared to the O-Drives? Are they even comparable at all?

Nidecker Carbon
No info on here - anyone has experience? angry snowboarder reviews it as not that stiff for a carbon one, whitelines sounds rather leaning towards decently stiff
Though it has the NOW Straps 😃
https://www.angrysnowboarder.com/the-2019-nidecker-carbon-binding-review/
https://whitelines.com/snowboard-gear/reviews/bindings/nidecker-carbon-2019-2020.html

Found good deals for Ride Capos (~150€), Nidecker Carbon (~180€), Rome Targa (~200€) and Burton Genesis and NOW Drive (both ~230€)
Can you talk me out of the O-Drive and into some of them? 🙄

 

Any help much appreciated - would like to finally make a decision after all those failure tests from last season!

Edited by curvy
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2 hours ago, curvy said:

Some quick Q's as I'm eyeballing bindings again:

NOW O-Drive
anything worth mentioning that has changed from 17/18 to 19/20?
Ratchet and strap padding seem a little different. Anything else?
Anyone has checked out both?
Found a barely used offer for ~300€

Now Drive:
How much less stiff are they compared to the O-Drives? Are they even comparable at all?

Nidecker Carbon
No info on here - anyone has experience? angry snowboarder reviews it as not that stiff for a carbon one, whitelines sounds rather leaning towards decently stiff
Though it has the NOW Straps 😃
https://www.angrysnowboarder.com/the-2019-nidecker-carbon-binding-review/
https://whitelines.com/snowboard-gear/reviews/bindings/nidecker-carbon-2019-2020.html

Found good deals for Ride Capos (~150€), Nidecker Carbon (~180€), Rome Targa (~200€) and Burton Genesis and NOW Drive (both ~230€)
Can you talk me out of the O-Drive and into some of them? 🙄

 

Any help much appreciated - would like to finally make a decision after all those failure tests from last season!

Now O-drive differences are just primarily straps and ratchets which made the new versions a bit lighter and more responsive.

Now O-drive vs Drive (and Jones Apollo) is actually a significant difference. O-drive is lighter and more responsive. Drive is a 7-10 or 8-10 in stiffness and response where O-drive is a 10-10.

if you want a surfy ride I would use the Drive/Apollo but if love direct response and lightweight go with O-drive.

Cannot speak to the Nidecker Carbon, but Genesis is way softer than both Now’s.

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