Soft Board Bindings

[Neil Gendzwill]

My left hip has severe bone on bone arthritis. My right one is not far behind but has much more mobility. If I’m sitting on a bench it’s ok but if I’m sitting on the snow I need to prop myself up with my right hand to reach the bindings with my left. Fastening them standing is right out of the question. 
 

Putting my boots on is ok although the left is harder to do than the right. But when both feet are in the bindings I have fewer options with movement. 
 

Maybe it’s just a matter of practice, I only have 4 days on this softie rig. I’m having a lot of fun with it though and don’t want to give it up. 
 

Maybe I should just learn to ride regular, that would make it easier. Sadly I am as goofy as they come. 

[snowboardmark]

Has anyone tried the Clew bindings?  They look very interesting to me. www.clew.us

[curvy]

Update from my end - I bought some '22 Flox NX2 Fusion. with the new straps.

They're not perfect for my ride insanos, took me a while to make them harmonize give or take, but now I think they'll work together. Still considerably cheaper as the o-drives.

If now only I'd manage to get to ride this season, already see my options waning once more
Any other Europeans here longing for snow?

[JohnE]

My buddy & I both ride identical setups: Flow Talon boots with Flow NX2-CX Fusion bindings. He is on his 3rd generation of this setup. I am on my 2nd generation. 

For a stiff softboot setup I don't think you can do any better. The Talons are very comfortable and the heel hold down is the best ever. They are rated 10/10 on their stiffness scale.  

I had some initial issues with boot overhang and contacted Flow about this. They responded quickly and with knowledge. The bindings are shipped with the highback attached in the front position. They had me move it to the rear position (about 1/4" to the rear) and this solved the overhang issue. 

The get in / get out function of the Flows works great - very quick and easy. The bindings are very stiff. I have an older pair of K2 Cinch bindings and the Flows work better.

For softboot carving I don't think there is a better boot / binding combo.   

[inkaholic]

5 hours ago, snowboardmark said:

Has anyone tried the Clew bindings?  They look very interesting to me. www.clew.us

If I recall correctly, @svr said he has ridden them, they worked pretty well but are in need of refinement. "Clunky" I believe is the word he used.

ink

[slopestar]

49 minutes ago, inkaholic said:

If I recall correctly, @svr said he has ridden them, they worked pretty well but are in need of refinement. "Clunky" I believe is the word he used.

ink

Flow bindings next season are going to be step in. No more bending over to grab that bail on the back side of the highback. SUPERMATIC

https://www.boardsportsource.com/2022/01/12/introducing-to-22-23-nideckers-new-supermatic-easy-entry-binding/

 

[inkaholic]

27 minutes ago, slopestar said:

Flow bindings next season are going to be step in. No more bending over to grab that bail on the back side of the highback. SUPERMATIC

https://www.boardsportsource.com/2022/01/12/introducing-to-22-23-nideckers-new-supermatic-easy-entry-binding/

 

So Flow will be utilizing the Supermatic design?

Ink

[slopestar]

19 minutes ago, inkaholic said:

So Flow will be utilizing the Supermatic design?

Ink

Nidecker owns Flow. This is branded Nidecker but the flow Nx2 binding I’ve been riding for the last 7 years is due for an update. I am concerned about the composite frame and interface. Metal fatigues while the composite flexes a bit. But when it’s cold, I snap the composite bindings.

[svr]

1 hour ago, inkaholic said:

If I recall correctly, @svr said he has ridden them, they worked pretty well but are in need of refinement. "Clunky" I believe is the word he used.

ink

Yes, I tried them and @inkaholicyour memory of our conversation is spot on. 
 

interesting concept but I would use Flow’s or Burton StepOn over the Clew system. Both ride and walking are very stiff and clunky.

[JohnE]

1 hour ago, slopestar said:

Flow bindings next season are going to be step in. No more bending over to grab that bail on the back side of the highback. SUPERMATIC

https://www.boardsportsource.com/2022/01/12/introducing-to-22-23-nideckers-new-supermatic-easy-entry-binding/

 

Well the video looks pretty slick but I wonder how they will work in widespread practice? Several companies have tried true step-in binding systems before and most have abandoned them. 

[Neil Gendzwill]

I'm curious to see how my new step-ons work on the snow.  They work pretty slick trying them out indoors.  Very easy to step into, and with my extension mod very easy to get out of.

[svr]

@Neil Gendzwilli like my StepOn setup…here is something new coming from Nidecker for next year…evolution of Flow technology:

http://www.zuzupopo.com/xe/index.php?mid=catalog&search_target=tag&search_keyword=Snowboards&category=255480&document_srl=255650

Also gotta love the new Flow NX2-CX footbed for next year…a massive improvement over the squishy one.

 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by svr

[curvy]

22 hours ago, svr said:

love the new Flow NX2-CX footbed for next year

So that's a next year preview then?

Was already panicking for a second as mine still looked different

They call it NX2 CARBON, not CX anymore...

As I might not manage to get to board this season - maybe I'll even return my CX and shoot for the next year's model then - you're tempting me!

[scottishsurfer]

Looks like PHK have a new version of there Mix binding also. It's a dumb question but whats the point of the spring system, it just looks like a liabilty that will decrease the boot out angle when the board is up on edge

https://www.phk-italia.com/prodotto/mix-gara/

 

[snowboardmark]

Thanks for the info on the Clew bindings. I was looking for something to replace my Flow Nx2-gts which are shot. Maybe I’ll wait for the new flows to come out. I’m 220lbs and did not like the replacement for this years model. Can you still swap the high backs on the new flow carbons?

[scottishsurfer]

Had a bunch of runs on the clew bindings today that a friend was testing for the local ski/board shop. My thoughts on them are fairly positive unlike the Burton stepons which i think are terrible. Having the heel strap actually lock into the binding and being able to use your preferred boot means it offers a reasonable lateral amount of support. Heel to toe it was reasonably responsive but i wasnt able to ride to hard due to them being on my friends Dorka so i was limited to fairly gentle surf style carving. Getting in and out was fairly straight forward i did find i had to slack the toe strap a couple of notches to get my toe to go under it as i cliped in but this is more due to me liking to run my straps super tight. The biggest downside is that Toe ratchets are a complete dumpster fire It took me a bunch of atempts to feed the ladder into the ratchet and get it to climb as on the first few atempts the ladder would go in and lock the ratchet completely solid.... The ankle ratchets were better but still not the best. Also the stirup like nature of highback/ankle strap does significantly reduce your grip on the top sheet of the snowboard compared to just the boot alone. Its not hardboot levels of slippyness but its getting there.

Edited January 22, 2022 by scottishsurfer

[Neil Gendzwill]

So you have to attach a thing to your boots to add the highback and step in cleats? Then you step in and still need to do up a toe strap?

[scottishsurfer]

easiest way is strap in like a normal binding then pull the red lever at the rear to release the stirrup section you can see attach to my boot there. Id say its not so much a true step in system but a half way house between a step in and a traditional binding. Id say youd only really use the release for things like getting on and off chair lifts and maybe a very quick walk about but if i was to say go to the toilet or slope side bar/restaraunt id unstrap from the binding the traditional way leaving the system as a whole attached to the board.

Having to do up the toe strap was just me i generally run my straps incredibly tight so when i had them to my liking they were to tight to kick the front of my boot under so i had to slacken it a couple of clips. My friends who dont run there straps at quite the circulation restricting tightness that i do didnt have this problem.

This video shows getting and out of them a bunch
 

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by scottishsurfer

[dhamann]

omg. i've seen it all now. Ranquet might like em.

[Eastsiiiide]

On 1/19/2022 at 10:26 AM, slopestar said:

Flow bindings next season are going to be step in. No more bending over to grab that bail on the back side of the highback. SUPERMATIC

https://www.boardsportsource.com/2022/01/12/introducing-to-22-23-nideckers-new-supermatic-easy-entry-binding/

 

Hmm this looks impressive. With Burton StepOns I can't use their stiffest boot because it doesn't come in a wide. So my boots are soft and on top of that the bindings squeak and creak and move around a lot.  Every time I use them I think jeez I've gotta spend some time figuring out if these can be firmed up somehow, but then I just go hardbooting instead and forget about the StepOns and their issues until the next time I get around to using them.  They're great for convenience though, such as days goofing around with friends on skis, since I can click in right off the lift without stopping to join the herd of loitering snowboarders fiddling with their ye olde strap technology at the top of every lift.  In the past I used Switch step ins (still have em in the shed) which worked great but you need specific boots, and all the structure is built into the boots which is heavy and mediocre at best.  The supermatics do away with the boot-specificity issue. 

 

[scottishsurfer]

Id say the Supermatic asuming it is reliable is probably the most promising of all the step in-on /folding highbacksystems

[curvy]

On 1/20/2022 at 8:17 PM, curvy said:

As I might not manage to get to board this season - maybe I'll even return my CX and shoot for the next year's model then - you're tempting me!

You did it - CX returned, no boarding this season anywhere near anyways - let's see how this supermatic system will hold up with reviews on the snow. This video of them looks promising, even if I don't understand a word.

https://youtu.be/PelS__Oy7hU

[crackaddict]

Update on Flux XV and Now O-Drive bindings:

So...  After a full season on the Flux XVs I can say with confidence that these are a very high performance binding.  Super stiff, excellent power transfer and very satisfyingly ride!  Noticeable from the first turn, this setup (Driver X with added plastic tongue and booster strap) is stiffer than some soft hardboot interfaces. The ride is fantastic, smooth and powerful, like nothing else I've ever tried.  My boards (JJA TCXs with 15m and 16.5m sidecuts, very stiff) needed a super stiff interface to match, I hadn't entirely realized this until I mounted the Flux bindings, and then it felt like an epiphany!

However, the Flux XVs do not have any foam or rubber in the footbed or on the highback.  I suffered debilitating pain in my lower legs riding these but I didn't want to switch back to my Drake Podium FFs because I loved the ride so much!  It got to the point where I couldn't do a heelside carve on any softboot board with any binding without pain.  At the peak, the outsides of my lower legs were so tight that I could barely walk one morning.  (Nothing else changed in my setup, same board same boots same stance, so I know it was the bindings causing the pain - I tried every possible modification even adding some lift and cant to the footbeds with cork and rubber.)

Then...  On Monday night I picked up a set of lightly used Now O-Drive bindings.  Tuesday I forgot to take my ibuprofen but magically didn't suffer at all, yesterday again no ibuprofen and I tightened my boots all the way like I used to and still there was no pain.  Gotta say, the Skate Tech on the Now bindings really works.  I thought it was just a silly fad (like magne-traction) but it actually rides great!  I didn't try them back-to-back with any other binding, but my sense is that I was able to carve through some choppy snow that would have sent me home early on any other binding as the energy output increases, the smoothness of the turns decreases and the fatigue and pain set in.  I can feel the flex and the forgiveness of the Now bindings but they're not sloppy like a freestyle binding; they're beefy and full carbon stiff, only flexing on one axis.  They don't have that locked-in powerful smoothness of the Flux, but I'd say they perform better on uneven surface and they're a huge step up in comfort with no pain and far less overall fatigue.  Less power transfer too though, my turns felt slower and my tracks looked a little wider with small breakouts throughout the turns, but it didn't feel like chatter.

I suspect I'll be riding the O-Drives next season on soft and chopped up snow and just bring out the Flux XVs on the best days when the groom is firm and smooth, making sure to switch back before the pain sets in too deep.

In summary, there's gonna be a trade off between performance and comfort.  The Flux XVs are definitely higher performance for high speed, high edge pressure turns in good conditions.  If you're carving short runs or soft high sidecut boards just once or twice a week I highly recommend these, but if you want to carve long steeps all day long every time it doesn't snow, probably get a more comfortable binding with some shock absorbing material built in. 

The O-Drives are very comfy and high performing in chop, but you won't get that locked-in smooth powerful feel that we all crave: the highest g-forces and maximum energy return that satisfies the soul.  You can expect less pain and fatigue though; these are recommended for soft corduroy, chop and chunder.  Great spring time binding, very forgiving and recommended also for intermediate softboot carvers.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by crackaddict

[John Gilmour]

Great review lots of valuable info here. What is the torsional comparison of the high back on both bindings and does the footplate heel assembly allow for movement of the heel cup ?( I would assume no movement) also how thick is the distance from the rear of the boot to the outer band of the heel cup  of the binding and is it smooth ?( like on say a Union force) to allow for extreme edge angle carving without “bindinging  out”? Burton traditionally is a huge offender here for reference as to what is way too large a distance .
 

I saw some earlier Now bindings , one previous vendor said there was no overlap between sizes so a foot size(s) suffered without a good fit somewhere in the 9.5-10.5 range .

 

what’s your boot size on your drivers and binging size of the review sample?

 

btw I also use booster straps and love the additional control .

 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by John Gilmour

[crackaddict]

Hey @John Gilmour

Thanks for your reply, you ask the right questions...

I want to thank you too for your inspiration and posts going back a long time, I read them very carefully when I was learning to carve and your Olympic rings tracks inspired this thread after some years of practice: 

Anyway...  The O-Drives are slightly lower in overall length than the XVs, they have a lower profile heelcup and it's slightly higher too though the Flux have a lower profile toe strap and buckle.  Excellent question, every millimeter saved on binding length is a millimeter I can drop from my board width.   The toe strap from the Flux will fit on the Now, but not the other way around so I put them back; the toe straps on the Nows are bigger than they need to be and the buckles stick out enough to catch.  I did some light modification to reduce the bulk (just reversed the back foot toe strap, cut off the excess, reversed the angle on the mounting strap and positioned them for minimum overhang).  Flux also makes the CV which has a higher heelcup.  Overall binding length on the Flux would be lower if I returned the highback to the center position, probable comparable, I won't have an exact measure until I remove the bindings after closing day.

The highback is stiffer, fuller and more cup shaped on the Flux.

Neither binding has a mechanism to lengthen the baseplate, most high performance bindings don't since that increases weight and compromises stiffness.

The Flux are more adjustable with multiple slot options for the straps and a rotatable highback.  The Nows don't have those options but I haven't missed them.

Both bindings are medium size.  My boots are size 9 Driver X with UPZ Flo liners and a hard plastic tongue off some Head Stratos Pros slipped in between the liner and stock tongue, plus the booster.  For a while I was riding with two of those plastic tongues in each boot and two straps also, but I took out one tongue and one strap each in an effort to reduce pain.  (I might put them back in now that the pain is gone...)  I ride 36/21 degrees with 1/2" JJA risers, waists are 29.5 to 30cm but sidecuts are high so they're not as wide underfoot as they might be with a more civilized scr.

Both of these bindings are made for "high performance carving", but there aren't many riders who can create the kind of edge pressure we do so there are compromises on both for marketing to the masses.  I'm starting to wonder if I can add one or two millimeters under the bushings on the Nows to kind of pre-load the flex mechanism and thereby stiffen it up a little.  I'm also thinking it might be possible to drill out some holes beside the kingpins and add some removable cotter pin type thing so I could lock out the flex to ride them in the morning when the cord is smooth and then take out the pins for full flex when it gets choppy after 10am.  This would probably work better if they were aluminum instead of carbon/nylon...

@jason100is bringing out his prototype three strap binding next week for a test ride.  I don't love the look of the metal behemoth but I think the swiveling highback idea is brilliant and could be adapted to a more normal looking binding with a beefed up heelcup.  I'll know soon if it rides!  Details here:

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by crackaddict