Binding Model: Now Brigade
Binding Size: Medium
Stance and Angles: 21.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy
Boot Used: K2 Thraxis Size 10
Board Used: Interior Plain Project Honalee
Rider Weight: 195
Location: Copper Mountain
Conditions: Warmer than average Spring-like temperatures, snow that was either heavy and chundery or completely scraped off.
Binding Adjustability: The adjustability is easy with this binding. You have two screws for strap adjustment that have the quick twist flip up knobs, the toe ramp/footbed slides into where you need it. This binding is tool-less for the most part.
Straps: The EVA foam heel strap contours well to your boot and holds you in. You don’t have to worry too much about it stretching or slipping it just does what it needs to do. The toe strap on the other hand is designed to stretch a little and slip over your toe box. I found that it did not fit well with my boots and kept slipping off when I’d land hard in the park no matter how I adjusted it. When cruising it was fine, but the second an impact was involved it was slipping off.
Ratchets: These were smooth and never locked up. I will say that the lack of a quick release tab did suck a bit and I found that I had to use a bit more pressure and energy to release, but that wasn’t something that would make me want to not use them.
Highbacks: They stiffened up the highback a bit this year and it did its job well. It doesn’t have an abundance of natural forward lean in it which means you are pretty much at true zero. You can drive into them and they do their job.
Binding Flex: The overall flex is that of a stiffer freestyle binding, it’s not into the realm of freeride, but it’s stiffer. You can feel that when you drive this binding and it doesn’t tweak. There’s not a lot of lateral flex in this due to the Skate-Tech, but that was to be expected.
Ride: I’ve said this in the past and I’ll say it again, Skate-Tech makes edge to edge transitioning so much snappier. It gives you more torque as you leverage yourself from side to side. The binding wasn’t overly damp and I noticed that I was feeling everything underfoot resonating back up into my arches, which made for a more lively responsive ride.
Rider in Mind: Higher end freestyle guy that wants a bit more rigid binding for when they venture out on the mountain.
Personal Thoughts: It’s been a while since I got on some Now Bindings and these didn’t disappoint. Skate-Tech is the real deal and does have a more responsive feel edge to edge. I will say that these weren’t the most damp binding and there seemed to be a bit of impingement with the lateral flex that I think slightly hindered how I pressed into my board or loaded it up to pop. It took about 5 solid laps to find the nuances in this and adjust my riding accordingly.
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