Pickle/Banana binding?

Posted: 04 November 2011 04:05 PM

Hey guys,
  I’m looking for GNU Park Pickle 156 or Lib Tech Skate Banana as my new board (165lb 5.9ft). I’m also going to buy some Burton boots (Ions or Ambush maybe?). Now, I’m really in serious trouble with choosing bindings. I’m 50-70 days intermediate raider, apx 60% in park, but I love buttering all the way down the mountain, when outside the park. Till now, I’ve been riding Flows M11 08/09 on Flow Quantum (got them as a great deal and satisfied with its perfomance) and I think I’m going to try traditional straps (I’ve learned to snowboard on flows and never tried anything else for all my 5 years of snowboarding). The problem is, I’m gonna order everything from the USA and ship to Europe and I’ve no chances in demoing anything, it has to be “one shot, one kill”.

I’m really into buttering, so I’d like to have as much lateral movement for presses as possible. I’d like to find something as durable as possible, since returning stuff to the USA is nearly the same as buying new for me. Rocker board - specific design is plus I suppose.

  After searching for reviews and reading tons of comments and discussions, it’s Flux DS30, Union Force/Contact/Contact Pro, Forum Shaka, Rome Targa/390, Ride Maestro/Capo, or even Flows Nxt-atse for me.

Fluxes? Too soft and jib-specific, I’ve read somewhere. They say it’s a little difficult to ride them a long time and I usually spent some time just carving down.

Union? I’m afraid of impossibility of adjusting the ankle strap position. I can’t even try them with my boots, you know. Also I’ve heard that they have really poor lateral movement, not really good for buttering. Also witch one to take? There’re is so little difference.

Forum Shaka? Looks great despite bad reviews about durability and customer service. It’s also rocker-specific and I like “blimey” design version of those with Pickle. I also couldn’t find anything about lateral movement, but thegoodride rate them pretty high.

Rome? I don’t know what to think about “DoItAllGreat” Targas thing. Could something so multipurposal actually excel in something? And 390, aren’t they too stiff for rocker board?

Ride? Pretty good reviews of those. But I heard something about poor response of Capos and extreme stiffness of Maestros.

Or Flows again? I can’t find any bad reviews of specific piece, but there’s so much hate about whole step-in thing over there, that I dunno what to think.

Or something else? Burtons, Raidens, GNUs?

Please help me out guys.
Thanks very much,
George

Posted: 04 November 2011 09:14 PM

I’ve done some serious digging and narrowed it down a bit.

Ride Capo/Maestro
Burton Malavita
Flux DS30

Which of those is the best pick for rocker-board (Park Pickle) allmountain freestyle-buttery ride? Do you’ve got some pros/cons?

Thanks again,
George

Posted: 08 November 2011 08:09 AM

I just got my mitts last week on some Ride Rodeo’s in a shop.  The Stealth highback was nice and flexy but nothing too crazy…  was looking at them as a replacement for my Ride Ex’s.  The Capo looks more like the all-mountain offerings from Ride so I don’t think you’d be happy with those.  The Maestro might be the ticket but the Rodeo is softer…  guess it depends on how much movement you want out of the binding.

The Malavita is a popular Burton binding, outside of that I don’t have any experience with it.

Same story on the Flux, no experience.

Posted: 08 November 2011 05:00 PM

I’m getting Malavita restricted. Seen them in local shop today and they look really nice. I’ve also tried burton ion boots and it is the call, not too stiff for me and binding-boot integration is fantastic.

Posted: 08 November 2011 10:22 PM

Sweet, let us know how you make out with the bindings in our other forum when you have a chance.

Posted: 10 November 2011 07:26 PM

Hey there! I finally got them. I’ve picked up Re:Flex Malavitas restricted version. Since my nany is still on its way, I’ve to mount it on my previous stick - 08/09 Flow Quantum. Compared to my old Flow M11 (also 08/09) it’s f’in awsome! The flex is much better now, I feel like the thing is alive under my feet. I can’t believe how much can more suitable bindings change the whole board, it’s much more flexy and it’s so much easier to press it really hard. Still only carpet-boarding experience, but I really can’t wait to throw it down the park!