BINDINGS

[eleveneightnate]

I've been riding Unions almost exclusively but am looking to try out a pair of Now's after Todd Richard's endorsement and reading through this thread. I started with Forces, rode the Forged Carbon for a few years and now have primarily been on a 2019 Atlas.

I've been trying to decide between the Now Pilot (not seeing them in the 23/24 catalog), Select Pro or Drive. I'm thinking Pilot's may be "too soft" compared to what I'm used to so was thinking of going for the Select Pro's. Drive's seemed maybe a touch too stiff for my liking. Curious other people's thoughts on what would be most similar to a Union Atlas.

I'm currently riding a Capita Mercury 157 as my DD with 9.5 Ride Fuse boots.

I switched from Stratas and Katanas to Select Pros this season. I'd say the Stratas and Select Pros are pretty similar in lateral flex but the Select Pros have more heel-toe response, so probably closer to the Atlas in that regard. One thing you'll find lacking is response out of the Hyperfuse 2 straps on the Select Pros. They're kinda flimsy, so I upgraded mine to the Jones straps. If you go back a few pages in this thread you can see some pics/read my thoughts on them.

I've only ridden the Strata high back on the Forged Carbon base and it felt too flexy. I do like a stiffer base with medium flex high back but maybe that combo was a little too stiff/soft. I'm hoping next years straps are an upgrade and that's why I'm going to wait until next year's models.

I spent part of my weekend reading this entire thread and watching your binding preference transformation is part of why I'm looking to try out Now's next year. Plus, I'm also rocking a Spring Break deck and sounds like you're a big fan of the combo.

Nice! You might find the Select Pro highbacks a little too soft laterally, then, but that's actually why I love them. I get plenty of edge response (plus, SPs come with all three bushings), while still being able to butter, tweak, slash, etc laterally. In general, Nows feel more locked in than Unions though (especially mini-disc Unions). And if I want an even more locked in feel, I can flip the Jones straps to be more supportive. In my (biased) opinion, I'm getting the best of everything and most customization with this setup haha.

And yeah, something about the SP/Powder Racer combo feels like magic under my feet. Love it!

[kimchi]

NOW Drive or Jones Mercury. I tend to prefer 7/10 or 8/10 flex bindings, I found Pilots too soft personally. I think the difference in the nylon/carbon post on the stiffer NOW/Jones, but maybe that's all in my head.

Right now my preference is to the Jones, I like their straps better. I might check out the Drive Pro in 2024, but for now I prefer the Mercury.

Do the Mercury/Jones bindings come with different bushings? It looked like they offer the hard and soft ones from the Japan 23/34 catalogue so I'm trying to decide if it's better to have better straps right off the bat or be able to try out the medium bushings to find the right feel.

I believe every set comes with at least two bushings: medium then hard or soft depending on the binding. They used to provide all 3 bushings and still might for some models. At least in the States getting extra / different bushings is trivial... you can get them for $10 direct from Nidecker or from a NOW shop. I have a bunch of extras floating around in my bindings box.

[michaelangelo]

Man y’all got me jazzed up thinking I need some NOWs.

[bksdds]

Man y’all got me jazzed up thinking I need some NOWs.

30% off sale right now on their website. I almost snagged up another pair, but I'm good with the upgrades I did & waiting on more incoming parts.

[eleveneightnate]

Man y’all got me jazzed up thinking I need some NOWs.

This forum is just a Now marketing psyop .

[jota]

I wanted to pay attention to @pow_hnd and go from less to more but I was worried about the size but by coincidence I found a meteorite hanger 2 in size S. The hanger 3 will have size S next year.

The meteorite is soft and loose binding and allows me get to know and customize according to my needs, perfect it´s what i like

Size S in hanger 2 is perfect for my 8US infuse from what I understand will be perfect for you @Vanni in 7.5US. M hanger is very big for 8US and there is space beetwen the boot and the binding

Meteorite hiback is quite straight but I still like it more zero lean.. like the genesis hiback.. (I wanted to see if it would be possible to adapt the hiback geneis to the meteorite base but no...) (i tried...) and I'm already looking at the select pro hibacks...

[bksdds]

Question for those who own kingpin tool-less. Is there a difference in the post material between the V1 vs V2 product?

[kieloa]

I need an advice. I had a pair of Flux XFs and K2 Line Ups which I liked.

Line Ups were great and 'surfy', but I didn't like the straps.
XF straps were great, but the binding was too stiff for my style and liking. I thought about frankenbindings, but I sold them both.

I'd like to buy a pretty soft binding, that has great straps and some padding on them. I thought about just buying solid board pucks for my Spark Arcs, but I'll keep them for my split only.

So.. Rome Vice? Bataleon Chaos Asym? Now IPO? Salomon District? Something else? What? (No Burtons)

[benjinyc]

I have Burton Malavitas, NOWs, Karakorams, and Salomon Districts

the Salomons have my favorite straps of the above. I replaced the NOWs with some Burton genesis asym straps. If I could buy Salomon straps I would, I really like the ability to adjust the sizing using a lever, no need to unscrew anything out.

The Salomons have no easy way to adjust forward lean and the heal cup (aka Shadowfit) is really soft, just an FYI. I use them on my powder boards. I prefer the Burton or Nows (or anything with a stiffer baseplate) for everything else.

[eleveneightnate]

I need an advice. I had a pair of Flux XFs and K2 Line Ups which I liked.

Line Ups were great and 'surfy', but I didn't like the straps.
XF straps were great, but the binding was too stiff for my style and liking. I thought about frankenbindings, but I sold them both.

I'd like to buy a pretty soft binding, that has great straps and some padding on them. I thought about just buying solid board pucks for my Spark Arcs, but I'll keep them for my split only.

So.. Rome Vice? Bataleon Chaos Asym? Now IPO? Salomon District? Something else? What? (No Burtons)

I'll second Benji on ShadowFit if you're looking for something soft and tweakable. They're just so fun for that. My thoughts on some "surfy" bindings:

Rome Vice/Bataleon Blaster Asym - I rode both this season and I'd put them in the all mountain mid-flex category. The '23 Vice has stiffer straps than previous years and it feels more like a baby Katana now. The Asym chassis gives you lateral flex, but they still feel like a metal binding heel-to-toe so I'm not sure if you'd be stoked on that or not. The highbacks are both pretty soft, with maybe a touch more stiffness in the Blasters. Both weren't very damp by Katana/Now/Salomon standards and left my joints feeling pretty rattled. The Chaos will feel similar but with a lower highback and softer straps, so it could work. Their mounting discs are somewhere between full size and mini.

Salomon Hologram - loved these a few seasons back and probably should've kept them. They worked great in the park and for pow days where I like more freedom in my bindings like Benji said. ShadowFit isn't insanely life changing, but you do notice it when doing butters, slashes, pokes, etc. If you can fit evenly in one of the size ranges, these would be a great option IMO. I haven't ridden the Districts, but the Holograms were plenty soft and tweakable for me without feeling too soft. All the ShadowFit bindings seem to have great dampening under foot and don't feel dead even though they have full size discs.

Union Ultra - might be what you're looking for. Haven't ridden them, but we've talked about them here and from the videos I've seen they give you lots of play under the foot and a soft highback.

Union Strata - rode these forever and the mini disc is nice and gives you some lateral flex, but I think these fall squarely in the mid-flex realm and not soft. The team highback they come with now is definitely not soft.

Now/Jones are inherently pretty locked in feeling. Not sure any model, even the "soft" ones like the IPO, would give you what you're looking for.

All that to say, I'd probably go with the Districts or Holograms based on your criteria. They fit perfectly for what you want and have really comfy straps and footbeds (the Hologram strap is thicker/squishier). My only issue is that I fit perfectly between the medium and large with my 10.5 adidas and can never get centered since the heel cup isn't adjustable.