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#1
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Bindings
Hi All,
I have a Salomon Link with some older K2 Plasma 10 bindings that need to be replaced. Do any of you have any suggestions for a replacement? I freeride only and am looking for something that is a little forgiving and not too rigid. I have looked at the Flow setup and like the in/out design but I have heard that they do not collapse making travel a bit tough. Does anyone have any insight on who is putting out the best product? thanks, Sean |
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#2
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On Jan 3, 9:34*pm, Sean wrote:
Hi All, I have a Salomon Link with some older K2 Plasma 10 bindings that need to be replaced. *Do any of you have any suggestions for a replacement? *I freeride only and am looking for something that is a little forgiving and not too rigid. *I have looked at the Flow setup and like the in/out design but I have heard that they do not collapse making travel a bit tough. By "travel," do you mean in a car, or on a plane? If you detach the strap -- something you wouldn't do in day-to-day use, but is OK for traveling -- you can push the Flow highback down farther, making it easier to pack and ship your board. If you don't do that, you are correct that the Flows create larger "humps" on the board than strap bindings. Still, I've found that they will fit through the typical automobile trunk-rear seat pass-through. Does anyone have any insight on who is putting out the best product? I have the Ride SPi's, which I like a lot. Good for freeriding, although the aluminum base is probably more rigid than some of the plastic models available. Joe Ramirez |
#3
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On Jan 3, 11:09*pm, wrote:
On Jan 3, 9:34*pm, Sean wrote: Hi All, I have a Salomon Link with some older K2 Plasma 10 bindings that need to be replaced. *Do any of you have any suggestions for a replacement? *I freeride only and am looking for something that is a little forgiving and not too rigid. *I have looked at the Flow setup and like the in/out design but I have heard that they do not collapse making travel a bit tough. By "travel," do you mean in a car, or on a plane? If you detach the strap -- something you wouldn't do in day-to-day use, but is OK for traveling -- you can push the Flow highback down farther, making it easier to pack and ship your board. If you don't do that, you are correct that the Flows create larger "humps" on the board than strap bindings. Still, I've found that they will fit through the typical automobile trunk-rear seat pass-through. Does anyone have any insight on who is putting out the best product? I have the Ride SPi's, which I like a lot. Good for freeriding, although the aluminum base is probably more rigid than some of the plastic models available. Joe Ramirez Thanks for the reply, Joe. I was not sure if the highback would collapse enough for safe transport on a plane, so you have answered my question! I don't mind the aluminum base, as my K2 is same construction...but the plasmas do have a rubber padding that has *some* damping effects on vibrations/chatter. I will look into the Spi line. Anyone heard from lonerider/Arvin? Used to see his opinions here quite often, along with Neil. This group seems to have become quiet with the exception of the MI5 nonsense. Thanks again, Sean |
#4
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On Jan 4, 12:04*am, Sean wrote:
On Jan 3, 11:09*pm, wrote: On Jan 3, 9:34*pm, Sean wrote: Hi All, I have a Salomon Link with some older K2 Plasma 10 bindings that need to be replaced. *Do any of you have any suggestions for a replacement? *I freeride only and am looking for something that is a little forgiving and not too rigid. *I have looked at the Flow setup and like the in/out design but I have heard that they do not collapse making travel a bit tough. By "travel," do you mean in a car, or on a plane? If you detach the strap -- something you wouldn't do in day-to-day use, but is OK for traveling -- you can push the Flow highback down farther, making it easier to pack and ship your board. If you don't do that, you are correct that the Flows create larger "humps" on the board than strap bindings. Still, I've found that they will fit through the typical automobile trunk-rear seat pass-through. Does anyone have any insight on who is putting out the best product? I have the Ride SPi's, which I like a lot. Good for freeriding, although the aluminum base is probably more rigid than some of the plastic models available. Joe Ramirez Thanks for the reply, Joe. *I was not sure if the highback would collapse enough for safe transport on a plane, so you have answered my question! A couple of years ago, we flew to Calgary and I put two complete sets of gear, mine and my son's, into one snowboard bag. We both had Flow bindings at the time, so I took both sets completely off the boards and labeled every single part so I could reassemble everything properly at the hotel. Very annoying on the whole. With just one board in a bag, you wouldn't need to do all that. I don't mind the aluminum base, as my K2 is same construction...but the plasmas do have a rubber padding that has *some* damping effects on vibrations/chatter. I will look into the Spi line. The SPi's have nice rubber pads over the alum. base. I think most Ride bindings have these; not sure if they all do. Joe Ramirez |
#5
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A couple of years ago, we flew to Calgary and I put two complete sets of gear, mine and my son's, into *one snowboard bag. We both had Flow bindings at the time, so I took both sets completely off the boards and labeled every single part so I could reassemble everything properly at the hotel. *Very annoying on the whole. With just one board in a bag, you wouldn't need to do all that. I don't mind the aluminum base, as my K2 is same construction...but the plasmas do have a rubber padding that has *some* damping effects on vibrations/chatter. I will look into the Spi line. The SPi's have nice rubber pads over the alum. base. I think most Ride bindings have these; not sure if they all do. Joe Ramirez- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Heh....luckily my wife is a skiier, so we each have our own gear bag. Thanks again for the reply. If anyone else has any opinions to share, please post! Sean |
#6
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Thanks for the reply Chris. I poked around the intertubes and found a ton
of reviews for the Relay Pro's that were positive. I wish I lived near a mountain so I could demo a pair...being in the southeast makes that kind of difficult . I liked my K2's heelside move, but I'm much stronger going heel side than toe side. It's kind of a strange feeling - while heel side, I have no problem getting the edge to work for me putting down a nice, narrow line in the snow. Toe side, on the other hand, I feel like I am about to launch off the mountain with much less control. Something to work on this year. Do you think the Relay Pro's have some flex in them going toe side transition? I spent my youth on skateboards (mainly pipes) so the flexibility sounds very appealing. Arvin pointed me to a couple of choices for a new board two years ago...I ended up with my Salomon Link and I really enjoy it. I only get about 10 days a year on the snow, so there isn't much opportunity to try before buy. Anyhoo, I always enjoyed reading his technical posts. Sean "Christopher Cox" wrote in message ... Hi Sean, I demo'ed a pair of Salomon Relay Pro's this year. They feel different enough that I would recommend you demo'ing them as well. Very flexible from the front to the back of the board. (Skateboard'ish) Extremely easy to go heal side. Going toe side is more of a challenge for reasons I cannot grasp yet. As for Arvin, have not heard from him on the group this year. It's almost like it is not winter yet. Chris |
#7
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"Sean" wrote in message ... I liked my K2's heelside move, but I'm much stronger going heel side than toe side. It's kind of a strange feeling - while heel side, I have no problem getting the edge to work for me putting down a nice, narrow line in the snow. Toe side, on the other hand, I feel like I am about to launch off the mountain with much less control. One thing I've found is that my bindings by themself do not allow enough forward lean. This limits how much I can bend my knees on toeside to absorb bumps. Therefore the bumps tend to throw me around a lot. On my old board, I made a pair of wedge shaped risers to give me a couple degrees more of forward lean, which pretty much solved the problem. I just got a new board which doesn't yet have the risers installed, and have found I have much more of a problem turning toeside again. I am just finishing a new riser set for that board. The riser is just a piece of 3/4" plywood cut carefully with a handsaw into a wedge of about 1/4" at the front and 1/2" at the back. I then cut the pieces to match the bottom of the binding, and cut a hole for the binding plate. Next, I primed the wood, and then coated the whole thing with polyurethane caulk using an old credit card to give it a rubbery grip surface, and bought longer screws for mounting the bindings through it. Bob |
#8
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One thing I've found is that my bindings by themself do not allow enough
forward lean. This limits how much I can bend my knees on toeside to absorb bumps. Therefore the bumps tend to throw me around a lot. On my old board, I made a pair of wedge shaped risers to give me a couple degrees more of forward lean, which pretty much solved the problem. I just got a new board which doesn't yet have the risers installed, and have found I have much more of a problem turning toeside again. I am just finishing a new riser set for that board. The riser is just a piece of 3/4" plywood cut carefully with a handsaw into a wedge of about 1/4" at the front and 1/2" at the back. I then cut the pieces to match the bottom of the binding, and cut a hole for the binding plate. Next, I primed the wood, and then coated the whole thing with polyurethane caulk using an old credit card to give it a rubbery grip surface, and bought longer screws for mounting the bindings through it. Bob Innovative work, Bob. Norm Abrams would be proud! That sounds like a great idea. I may have to run a piece through the bandsaw and see how it feels. What type of bindings do you currently use? Does anyone have any experience with the K2 of Flow models with the highbacks that 'flip' down? Or should I stick with conventional? Thanks for the reply, Sean |
#9
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"Sean" wrote in message ... One thing I've found is that my bindings by themself do not allow enough forward lean. This limits how much I can bend my knees on toeside to absorb bumps. Therefore the bumps tend to throw me around a lot. On my old board, I made a pair of wedge shaped risers to give me a couple degrees more of forward lean, which pretty much solved the problem. I just got a new board which doesn't yet have the risers installed, and have found I have much more of a problem turning toeside again. I am just finishing a new riser set for that board. The riser is just a piece of 3/4" plywood cut carefully with a handsaw into a wedge of about 1/4" at the front and 1/2" at the back. I then cut the pieces to match the bottom of the binding, and cut a hole for the binding plate. Next, I primed the wood, and then coated the whole thing with polyurethane caulk using an old credit card to give it a rubbery grip surface, and bought longer screws for mounting the bindings through it. Bob Innovative work, Bob. Norm Abrams would be proud! That sounds like a great idea. I may have to run a piece through the bandsaw and see how it feels. What type of bindings do you currently use? The ones on the newer board are Ride SPi's. Does anyone have any experience with the K2 of Flow models with the highbacks that 'flip' down? Or should I stick with conventional? I can't help here. Bob |
#10
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On Jan 4, 6:52 pm, "Sean" wrote:
Does anyone have any experience with the K2 of Flow models with the highbacks that 'flip' down? Or should I stick with conventional? I'm a rear entry convert ;-) I've had K2 Cinch for the last two years and for about three years before that Flow FL11s. My experience with Flows is therefore about 5 years out of date. I don't think I'll go back to normal straps though, for comfort and convenience. The main advantage of both variations is the speed of strapping in when you get off the lift. There may be problems strapping in in deep powder, but that's not something I often have the pleasure in coping with. Also there are less problems with frozen ratchets. They'er both a bit heavier than regular bindings though. Additionally, I find that Flows are much more comfortable than strap bindings due to the better distribution of pressure. For this reason I'd choose Flows over the Cinches. The Cinches do seem to grip your foot better due to the way they clamp down, but they have a lot of moving parts (more to go wrong?) and they are not as stiff. Also because they have regular straps, they can cause foot pain/cramps like regular bindings, but on the other hand, it's easy to ratchet them down an extra click before you hoon down something stupid, which is always nice. Like everything, it's best to try before you buy, though if you rent Flows you'll probably end up testing the cheapest ones. Cheers. Iain. |
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