Binding and Board help?!?!

New, so be nice!

I recently got into snowboarding, and figure it’s cheaper to buy, rather than keep renting!  Have already sourced Vans Encore (size 12), and am now on the hunt for some bindings and a snowboard.

Being 6” and 130kg, I’m guessing I need some really sturdy bindings?  Union Force?  Burton Cartel?  Forum Republic?...any thoughts or recommendations?

Also for the board I was tossing up between the GNU Riders Choice and Never Summer Proto CT.  A few friends have the K2 Parkstar, so should I also consider that?  Also, do I need to get a wide board?

Much appreciated!

I think nthnbeaches guy is around your dimensions, maybe a bit lighter, so he might be your go-to guy.

What sort of riding are you going to be wanting to do?

I’m definitely leaning towards being an All Mountain Freestyle rider - I just love chucking the board around a bit!

Nedrum, another larger human, nice!  I’m a touch taller and bit lighter with spot on shoe size. 

I like Ride bindings for the reason they have solid aluminium baseplate and heel cup, the highbacks are the usual plastic stuff but I like mine more on the soft side.  I have two sets of bindings, Ride Rodeo’s and Ride EX’s, both fairly soft highback wise.  The EX’s I have had for a while, I think this is their 4th season, a few of the other ppl with Ride’s on here can attest to how tough they are, I think SamNZ had a pair approaching 10 seasons old.  I just got the Rodeo’s and have only ridden them 4 or so days, so far very happy with them.  A mate of mine is riding K2 Indy’s and is a similar size to me with no dramas, he sports a size 14 foot though and is stuck with wide boards.

Burton Cartels, Missions, Malavita’s would all be decent, Union Contact Pro’s would be my choice out of their line, don’t anything about Forum bindings, I’m sure someone here will pipe up about Flux bindings but I didn’t like em in the flesh, I found the same for the Burton’s to be honest, very plastic.

Boards wise the Riders Choice is a solid board, was something I was looking at one for myself for a while before I bought the Lib T Rice, don’t know much about Never Summer, the Park Star I have heard good things about.  I ride kinda smaller boards, I have a Lib skate banana in 159 and my T Rice is a 157, I have found that as long as the boards waist width is over 255mm I don’t have dramas with drag.  With that said I do ride +15 -15 full duck on the widest inserts of both boards which probably helps.

I would prefer to steer away from wide boards, I had a demo of a Lib skunk ape and really didn’t enjoy it, harder turn initiation due to the extra width and felt a bit lumpish.  My first board was a Rossi Contrast wide, last time I rode that I really didn’t enjoy it, being wide and camber and 161 didn’t really do it any favours in my book.

What sort of riding are you looking to do?  I really like both of my boards for different reasons although I’m kinda considering an attack banana at present, can’t help myself buying stuff.  My banana is great for tooling around the mountain, fun in the smaller parks and great for powder and pressing, the T Rice with the C2 (same as the Riders Choice) is great for bombing and hitting larger park jumps but quite crap for pressing/butters.  At the moment I have been riding my banana more as I busted my back 8 weeks ago and just finding the banana really fun for cruising around.

Hope that helps, if you have any questions fire away.

Damn…so helpful!!!

When I got my boots, the guy at the store also used and preferred the Ride bindings, so will put them on the top of my list!  He mentioned he really likes the toe web.  There is a significant difference in price between the EX and Rodeo - is that something that I would notice?  I’m happy to make the jump if it’s going to be more durable.  What’s your thoughts on the EX vs Rodeo?

Good news on the board size too…The first couple of times I went up they hired me a wide 160cm+ board…it was huge and extremely difficult to turn.  The last time I went, I hired from a rental shop at the bottom of the mountain and they gave me a flexible shorter standard width board, which made learning so much quicker and more fun.  You’ve cleared that up for me, so a 159 sounds like the go

I’m more interested in butters, park and some moderate speed runs down the mountain with tricks along the way.  Hard speed runs just aren’t my thing…yet

My Ride SPi’s “lasted” 7 seasons. By “Lasted” I mean it’s missing bolts, the bolt holes have been stretched and the heel cup moves up and down almost an inch. There’s also fractures in the base plate, but that would still take a considerable amount of force to break it considering the metal they used to make them is also used in airplanes.

Ride make super solid bindings, I’ve only ever had two gripes with them first is the weight, but considering how old they are and the fact they are made strong for big mountain freestyle, that’s not really something I can be upset about. The second being ride’s heel cup’s were held in place by two bolts on each side, this usually meant that the bolts would come loose and then you get movement in the heel cup. Tightening them up didn’t help as they would come loose again. With Ride’s new higher end bindings they seem to have fixed this issue with a solid heel cup.  I don’t think the EX is included in that but the rodeos are. I would advice against getting a higher end binding until you are more advanced, only for the reason that by the time you get advanced, that binding will have deteriorated some and soon you will be buying another expensive binding.

I’ve since bought myself the Union Contact Pro’s. I do like them but I don’t feel they fit my boot quite right - It may be because of my boot size to the binding. As for flux, I had a brand new pair on their first day come into my shop a few weeks ago - the base had broken apart. First time I’d ever heard of a flux binding break to be honest. I stay away from Burton bindings, but generally anything else will be fine for you.

Don’t get a Lib Tech/GNU. If those are your choices then the Never Summer Proto is a good choice. But there are plenty of other brands you can look at as well. I recommend trying to look at the Rossignol Circuit and YES! Basic if you can.

Not sure why SamNZ is trying to steer you away from the Mervin boards that’s up to him to explain I guess, personally I haven’t had any issues, I really really like them.  They are a little heavier than some others but are solid and well made, haven’t heard much in the way of manufacturing faults or dramas on the grapevine but like any brand there is probably some if you dig the interwebs hard enough.

The Yes basic, hmm, a mate of mine at 85kgs rode a 156 or 7 and sold it to a mate as he found it way to soft and noodley and went back to his Gnu Carbon Credit, it’s 3 years old, did a season with him in Big White and he still loves it and is in decent nick.  Yes has a lot of fans around here but no one else is in the same size category either ha ha.  One bonus with a Lib/Gnu is that ppl will buy em second hand if you outgrow/ride it, some of the lesser known brands you may struggle.

What you will find is everyone has their own opinions on brands based on many many different factors, whose to say if they’re right or wrong, I’m just commenting on what I have found works for me.  BTW I still have my original Vans boots, they were pretty damn comfy.

Oh and the EX vs Rodeo, don’t worry about the Rodeo, the EX even four seasons old has a toestrap that is similar to the 3d grip things, I ride with EX’s over the toe in exactly the same way the 3d works, it is flexible material not hard plastic stuff on the toestrap so go for the EX’s and you will be fine.

I had trouble with those heel cup bolts as Sam mentions, on my Ride Vxns. A bit of Loc-tite did the trick though, when I got sick of it enough to do it!

I don’t like Banana tech. Especially for beginner-intermediate riders. I actually thought this thread was another so thought he was a beginner, which is manly why I said stay away from Gnu. In which case you can flag my board recommendations, but now I recommend the Never Summer proto even more. The parkstar is an good board, but K2 are never my first option anymore - The only board I’d ever consider from them these days is the fast plant.

Although I am still unsure on your level, I now suggest the Rossignol Jibsaw. If I could afford another board, it’s the board I would be buying.

As for the bindings, if you have the money, go for the rodeo’s because the design is stronger. I’d check the wedgie though, make sure you’re going to feel good in it. Ask a store to attach them to a deck for you so you can try them on.

Sorry…level wise, I’m prob a beginner-intermediate.  I’m comfortable heading down blue runs and throwing the board around, and want to start buttering next time I head to the snow….I *think* that’s beg-int???

Okay, so the next thing is how soft do you want your board? The fact you said start buttering suggests a softer board. The Rossignol District is pretty damn soft but is a decent board - just maybe more soft than you would want. The NS Proto is still a good option also. The Jibsaw is also still a good option, not as soft as the district, and you’ll enjoy it but may be a bit more than you want to pay for your level. It also has magnetraction, which is obviously a huge bonus down here in the southern hemi.

I don’t know about the Rossi District. I have a 150 and it’s soft as shiz! my housemate has a 161 and it’s stiffer than riding a door.

+ I think you like Rossi way too much, I find their options over-priced and under-tech vs Mervin boards, YES / Burton / Forum / Rome.

Personally you want something with a width of at least 254 or so with size 12’s and about a 159. If you like the idea of park / buttering, I wouldn’t steer you away from Reverse Camber (I love it) but I agree it’s not for everyone.

Have a look at the Rome Artifact, the Burton Whammy Bar or Joystick, Stepchild JibStick, Yes Jackpot, Forum Scallywag. But these are all really soft and at your weight might be too soft. Something more mid flex like the Burton Custom (or Custom V), Ride Machete or DH / DH2 might be more your style.

Hey Ned!

Just to throw in my 2 cents, im also size 12US, 190cm (6” 3’)

Stay away from “Wide” boards you don’t need it, just make sure the board you get has a waist width of around 255mm

As for bindings, ive tried Burton Triads/Cartels, Union Forces/Flites, Flux RK30/SF45. Out of all those the unions were the worst (ratchets sticking constantly!), The burtons and Flux’s were both pretty good and did the job as described, I ride Flux now and have absolutely no complaints other then the paint chips quite easily however i have put about 80 days on my SF45s now and other then paint, they are in as new condition!

For boards, i personally dislike Lib/GNU - ive had 2 models (Carbon Credit & Banana Magic) and was not impressed, the Banana Magic (top tier board) started delaminating from the core after only 3 days!!!

Boards i HIGHLY prefer are DC boards from 2011 onwards (different factory before 2011) and Capita boards. My 2 most favourite boards are 1. DC Devun Walsh (Absolute Machine ANYWHERE!) and 2. Capita Horrorscope (When i ride this board i literally cant wait to ride over moguls and just spread that butter all over them!)

Boots are a personal preference, whatever fits you best thats what you should get!

However one thing which i feel is pretty important is to consider the overall stiffness of all your equipment (board, bindings, boots)

I usually always ride a bit stiffer boots (5-7 out of 10) and then either softer bindings, softer board or both! Because if everything is soft it can only get softer and you’ll find yourself searching for response when your sending it, and if everything you ride with is super responsive (stiff) then you have to be on your A-game all the time and it makes progression harder.

Anyways lecture is over for today kids! Any Q’s ask away

I have a Lib Tech and have no issues whatsoever after 2 seasons of riding it. I agree with the Rossi recommendation though, I love their boards. If you could only buy 1 board, get the Rossi templar or Rossi One Magtek. Both are AWESOME!

I do like Rossi, As I’ve been demoing their boards this season and what they’ve come out with has been great, especially for the level of riding he is looking towards. That also means I know about them, and so suggesting them makes more sense than boards I don’t know as much about.

Are you saying you have the district in a 150? and your mate has it in a 161? I don’t think it comes in a 50, but a 51. I have it in the 61 and 55. They both have the same flex pattern, pretty damn soft board, which is why I warned it may be softer than he wanted. As a general rule, most boards do tend to get stiffer has they get larger due to the fact if a 160 board had the same flex as a 145, then the weight and strength of the rider would snap the board.

Keeping in mind that he’s said he’s leaning towards all mountain freestyle, the Ride DH is a good suggestion, it’s a solid versatile board that you wouldn’t be disappointed with.

haha poor guy, definitely no consensus in this thread!  If you get a chance, see if there are any demo days going on at your local hill and try a few things out.

My personal thoughts are, being such a big bloke, you’ll probably be able to monster any board that isn’t super-stiff anyway, in fact, you may want to stay clear of softer boards as per TJ’s suggestion.

There has been some talk here about regular camber vs reverse/banana vs C2 etc.  Another option is the Camrock profile used by YES, Signal and some others in some of their boards.  This is regular camber between the feet, and rockered up from the feet out.  The idea is it carves nicely like a regular camber board but also butters and rides pow well because of the rockered ends.