YES Pick Your Line first impressions
I was using the NOW bindings when I demoed it. But it’s the board that felt different not the bindings. The one I demoed didn’t feel as cambered as this one and not as stiff. On the upside, this one carves better and holds a super good edge.
UPDATE on today’s 8cm pow day. This board is AWESOME in pow, even in what little pow we have today in Whis, the nose just won’t sink/dive into the snow. The board is also a champ at busting through chopped up snow and crud. Combined with NOW bindings, it is very damp and stable (some people don’t like this damp feeling though).
The NOW bindings are even better. I second lester’s comment on how it’s surf like in powder (not that I surf) but it’s amazing. The response is instant, I don’t get any heel lift because the heel cup is holding down your boot so good.
Hell yeahh glad to hear it ill be there in 8 days I’m doing the snow dance over here, really hoping for some more snow next week so I can enjoy that same feeling, it’s a really unique ride for sure cant wait to try the PYL last 159 board I rode was a reg camber board so this will be a floating machine out there
Skip,
Did you do any high speed runs, carving? really wondering how she handles high speed I can’t say enough good things about The Greats really hoping PYL is even better if that’s possible 
Also stiffness ? Does it feel like a stiff board ? Or more mellowed out ?
Not super high speed today, but I tried some high speed runs before, handles great. I don’t know about yours though since you have a lot more rocker and less camber than mine. Should still be fine though. If yours is the same as the board I demoed last spring then I noticed some nose chatter at high speeds (on groomers). I’m sure yours will float even better than mine. It felt like a medium stiff board, you definitely have to ride it and still a bit forgiving due to the rocker. I’d say it’s a tiny bit stiffer than my Lib t.rice.
Joshua from YES/Nidecker replied, there will be minor differences in each board because they are handmade. I’m still stoked on my board it’s just that I am a little disappointed it doesn’t ride like the one I demoed last spring.
More handmade than any other board? 
Yeah I have a feeling it might have that nose chatter just by looking at it, it’s like my Hovercraft once you pick up the speed it does it that, it the price you pay for the float i guess. We see ill test it out on Sunday just so I can get a feel for it before Whistler
Joshua from YES/Nidecker replied, there will be minor differences in each board because they are handmade. I’m still stoked on my board it’s just that I am a little disappointed it doesn’t ride like the one I demoed last spring.
More handmade than any other board?
Minor haha that’s a understatement but I’m likin the handmade part for sure, the difference between mine and skips board is crazy he has about twice to three times more camber, I’m rockin mostly Rocker, when I press down the just outside the inserts towards the tail the entire board lifts like a rocker board. No complaints just observations, just wondering how she will do on speed as a result .. We see
Just another thing to note. The YES sintered base seems to be softer and slower than my Lib T.Rice sintered base. I notice it slower when I was on cat tracks. It is noticably slower than my t.rice. Also I my base got a few scratches just from hitting branches sticking out of the snow on tree runs and grazing very small rocks. My t.rice got scratches and a small gouge (which somehow is filled by waxing) when I ran over small rocks and bigger branches (not just grazing over it).
Now bindings worth it?
How’s your trice in powder?
Yeah, NOW bindings are definitely worth it. T.Rice is pretty good considering it’s a 153 blunt (longer effective edge, less nose) but in deep pow (30+ cm) sometimes I wish I have a different board.
Just another thing to note. The YES sintered base seems to be softer and slower than my Lib T.Rice sintered base. I notice it slower when I was on cat tracks. It is noticably slower than my t.rice. Also I my base got a few scratches just from hitting branches sticking out of the snow on tree runs and grazing very small rocks. My t.rice got scratches and a small gouge (which somehow is filled by waxing) when I ran over small rocks and bigger branches (not just grazing over it).
Yeah I second that my Lib Tech Banana Magic took some bad hits last year in Breck Colorado early season and the damage was minor well needed to get grinded but no deep gouges to fix with The Greats i took it out 3 times and look what happen but then again I don’t know what I went over so who knows but from the pics I posted before it was deep like to the core deep. Guess we see how it does in Whistler 2 more days
Also Jones and Bataleon have some hard bases I would have thought the Greats would have been like the Jones Hovercraft because aren’t they both made by Nidecker?
Yeah, NOW bindings are definitely worth it. T.Rice is pretty good considering it’s a 153 blunt (longer effective edge, less nose) but in deep pow (30+ cm) sometimes I wish I have a different board.
Hmm I was thinking of picking up Now bindings since I can get it for $150 (CAD) new here. I have an old Union Forces and Cartel EST right now. What other bindings have you tried? I took a look at Now and other than that tech, everything else seem to be a bit minimal in terms of features. Ankle strap seemed narrow and didn’t look particularly comfortable, ratchet didn’t seem that strong and adjustability seemed lacking. Given that it’s more expensive than the Cartels, wasn’t sure if i should just go with tried and tested.
Hmm I was thinking of picking up Now bindings since I can get it for $150 (CAD) new here. I have an old Union Forces and Cartel EST right now. What other bindings have you tried? I took a look at Now and other than that tech, everything else seem to be a bit minimal in terms of features. Ankle strap seemed narrow and didn’t look particularly comfortable, ratchet didn’t seem that strong and adjustability seemed lacking. Given that it’s more expensive than the Cartels, wasn’t sure if i should just go with tried and tested.
CAD $150??? Dude, DO IT!!!
Keep your straps off the other bindings, and get some NOW frankenbindings happening. I saw a pic somewhere on the net of one of the NOW riders rocking Union or Burton straps on his NOW bindings.
Get em. $150 is really cheap, I got mine for 250CAD + tax. I tried 2010 Ride Ex, 2010 Rome Targas, 2012 Union Contact pros, 2012 Burton Cartel Re:flex. Ankle strap is more comfortable than my Cartels in my opinion. In terms of just comfort alone the contact pros probably take that title. But the ride on the NOW is so good, you’ll love it. Their customer service is top notch too, I got replacement ladders in just 1 day (even though mine are still perfectly fine).
Yeah, for 150 bucks it’s a no-brainer. Even if for some reason you don’t like them, you’ll be able to sell them for more than you paid for them. But as most people who try NOW bindings love them, I doubt that’ll happen.