Convenience Bindings
I know a lot of people hate these, but i was hoping to hear from the non-haters what they feel are the best convenience bindings on the market. The only ones that i am aware of are Ride Contrabands, K2 Cinch and Flow bindings. I have read a lot of mixed reports about all three types, but the key factors that seem to standout are ride and flow bindings apply an uneven amount of pressure across the boot and the K2 are poor quality.
Im heading to colorado in 2 weeks for a month, will be picking up my libtech skate banana when i get there and would like to get some new bindings as well, any help would be greatly appreciated. (currently i ride a burton custom with cartels)
Hey Rhino,
Mizu has got a point about not wasting your time. The best out of the lot would be the ride contraband, but the down side with them is the fact that the toe strap doesn’t always hold.
The Flux RK30 are sweet.
Some Union contacts would be good considering that you have a skate banana. The ankle strap has the whole plastic strap going through it, meaning that when it is undone the ankle strap will be out the way.
Rome 390 or 390 boss are really good too. They have a little band on the side of the ankle strap which pulls the ankle strap out the way when not in use.
These little things add hugely for convenience but also don’t compromise on response and hold.
Flux ratchets are amazing though.
Hey RHINO, welcome to Boardworld! 
Personally I will only ever use regular strap bindings, for a few reasons. But I will give you some feedback on Flow bindings. I had the opportunity to test the range of Flow bindings and boards two seasons ago in Australia. They have improved significantly over the years and when properly adjusted, I really didn’t feel the ‘uneven pressure’ issue as with their old bindings. They have a pretty good team too, including Scotty Lago, so they have to be making good bindings. In regards to convenience, well, that’s where I don’t see any advantage. The whole ‘it’s quicker to strap in’ idea doesn’t really play true when you think about it. From personal experience and from what I have observed with my clients, it takes just as much, if not more time than strapping in with regular bindings. I have a few theories on this. If they are adjusted properly, the bindings should be super snug around the boot; however if they are super snug, it makes it hard to slide the boot in easily. The other issue is you need to kick your feet into the binding; try doing this on an uneven surface, or in powder. Just a thought…
I have not tested the Ride Contraband or K2 Cinch bindings. I have not heard much feedback for the K2s but I have heard a lot of positive feedback from users of the Contraband.
If you are still looking for rear entry bindings, I would also suggest looking at http://www.sp-united.com/ - they make really good rear entry bindings with regular straps. TIME2RIDE in Jindabyne is the importer for SP, and I’m sure they will give you a pretty good deal this time of year. Check them out here: https://www.boardworld.com.au/snow/content/category/time2ride-jindabyne/
If you need any further help please let us know.
I agree, convenience bindings are average at best. Once you spend some more time on the snow you will learn how to ratchet a regular binding with haste!
Cheers guys, thanks for the quick response!
I should make it clear the reason i want a convenience binding is not because i can’t get into my other bindings quickly, but because i regularly hit up the mountain with just skiers, and they are all good to go straight off the lift, so i was looking for something that gave me a similar kind of experience. I like the idea that i can slot my foot in as i get off the lift and then flick the back up and be on my way.
I’ve done just under 100 days on the snow and am an intermediate to advance rider, im now looking to expand my gear collection, these bindings will not be replacing what i currently have, but rather there to give me a bigger selection depending on who im heading out with and what we are doing (if that makes sense).
Rider26 do you know what the availability of parts are for SP bindings on the mountain, my only fear with going with the smaller name brands is that if im on the mountain and i need spare parts i wont be able to find any?
Fair enough, sounds like you have your reasons. Still, I think you will find them to be more hassle than anything. It’s not that easy to just slide your foot in and lift the highback by the time you’re at the top; you need to kick the boot in with some force, at least from my experience.
I’m not sure about parts for the SP bindings. Maybe give TIME2RIDE a call and see what they say. From what I’ve seen they are fairly solid and well-built bindings. I don’t think you would have any issues.
Thanks for the advice guys, its greatly appreciated!
Watch this clip featuring Nick Hyne riding one-footed (in parts) - for an example of what Ride Contraband bindings are capable of handling:
I recently bought a pair of Gnu B-nice bindings which are also rear-entry. They were really cheap (147 delivered to my door) and I really needed a new pair. I received them today and they look the goods…but will have to wait a few months to see how they go in practice. They look solid and comfortable.
I have all the same reservations about “convenience” bindings as the others have listed here, but I have never tried them. This pair was so cheap that I couldn’t say no though.
I still have to wait a few months to really try them out though!
So in answer to your initial question, Gnu is another brand that makes solid but comfy looking rear-entry bindings that you could keep an eye out for.
Hey guys, just got back from an epic trip to Vail, while i as there they had over 3 feet a pow….................couldnt have been better. From what the locals where saying it was the biggest season they have had in over 30 years. Thought i should post a quick review aboput the bindings i bought. I ended up getting GNU Mutants http://www.gnu.com/bindings/mutant/. (FYI i am riding a skate banana and am a level 8 boarder)
As they where an all new binding configuration for me the setup took me well over an hour. And even after that first day out i was not overly impressed by the fit. It took me about a day an half to really master the configuration of the binding and get it to be both comfortable and a tight fit. The adjustment of the straps on mountain is really easy and the ankle strap is ratcheted so if you want to max out the binding for a big run it is no issue. Once i had got the setup right i found the binding to be reasonably responsive. my other bindings are Burton Cartels and comparatively the cartels are more responsive the difference is noticeable but not huge, so if your just having a cruisy day on the mountain they are good (not great) binding.
They have one feature that i was really impressed by, which is the ankle strap release. It allows you too loosen the binding without changing your setup and then tighten the binding back to your original config with one simple latch. this means that when your sitting on a lift you can loosen the binding, and then the moment you get off tighten back to your original settings.
For my first pair of convenience bindings i was pretty happy, but would i recommend these to others, the short answer is no. The long answer is depends on what you want out of your binding. If you are ok with a slight drop in performance/responsiveness and just want to cruise around the mountain then these are perfect. At the end of the day i think i will use these only when im out teaching mates to board and when im with skiers.
i have had contrabands for 2 seasons now and i love them, after the initial trial and adjust period of about an hour i was sweet and havent adjusted them since.
Although the only reason i bought them in the first place was to try somethign different not for convenience…
Hey Rhino,
Mizu has got a point about not wasting your time. The best out of the lot would be the ride contraband, but the down side with them is the fact that the toe strap doesn’t always hold.
The Flux RK30 are sweet.
Some Union contacts would be good considering that you have a skate banana. The ankle strap has the whole plastic strap going through it, meaning that when it is undone the ankle strap will be out the way.
Rome 390 or 390 boss are really good too. They have a little band on the side of the ankle strap which pulls the ankle strap out the way when not in use.
These little things add hugely for convenience but also don’t compromise on response and hold.
Flux ratchets are amazing though.
hey CJ i was gunna buy the ride contraband and was askin around when i was in Canada…. but glad now that i didnt
K2 cinch are heavy bindings
My only feedback is that my Cartels fit so well that when I blew a toe strap apart, I rode for the rest of the day without it, no worries. I really didn’t think I could get anything better than Cartels.
Then I found a pair of CO2’s for cheap…
...Then I found a pair of CO2’s for cheap…
LOVE Burton’s CO2 bindings! Easily the most comfortable bindings I’ve ever ridden.
^^ Ditto.
I managed to check out some of the new GNU rear entry-style bindings at the GNU demo tent in Whistler. It’s pretty interesting how they work - I don’t know if I would ever buy a set but I’d be interested to give them a go for sure.
Imagine the usual Flow-style rear entry bindings, but the ankle straps are looser so you can slip your boots in quickly and easily. Then there’s another lever on the side of the ankle strap that pulls the ankle strap into the pre-set position. Realistically it’s not really a time saver but still might appeal to those wanting a rear-entry binding. Quality-wise they look good.
EDIT: You can see how the GNU bindings work here…