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any burton junkies out here?

was looking at the burton cartels as well as the malavitas and had a question for anybody who can answer it.. i played around with both in the store and the malavita actually seemed a tiny bit stiffer than the cartels but the general consensus has always been that cartels are the stiffer of the two.. what are you guys’ thoughts on the malavita as an all mtn binding versus the cartel?

p.s. i heard some things about burton reflex bindings in size large being impossible to center.. whats up with that? sounds odd to me.

 
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yes the malavita is stiffer than the cartel. That’s not to say the cartel is soft. I actually like the 13 highbacks - found the 12’s too stiff laterally.

Both are good allmountain bindings AND park bindings. Base your decision on
1) are you really really picky about the stiffness of your bindings? (I would personally be happy with either of these bindings, and so would most people)
2) does the asym strap and heel hammock warrant the extra dollars to you?
3) do the colours match your outfit/board?

Or get the 2013 cartel ltd or cartel regional loves - they are perfect. malavita/genesis baseplates and genesis ankle straps with cartel autocant footbeds and cartel highbacks.

as for the centering, the discs are in the middle of the baseplate, so if you center your bindings based on the gas pedal to the heel cup, then it won’t be exactly centered. Again, if you’re picky about it then watch out. Best thing to do is to check it out at your local shop. grab some larges and put them on a board

 
Gamblor - 07 April 2013 10:50 PM

yes the malavita is stiffer than the cartel. That’s not to say the cartel is soft. I actually like the 13 highbacks - found the 12’s too stiff laterally.

Both are good allmountain bindings AND park bindings. Base your decision on
1) are you really really picky about the stiffness of your bindings? (I would personally be happy with either of these bindings, and so would most people)
2) does the asym strap and heel hammock warrant the extra dollars to you?
3) do the colours match your outfit/board?

Or get the 2013 cartel ltd or cartel regional loves - they are perfect. malavita/genesis baseplates and genesis ankle straps with cartel autocant footbeds and cartel highbacks.

as for the centering, the discs are in the middle of the baseplate, so if you center your bindings based on the gas pedal to the heel cup, then it won’t be exactly centered. Again, if you’re picky about it then watch out. Best thing to do is to check it out at your local shop. grab some larges and put them on a board

thank you for the reply! im not sure which ones they are as im not very familiar with the LTD versions of the cartels but theres a set of ltd cartels with the shape of the state of california on the highback.. do different LTD cartels differ from eachother or are the LTDs the same? I hear all LTD cartels have the hinge in comparison to the regular one that doesnt. does this make them more flexy or a little stiffer? I really don’t get the difference between the LTD and the regular? I was leaning more toward the malavitas because of the little bit extra stiffness as well as the asym straps..

i hear some people saying they cant get the large centered but im assuming maybe my situation is different because i ride a 161 W but im not sure and i will make sure to take my deck there before i purchase. what do you think though?

 
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The California ones are the regional loves for California. They only come in reflex. With the ltd, the reflex are a much better deal. The est ltd are just regular cartels with the hinge. No lightweight baseplate, no genesis straps. The hinge doesn’t make it too flexy btw, it just provides the same natural flex you get in regular disc bindings.

 
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cooldocbk - 08 April 2013 04:29 AM
Gamblor - 07 April 2013 10:50 PM

yes the malavita is stiffer than the cartel. That’s not to say the cartel is soft. I actually like the 13 highbacks - found the 12’s too stiff laterally.

Both are good allmountain bindings AND park bindings. Base your decision on
1) are you really really picky about the stiffness of your bindings? (I would personally be happy with either of these bindings, and so would most people)
2) does the asym strap and heel hammock warrant the extra dollars to you?
3) do the colours match your outfit/board?

Or get the 2013 cartel ltd or cartel regional loves - they are perfect. malavita/genesis baseplates and genesis ankle straps with cartel autocant footbeds and cartel highbacks.

as for the centering, the discs are in the middle of the baseplate, so if you center your bindings based on the gas pedal to the heel cup, then it won’t be exactly centered. Again, if you’re picky about it then watch out. Best thing to do is to check it out at your local shop. grab some larges and put them on a board

thank you for the reply! im not sure which ones they are as im not very familiar with the LTD versions of the cartels but theres a set of ltd cartels with the shape of the state of california on the highback.. do different LTD cartels differ from eachother or are the LTDs the same? I hear all LTD cartels have the hinge in comparison to the regular one that doesnt. does this make them more flexy or a little stiffer? I really don’t get the difference between the LTD and the regular? I was leaning more toward the malavitas because of the little bit extra stiffness as well as the asym straps..

i hear some people saying they cant get the large centered but im assuming maybe my situation is different because i ride a 161 W but im not sure and i will make sure to take my deck there before i purchase. what do you think though?

I told you the difference between regular and ltd reflex in my first post. Est ltd just has the hinge.

Leaning towards the vitas for the extra stiffness and asym strap is a good call

 

i see, thank you
am i right to say that the ltd cartels are more similar to the vitas than the regular cartels? basically now im trying to differ between the ltd cartel and the malavita.. they seem the same to me except for malavita being a bit stiffer?
i appreciate your help

 
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If you want a slightly stiffer laterally highback and an asym strap, then get the vitas. The ltd are the best bang for the buck. Many pros ride the missions btw

 
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I’ve got the Large Cartel Limited (2013) on a 162W and there’s no problem centering them for me. Good all-mountain bindings which I’ve used all season in every type of condition at Whistler and Mt Baker.

 
Gamblor - 08 April 2013 12:48 PM

If you want a slightly stiffer laterally highback and an asym strap, then get the vitas. The ltd are the best bang for the buck. Many pros ride the missions btw

yeah honestly im not completeeely sure if im more interested in the extra stiffness or not, i thought i was but im honestly not very good when it comes to deciding on bindings as you can tell lol

based on reviews and what not i hear missions are pretty much usually very similar to the last season cartels so stiffness wise theyre cool but they have less comfy straps for not a wholee lot less $ so id rather go with cartel/cartel ltd or vitas. thanks for all the help again

 
Fledz - 08 April 2013 04:06 PM

I’ve got the Large Cartel Limited (2013) on a 162W and there’s no problem centering them for me. Good all-mountain bindings which I’ve used all season in every type of condition at Whistler and Mt Baker.

thanks for the reply! this makes me feel more comfortable about my situation. gonna take my deck to the shop tomorrow and see what all three of the bindings feel like one last time and see how they are on my board and then we’ll see from there

 
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I think you’ll find (as I have) that your boots impact you a lot more than your bindings, so don’t stress too much. Cartels are solid. There’s better bindings out there but you really can’t go wrong with the tried and tested Cartels.

 

thanks! yeah ive never had my own boot actually, always used my friends and also rentals so they were always a big big on me and im not used to the whole reaaally snug/slightly uncomfortable feel from the beginning and im not really sure what is considered too tight or not but who knows lol

 

okay so the shop im getting my bindings from also have the restricted cartel/restricted malavitas..
im torn between the LTD cartels and the restricted of both cartel and vitas..
can anyone help me understand the difference between the LTD cartels and the restricted cartels and also the difference between the restricted vitas and the regular? thanks a bunch!

 

got the limited cartels! stoked!

 
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cool. You made the best choice. Now, you need to get yourself some boots

 

got some today, nike dks. idk if you guys are fans of nikes boots but im a ball player and a huge nike advocate so i had to at least try some on. honestly i didnt try many other boots on because the nikes seemed fine and i just really had to try the nikes because they’re nikes (i know many people are gonna hate me for my reasoning)