I just recently got a T Rice pro HP 155cm board and im looking to get a pair of very responsive and stiff pair of bindings.....I have a couple different kinds in mind. i would like to stay old school and prefer straps then the step in bindings like the Flows or Gnu bindings .... im leaning towards buying a pair of Union Chargers but would like to hear some of your opinions on stiff responsive bindings and the other brands/models that are out there..and if you have any experience with union charger bindings i would like to hear that as well
I have the El Hefe's and really like them. I'm not very good, but not really a beginner. I can do 30 deg groomed slopes smoothly. I like the straps on the ride bindings. The toe strap is made in a way that it rarely slips. I've lost it one time. I don't know why people dislike the aluminum chassis, it seems really tough. I'd much rather have it than plastic.
It won't flex. At all. IF they do flex, they bend. I bent the shit out of my SPi's. Even if you don't bend the shit out of them, they create a dead spot in your board that doesn't allow it to flex naturally. All bindings do this to a degree, but it seems noticeably worse with that big chunk of rigid aluminum screwed to your board. Plus, they seem to fatigue the hell out of my feet. I assume it's because they're not flexing in the least which translates more strain to the feet.
No offense meant and please don't take it as such, but you're probably just not good enough to understand why some people don't care for them in terms of how they ride. I originally picked up the SPi's when I was probably about your level and had a similar thought process to yours that aluminum had to be better than plastic. As I progressed, I changed my mind.
Union Factory is another good responsive binding option. I'm a big dude on a big board and they work good for me. Had the Ride Capos and I agree with linville and Snowdog about the aluminum chassis. They're just not for me and I was really glad to go back to plastic. The Capos just felt clunky to me I don't know why. But YMMV of course.
Baseplate on the Ride bindings I own are to wide. My boots which are Vans have a half inch gap on either side at the toe strap. With enough force movement seems more likely. So maybe its just my boots.
The Burton Diode is my go to binding. I used to use C60s but these are every bit as responsive, but much more comfortable. In comparison I bought Cartels for a play board and find them soft...
If you want response, they've got it!
Apex Sport, a race board retailer out of Canada sells them exclusively for boardercross and softboot freeriding and carving.
Have you actually tried a very stiff binding? You may very well hate it. Although I used a very stiff aluminum binding (highback doesn't have any give) for years, I now very strongly prefer something in the Cartel range of stiffness. (My board is very stiff.)
Why would I hate a stiff binding like the union chargers ? What are your experiences with stiff bindings and the reasons that you prefer a softer bindings and not a stiff one since u hated it?
Diode/machine/dm or factory. On the rides, I used to hate them, but the new el hefe is very nice. No longer feels like a bear trap with the new mini disk and highback
I'm an aggressive rider I don't really butter and I don't pull off any crazy tricks I'm not planning on going to the X games and ccan't really afford to get hurt ..I pretty much bomb down the mountain and carve and hit some jumps to get some air ill hit some boxes but that's about it ....the Burton diode have the sane stiffness/flex rating as the union chargers
I've been using union sl's for the last couple of seasons and I like the response you get from the aluminium baseplates. If your riding a stiff board I find high speed turns easier as the force you put into turn makes the board flex easier. Just got some Ride El Hefe for my Jones Hovercraft and it's awesome.
I bought last years ride capo. Asked the shop for the stiffest bindings they have.
They had this and a burton type. The aluminum base looked awesome.
They had last years model for half price, green.
I was sold, money is tight.
I know what was ment by " a clunky" feeling. But still need to up grade my boots the my board for next season. I am still relatively new at this but picked up pretty quick.
But man when trying to carve had or bome a hill, holy crap love the locked in feeling. Is just what I was looking for!!
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