OK, here goes another Flow thread...I'm growing weary.

[surfinsnow]

I've been rockin' a pair of '09 Flow NXT FRX's on a NS Titan for a couple of seasons now. First time I was able to buy the equipment I really wanted, not just what I could afford. And the higher-end Flows are definitely spendy. Anyway, I posted several times here how much I like them, and that the haters were just whining and/or buying the cheapo models. Well, I'm beginning to grow weary of defending them.

First of all, I still REALLY like them, at least, I like the quick entry, the way they feel riding, etc. But I was out last weekend and was having some problems after like my second run. Just didn't feel right, like I had forgotten how to ride. Couldn't seem to really control the board the way I was used to. After my third (slow, cautious) run, I discovered the problem...one of the four straps had lost the screw that holds it to the metal base plate. Turned out it was "only" missing, but the repair guy at the mountain first thought the head had sheered off the screw. Fortunately no, but I took time out of my day to get it fixed (they did it for free, so I slipped a guy a ten-spot for saving my day). And of course, I was still really apprehensive for the next few runs while I wondered if the repair worked.

So, shit happens. But I've now had a strap break -- just split right in half. And the night before going to Tahoe last years, I discovered that one of the aircraft cables that pull the high-back up had split. Fortunately, Flow has great customer service, and they overnighted a whole new cable and high-back ratchet assembly straight to Tahoe Dave's repair shop, waiting for me when I got there. But damn, for an expensive binding, there seem to be a lot of problems. I ride this board hard and fast, and I'm losing confidence in my bindings. I'm afraid I'm going to be bombing down the hill one day and the things are just going to disintegrate. I know, regular bindings break sometimes, too, but jeez, these are only a couple of years old and I've had to do some major repairs to them already. Me no likey...though I still love the Flows, I'm not as ardent a supporter as I once was.

Oh well. More fuel for the Flow haters.

[MunkySpunk]

Finally a topic that deals with Flow bindings and the opinion of riders on this forum about them!!

[Leo]

Should have gotten Unions

Seriously though, I hope things work out for the best for you. I'm glad Flow has taken care of you.

[surfinsnow]

Originally Posted by Leo

Should have gotten Unions

Seriously though, I hope things work out for the best for you. I'm glad Flow has taken care of you.

Thing is, I really, really do like the Flows. When they're dialed in properly, nothing better. When screws aren't falling out and cables splitting, I llike them a lot. I'd still recommend them, but make sure you always carry some spare parts around with you. I usually carry and extra set of everything, including bindings and a my old board -- just in case. You never know what'll happen, and sure enough the mountain we were at last weekend (Ragged) was in the middle of Total Nowhere, NH. No Ace Hardware in town. Hell, hardly a town, even. If the repair shop at the mountain hadn't had the parts, I'd have been screwed.

[Leo]

Originally Posted by surfinsnow

Thing is, I really, really do like the Flows. When they're dialed in properly, nothing better. When screws aren't falling out and cables splitting, I llike them a lot. I'd still recommend them, but make sure you always carry some spare parts around with you. I usually carry and extra set of everything, including bindings and a my old board -- just in case. You never know what'll happen, and sure enough the mountain we were at last weekend (Ragged) was in the middle of Total Nowhere, NH. No Ace Hardware in town. Hell, hardly a town, even. If the repair shop at the mountain hadn't had the parts, I'd have been screwed.

I totally agree. I always tell people to order spare parts from Flow or any manufacturer as soon as they get new bindings.

This is especially important with bindings like Flows where there are a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, that's the risk we take when using bindings with that many moving parts.

[v-verb]

Glad Flow took care of you! I checked out Flows and decided that I liked the GNU Fastecs better. So far they've been fantastic. I can strap in standing up easily - they are really good bindings - so far! Hope they don't develop problems as I use them more.

If you have a chance just check them out and let us know what you think. I'm curious.

Cheers

nigel

[Nivek]

Well that kind of stuff is gonna start happening after a couple years for almost anything. I have had stuff like that happen to anything I own after a period of time. If you're really riding hard than its expected. It will also reassure you to know that even in the last 3 years the quality of their product has increased. They continue to improve every year. So when you do finally have to retire your current FRX's, definitely look into just stepping into whatever current year stuff you like.

Check your stuff prior to your first run and take care of your bindings.

[carverboy]

Originally Posted by v-verb

Glad Flow took care of you! I checked out Flows and decided that I liked the GNU Fastecs better. So far they've been fantastic. I can strap in standing up easily - they are really good bindings - so far! Hope they don't develop problems as I use them more.

If you have a chance just check them out and let us know what you think. I'm curious.

Cheers

nigel

Unfortunately it's a matter of when not if your fasttec's will fail. We carry them at our shop and the failure rate is almost as alarming as the lack of service from Mfg. The weak point is the closure tab on the strap. I believe they are shearing because people set them up to tight.
Make sure yours do not need a lot of force to close and I think you will see good mileage from them. Our local ski patrolers have chewed through multiple pairs each. Always they fail at the closure. Everyone who try's them loves them.

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by carverboy

Unfortunately it's a matter of when not if your fasttec's will fail. We carry them at our shop and the failure rate is almost as alarming as the lack of service from Mfg. The weak point is the closure tab on the strap. I believe they are shearing because people set them up to tight.
Make sure yours do not need a lot of force to close and I think you will see good mileage from them. Our local ski patrolers have chewed through multiple pairs each. Always they fail at the closure. Everyone who try's them loves them.

Carverboy

Thanks for the feedback - I'll check my settings on the closure tab. I'll let you guys know if they start buggering up.

Thanks again!

nigel

[pencap75]

I was a dedicated Flow user for nearly a decade. Pretty much every flow I owned had some kind of mechanical malfunction, but despite it, I stayed loyal, up until the NXT-AT 2009 model.

It wasn't hardware malfunction that made me switch from Flows however. I started to get serious bilateral little toe pain. I switched to Ride's canted bindings and all the pain went away. So I have been using Rides (NRC and Contrabands) for the past 2 seasons and very satisfied.

I loved riding off the lift and snapping into my Flows in an instant and smooth manner, but the foot pain was killing me. So now I gladly sit in the snow on my ass and strap in, in return for no foot pain. The contrabands also take like 5 seconds to strap in. My wife still uses flows but she still has to wait for me to strap in.