klover

Researching a beginner women setup for my gf. She's 5'10" 135 lbs, size 9 boots. Still polishing on linking turns on 8th days of her 1st season. Somewhat prefers freeride compared to parks.

I've been looking on Ride vxn, banditta, Rome madison, Union milan, Flux ge30, Flux tt30 and found the prices are somewhat similar, ranging $130-$170. Now I'm leaning on the Titans. Any comments on how they'd ride for girls?

These bindings will most likely set on Flow Venus 151. We've looked onto the popular ones: K2 Lunatique 149/151, Ride Compact 153, Vinyl, DC Biddy but those boards dont click. I checked Roxy Ally '11 on a local store, and the rep says it's more for intermediate and up.
As long as the Venus can hold on steep blue runs, she's good. I doubt she'd hit black anytime soon.

Any thoughts on bindings (or board, size, etc) is much appreciated...

Nivek

TT30's are for dudes. Why not just get the GM30's? They're the womens TT30's... Or even better, some Flow Essence's or Ride Bandita's.

Venus is a great board, she'll love it. Only thing I would say is the 149 Jewel will have more staying power as far as board capability. For the money, those are two of the best 2011 deals on the market.

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Snowboarding Sucks.

klover

Thanks Nivek, I'll look into Jewel...

She hates GM30s Or probably I'll just have her get used to it...
Are Essence / Bandita better then GM30, quality-wise?

Nivek

Not as far as build quality is concerned, but I just think they ride better. Some of my unnofficial favorite bindings were this years Nitranes. And my official favorites right now are Flow Quattros.

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Snowboarding Sucks.

klover

i'll keep note on those... thanks!

cocolulu

I actually use the Flux TT30's.

I like them a lot. My first day on the slopes with them, I completely forgot that I was riding new bindings, which I guess is a good sign.

They are pretty stiff compared to all the other bindings I tried, and the highback is a bit taller than usual girl bindings. I wanted relatively stiff bindings to go with my soft/mid flex board. They are also somewhat heavy.

I'm not sure, but perhaps a softer binding would be good for a beginner? In store, I strapped on soft bindings (Burton Stilletos), and they were very comfy and forgiving, but people advised me to get stiffer bindings if I wanted better response.

I *really* liked Union Milans when I tried them in store. The highbacks were flexy laterally (leaning forward and back along the length of the board), but stiff sideways (leaning edge to edge). Sadly, they were very expensive compared to the deal I got on the TT30's, so that's how I ended up with those.

I'm definately pleased with them. Not sure how good they would be for a beginner, given their weight/stiffness. They're otherwise very comfortable and responsive. My only complaint is that the plastic covers sometimes pop open.

Rufus

Other than three women specific models, all the Flux bindings are listed as Unisex on their web site.

Nivek

Flux are wide fitting bindings to begin with. A Womens boot is gonna swim in a TT30.

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Snowboarding Sucks.

cocolulu

I wear a size 7 women's boot, and it doesn't swim in a small TT30 binding. There are small gaps (around 1/3rd of a cm) on the sides, but that was no different than any binding (womens or mens). Once it's ratcheted down snugly it's secure and comfy.

Regardless, I think I generally like women's binding's highbacks better, but supposedly taller highbacks are more responsive.

klover

I forgot to note that she's wearing size 9 boots, Vans Encore. Will be mostly in size M of these bindings.

This is also one of my earlier reasons for getting tt30.

Sorry, I'm not yet familiar with these bindings, care to describe which part of plastic covers?

@cocolulu Thanks for the responses! I see you're in SF. Which store did you find Milan/Flux? I hope to find TT30 / Milan locally to see if the boots fit and have her pick.


A local rep store suggested DC Biddy ($300, flat b/w feet, rocker on ends) compared to Flow Venus ($219, rocker b/w feet). Is it really more stable and better for beginners? I couldn't find many refs of Biddy on this forum.