iinkinpark10

I made sure to leave myself an option of returning them for this exact reason.

Might end up going with my original thoughts and getting Burton Mission bindings. I got these because they rival the Missions, canted footbeds and everyone seemed to love the straps.

slyder

Don't forget about Flux very happy with them on my kids boards. When I rode them they were great!!!

__________________
Thanks
-Slyder

Gdog42

Yeah, In my opinion the 2 best brands for bindings are Flux and Union. Both are made and warrantied to last a lifetime, are completely adjustable, and are made to work well with almost any boots on the market. However, both have 1 different benefit and 1 different downside:

The benefit of Flux bindings is that they are tool-free, with the disadvantage being no baseplate dampening.

The benefit of Union bindings is baseplate dampening, with the disadvantage being that you need a tool to adjust any part of them except the ankle strap and highback.

I've had a pair of Union bindings for an entire season now, and unlike my previous bindings, NONE of the screws on them came loose at any point. When you rotate the ankle strap and ladder, their screws don't rotate, they stay in place.

If you're interested in these 2 brands, whichever one you should go with depends on what you'd rather have: Tool-free adjustment or shock-absorption.
With Forum soon to be melting away, it wouldn't be a bad idea to consider another brand in case you ever have a warranty claim. Burton also makes REALLY GOOD bindings, but for the same price they're not really as flexible as Flux and Union, and you can only really get good dampening if you get a pair of the EST bindings....but for that, you'd need an EST board (Channel).

If you're happy with the Forum bindings though, go ahead and stick with them in the larger size! You wouldn't have to worry about any warranties if you got a refund and ordered a larger pair from dogfunk.com, because they have a lifetime return policy. If you're not satisfied, you can return them at any time Just don't tell the dude at the store if you do that, unless he has a similar policy!

BurtonBindings

Okay.
let's clean up some mis-truths.

1. Burton Bindings, at least those with Re:Flex, are roughly 60% more flexible underfoot than any other brand except Forum with Good Vibes.

2. Forum will be backed up by Burton for any and all warranty reasons. Not just for this year, for ever.

3. Burton has a lifetime warranty on all their baseplates. If you legitimately break our baseplate; it gets replaced for life. If we don't carry a compatible part any longer, you get comparable new bindings at no cost to you.

4. A simple solution to his sizing problem is exchanging his mediums for a size large. If you like the Republic, ride them. They're great bindings.

Gdog42

That sounds great. OK then, in that case you should probably just stick with the Forum bindings in a larger size.

*When I was talking about the flex, I meant the highback flex based on seeing Burton bindings at several stores. They felt more stiff on the Freestyle and Custom than those from other brands at the same price.

Thanks for getting that out. I thought Forum was done completely!

iinkinpark10

Really appreciating all the feedback. I took the bindings into my local shop (not where I actually got the bindings from). Just so happened that one of the guys working rides this years forum bindings. He has a 10.5 boot with the Medium bindings. He went through the same process. Got mediums was unsure so switched to the large size. After trying them out he was having to set everything at the lowest setting and tightening the straps down to lowest setting. He went back to the mediums and hasn't had a problem.

We can lay my board almost completly on its side and the toe will just about touch the carpet. I had the board on and all strapped in and was able to transfer weight with ease from the back to front and did not feel like I was pressing on nothing because of a possibly too short toe ramp.

Two things he changed on the my set up: 1) He corrected my toe strap so it laid across the front of my boot properly. Even though I thought I changed this he moved which slot the strap locked into within the binding to make it easier to lay across the front top half of the toe only. 2) We got the heel lock to be set all the way back. That did change a few cm's for me on the footbed.

Also what he described (which hope I'm describing properly also its good information) was that when moving from heel to toe you want to roll. Similar to a pressing on the gas pedal of a car. So I want the balls of my feet to be sitting on top of the toe ramp so I can get the response to the board like it should. Which then came to show that I have extremely long toes so thats why my boot is so big (sorry for the visual) because I have not only the balls of my feet on the toe ramp but my toes reach back to it as well. So all that extra boot is toe room plus the boot is thick up front.

This sound about right?

huckfin

i assume lots of people with size 10 boots purchase size medium bindings after looking at sizing charts from the binding manufacturers, when in reality and from personal experience most of the M/L bindings are too small for a size 10 and up boot the unions certainly are. i cannot even fit a size 10 32-boot into a medium union force sl, it just doesn't fit. i've always used large bindings on the smallest adjustment setting. side note: this does vary from brand to brand.

sixpoint

fwiw I have 2012 Hails in size 10 and am currently riding 2 different boards with 2 different bindings and my boots fit perfectly. Medium Mission EST and Union super pro M/L

Gdog42

If you have longer toes, like I kind of do, it helps if the baseplate extends out underneath them so you can apply forward leverage more easily when going toe side.
In other words, try the Large, strap in, and see how it feels when transferring edges on a carpeted floor. If it's easier, go with them.
If not, go back to the Mediums.
Having bindings the right length also helps to distribute pressure across the board, meaning it will feel better under the pressure of the bindings. It's harder to roll over an edge of the baseplate is further away from it. I know this from also having bindings that were too short. They may feel ok at home, but trust me, after riding in them for hours it made my feet feel much more strained than the bigger ones I have now.