Ok... So I need new bindings. I am a 5'2'' 125 pound female riding on a 154cm 2006 Never Summer infinity. (Ok, yes, I know it is long for me, but I like it that way. I love my board, and I am glad I have it). However, I couldn't find the bindings I wanted at the end of the season last year and I didn't have the money to buy them anyway, so I strapped on my crappy burton demo bindings that were free with my last board.
However, this year I really really need a new pair of bindings. However, due to the fact I have only ridden on crappy rental bindings, I don't know exactly what I like. I come from a ski racing background, where I like for every one of my movements to be captured by my equipment. Even on my board, I lace my laces to the point of almost cutting off my circulation, and tighten the ratchets on my bindings so tight that I have to loosen them when I get to the chair. Therefore, I suspect I may like stiffer bindings, but I am not sure. All I know is that I like my bindings to be ultra responsive.
I am an somewhere between an advanced and expert snowboarder, who tends to ride big mountain. I enjoy spending my time in powder, steeps, trees, and searching for terrain. Occasionally I venture onto the beaten path and wander into the pipe, however I get sick of being cut off in line and almost being run over by people who don't know what they are doing. I even more rarely wander into the park, but if I am going to do freestyle, I prefer pipe anyway. My percentage of off piste/groomers/pipe-park is 50/25/25 (if I had to estimate). (I would probably eliminate groomers altogether if I could, but we all have families...)
I have narrowed down my options to to final candidates: the Ride DVA or the Rome Madison. I have heard great things about both, however, I don't know which to get. I know I won't be able to demo before getting them, or else I would have to wait another year, which I cannot do, as currently my toestrap is about to break, which would require me to put more money into my already dead bindings, which I am simply not going to do.
Any advice comparing the two would be of great help, as I have gotten to the point that I am so divided that I am picking the binding I would like by color--which isn't the way to do it.
Thanks in advance.
However, this year I really really need a new pair of bindings. However, due to the fact I have only ridden on crappy rental bindings, I don't know exactly what I like. I come from a ski racing background, where I like for every one of my movements to be captured by my equipment. Even on my board, I lace my laces to the point of almost cutting off my circulation, and tighten the ratchets on my bindings so tight that I have to loosen them when I get to the chair. Therefore, I suspect I may like stiffer bindings, but I am not sure. All I know is that I like my bindings to be ultra responsive.
I am an somewhere between an advanced and expert snowboarder, who tends to ride big mountain. I enjoy spending my time in powder, steeps, trees, and searching for terrain. Occasionally I venture onto the beaten path and wander into the pipe, however I get sick of being cut off in line and almost being run over by people who don't know what they are doing. I even more rarely wander into the park, but if I am going to do freestyle, I prefer pipe anyway. My percentage of off piste/groomers/pipe-park is 50/25/25 (if I had to estimate). (I would probably eliminate groomers altogether if I could, but we all have families...)
I have narrowed down my options to to final candidates: the Ride DVA or the Rome Madison. I have heard great things about both, however, I don't know which to get. I know I won't be able to demo before getting them, or else I would have to wait another year, which I cannot do, as currently my toestrap is about to break, which would require me to put more money into my already dead bindings, which I am simply not going to do.
Any advice comparing the two would be of great help, as I have gotten to the point that I am so divided that I am picking the binding I would like by color--which isn't the way to do it.
Thanks in advance.