Bastard Child, that pisses me off, I paid 80$ to get my baron ups'd to them. I knew that asshole at the store was trying to rape me. I even got testy with him cause he gave the biggest box they had. I was like the shit's broke in half, wrap it in bubble wrap and send it off, I dont care......he gave me some bs story. At the time i didn't even know if it was gonna be warrantied but it's true, burton does have good customer service. Got the 06 a week later.
I hear ya bout bein pissed at those trees too. One of them shits pickpocketed my bean right off my head. It was weird, pulled the hat right off but my goggles stayed on, I searched forever but couldn't find the beany anywhere. Score one for the trees!
And dan, how do you mean you blew em out, what happened? I've been known to ride pretty hard and I like mine.
buddy, UPS let you off easy. At the ups store they tried to take me for $110. dude told me I needed a special snowboard box that was like thirty bones and sixty to ship and another twenty or so for some bullshit handling fee. I told him where he could shove his box and what he could handle (that'd be my cock n' balls). went online and a got a fedex ground quote for less than the freekin box would've cost me. Wrapped it up in cardboard and dropped it off.
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I hope in the future Americans are thought of as a warlike, vicious people, because I bet a lot of high schools would pick "Americans" as their mascot. -Jack Handy
Well, I am biased here but next time go to Kinko's and they will wrap it for you and then ship it Fedex ground or express depending on what you want. The UPS stores are a ripoff.
I have a pair of the flow bindings....i've had them for 3 years and my wife, 2years. They are hands down the most comfortable bindings I have ever used. Think about it, instead of 2 straps, you have a whole cover....less pressure points. Before these bindings, i was thinking that snowboarding was a pain sport. Also, once you get the fit right, it is the same every time, not to mention they are way quicker to get into than straps. The biggest pitfall is that you have to lay the highback (whatever you call it) back to put your foot in from the back....it could make getting into your bindings difficult when starting on a really steep slope. I fix this problem by digging a little flat pad to start on a steep slope.
My opinion...After having Ride, Preston, Drake, Salomon and Burton bindings... all bindings break. As for ridding Burton, the lock down on high back is stupid (as attested to in previous posts) and the plastic is brittle when cold. Ride hard and break shit. So I ride an Never Summer (3 year warranty and great customer service...Made here in CO to boot) I also ride Burton Frankenbindings. These are made from the last 5 years of binding parts I can get of my "sponsored" friends. I have last years mission base plates, this years toe strap (these are kind), leather ankle straps from 2,3,0r 4 years ago and Medium Backs from Burton Customs 4 or 5 years old. I used a dermal tool to cut lock down off backs. I have screws and base attachment plates from where ever mountain shop I could beg them from. I had Carbon fiber HIGH backs w/out lock and still got them broke by a riblet at snowmizzle. 18" + or - 2" my ass...To stiff anyway. The only reason I am still ridding Burton is because I can find replacement parts at the bottom of every schussing hill in the US. Ladders (strap piece that is notched) break frequently and having to sit out a day because you lost a screw or broke a strap is crap. 1: Call the rep for warranty, beg for part, wait for part, get part, assemble, go ride or 2: hobble down to shop, bring beer, get part, assemble, go ride.
Tempted to try Rome. They are ex-Burton designers and riders. Look sweet. Kinda heavy, (what do I know, I ride an NS), and New. Beggers can't be choosers.
Went for a run on Snowmass for lunch Tuesday after waxing for cold last Sat. Was like I had suction cups on the bottom of my deck. No fun. Twas Fat Tuesday ;@
I'm not sure when the crack actually developed in the heel cup, but I unexpectedly ate some shit on a heel side carve coming down over the rainbow at Loveland on my way to the car. It seemed that the binding had gotten floppy and sloppy about halfway through the turn, along with a cracking sound. And what do you know, the heel cup was broken. They're three years old, we'll see if Burton gives me a new base.
Remember those old alluminum base Preston bindings...had both straps snap break on landing off a cornice at Copper a few seasons back. I guess that's more of a blow out. Nearly lost an MCL from that one. A reminder to check your gear for fatigue.
I picked up a pair of Salomon bindings from a local shop this week. Blast Salomon all you will, the fit of the bindings to my boots is tight. I'll report back after the weekend on how they work out.
all this talk about bindings for this or that - i sense a bunch of paddlers waiting for spring...this topic sounds like i'm at rei listening to some dude tell me the sales pitch about every stupid feature of some product.
in my not so humble opinion, anyone who spends too much time worrying about which product EXACTLY fits his non-freestyle need is a waste of time. get some bindings, have fun. don't get too caught up in the sales pitch.
Hey Dan, I just traded out my toestraps for more traditional straps. I don't like capstraps because they take more time to put on. I usually ride loveland pass on pow days, and anything that slows me down is a drag. They have this really weird feel too, I just didn't like em. I still have the burton mission binding with the freestyle toestraps, and I took that crappy lock thingy off the back, it just doesn't work for me.
As for Cloudveil, my experience hasn't been positive. What can I say? I've been riding Colorado trees for 20 years. I never tore my CB jacket, never tore my pataguchi, never tore my northface, never tore my 4 square. . . but I tear my Cloudveil in one day. Don't get me wrong, I love the jacket. When I get it back I'll rock it at the bar or on a rainy day after a bear creek run, but I'll never ski with it. It's not burly enough. Also the zipper design sux. It's survival of the fittest. I'll only support small companies if their product is made well. Northface, Burton, Patagonia were all small companies at one point. The reason they are still successfull and huge is because they have good product which they stand by. We all wan't to see the little guy succeed, but if they can't figure it out. . . then they won't succeed. If I pay 400 for a jacket it better be friggin bomber!!!!!
Steve Kahn wrote "in my not so humble opinion, anyone who spends too much time worrying about which product EXACTLY fits his non-freestyle need is a waste of time. get some bindings, have fun. don't get too caught up in the sales pitch."
Hey Steve, when you ride at my level you wan't your gear to perform the way you want it to perform. If something doesn't fit exactly how I wan't I will find something that will. By the way, this isn't something that I spend all my time worrying about. . . if I have a problem, i find a way to fix it. . . so I can have more fun.
Whining like a bitch about people discussing gear in a gear forum is a waste of time. It's like crying about too many boobs in a titty bar. Whaddya expect?
Phillips, thanks for your comments, I'm right there with ya. Nothing sucks worse than having gear fail on a good snow day. Recomendations from other serious riders helps steer you away from crappy stuff. When you feel wind on your back signifying a gash in a $400 jacket, that sucks. That's why I stick with my trusty Starter jacket, jeans and a couple cans of DWR.
mr. phillips - i'm quite sure you're a badass, and how great of you to let everyone know your skill level. the obvious thing that you're missing, is that you live in colorado, and everyone rips, or at least most people who will spend there time flapping their jaws about it...
as all the tele'ers love to point out, snowboarding is easy. mastering your skills on a board is not too hard, and simply takes time, like riding a bike. lean left, lean right. pulling 40-ft gaps, dropping cornices, pulling a beaver creek 50 ft rail, and getting out of the pipe also do not take that much skill, and anyone who puts time into it will get there.
this is the main problem with snowboarding - it's so easy to master, everyone thinks they're so good compared to the next guy and like you, they feel better about themselves from this expression. too bad...really does give the sport a bad name.
so i think it's quite pointless to continue a discussion about how fast one goes, or how big, or what size your biceps are, or how many chics you've banged, etc. etc. etc. -
my point is that snowboarding in particular seems to attract this exhausting discussion of what feature is better for what. of course any idea can be taken to the extreme, and too much or too little focus on this are probably both faulty, but i believe that people generally get too much into this crap.
remember that people have been ripping for a long time now, and how much has the sport really progressed since say, 1993? and how much of this progression has to do with cap straps versus older straps, ratchet bidings, baseless, flow, or baggy pants, or neon one-pieces, or camber, or composite materials, or symetry, or sidecut, or any other damn thing you want to talk about.
you know, though, maybe you're right. perhaps if i focus on every new feature, and become well versed in the current sales pitch, then i'll be super extreme and have awsome backcountry adventures on loveland pass.
i think i'll read this thread a few times over and then maybe i'll get there.
A reminder to check your gear for fatigue.
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