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#21
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wrote:
What Robert S. said above is about right. ... Either way, they require preliminary setup & adjustment, which is pretty much ignored by everyone I've met that owns them. If you take the time to get them right, they are the best attachment system on the market. I'll pipe in again and say this works for some, but not all. I gave these bindings the definite "college try." Tried several different adjustments. Even took them back to the shop (which sells a lot of Flows) and had them adjust the bindings with me standing in them. Also read everything I could find in this forum about adjustments. So, this is just a correction that for some, even if you know about all the adjustments...they still suck. Even knowing that Flows can be person specific, I quickly dismissed the idea of purchasing a pair for my girlfriend who would not want to adjust or tweek anything. I don't mind f*cking with things a bit, but most people want to get something set up once, when first installed, and the just forgot about it. This is true for most traditional straps and every other step-in system. Yeah, you may have to adjust the highback position for your foot size, but then it works, everytime. Flow supporters always say how great they are "once you take the time to get them right"...well, you shouldn't have to! I know, i'm jaded and biased, but these bindings also robbed me of many powder runs last season while I f*cked around with them to get rid of severe foot pain. Sorry to those of you that love 'em. I used to deal with the same thing when I'd rave about my old Clicker HBs and everyone else would bitch about them. Before you purchase a pair, see if you can rent/demo them for the day. Flow is at most demo days and shops that sell Flows often have them on their rental boards. |
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#22
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Just to be clear, the only time I adjust my Flows is when I remove the
"strap" either to make the bindings smaller for transport or when I wax. They never require adjustment during the day, and when I do need to start from scratch it takes all of about 2 minutes. That being said, I certainly agree they are not for everyone and, in particular, not for every boot. Now those Clicker bindings really suck in my experience. :-) -- Robert |
#23
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Agreed; not for everyone, & they definitely need the boot to fit.
Clickers. Suck. Definitely agreed on that. |
#24
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Baka Dasai wrote:
You could try a boot/binding combination that does not cause pain like that. Like these boots: http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/deeluxe.cfm Seriously. Other people have switched to hard boots for the exact same reason. I don't see how you can say that - if you look on the Bomber forums... a good number of the postings are people asking about how to get their boots to fit right and how their feet kill in their hardboots - the main replies are almost exactly the same as the ones posted he - get custom footbed ($150) - get moldable liners ($150) - get custom bootfitting from a knowledgeable bootfitter ($50-$100). Actually... it seems like most hardbooters fit terribly out of the box because of the hard shell, where as many softboots, while not great, are rideable as is. For one thing... ordering online is just really not the greatest of ideas for boots and you almost have to do that for hardboots. So back to the original point, I'm sure some people have noticed that hardboots happen to fit them better after switching, but I don't see hardboots as a general solution to bootfit issues - it's just silly in that you are changing some many other factors as well (would be like switching from a sedan to a motorcycle because you don't like the way the driver seat feels). |
#25
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On 2 Feb 2005 19:13:12 -0800, "lonerider"
wrote: Baka Dasai wrote: You could try a boot/binding combination that does not cause pain like that. Like these boots: http://www.bomberonline.com/store/boots/deeluxe.cfm Seriously. Other people have switched to hard boots for the exact same reason. I don't see how you can say that - if you look on the Bomber forums... a good number of the postings are people asking about how to get their boots to fit right and how their feet kill in their hardboots - the main replies are almost exactly the same as the ones posted he - get custom footbed ($150) - get moldable liners ($150) - get custom bootfitting from a knowledgeable bootfitter ($50-$100). And those are all good suggestions, especially getting a knowledgeable bootfitter. Actually... it seems like most hardbooters fit terribly out of the box because of the hard shell, where as many softboots, while not great, are rideable as is. For one thing... ordering online is just really not the greatest of ideas for boots and you almost have to do that for hardboots. I would say that it has a LOT more to do with the pressures put on the foot while carving than the fit of the boots. I am miserable when I'm in my softboots now if I'm doing anything other than just doing park runs. I took 'em out 2 weeks ago for the 20" of fresh we got in Vermont and now have one black toenail on each foot. I can't do much soft-boot carving just because my feet get too beat up. I'm sure that if I put as enough effort into getting soft boots fitted correctly I could get a good fit. I would still have to deal with the pressure of the straps (or continue to use step-ins). Of course based on past experience if I were to drop real money for new soft boots, I would want the same level of service I've received with my hard boot fitting at the Starting Gate. Maybe there are standard snowboard shops that do good fittings, but I wouldn't even know where to begin looking. Ordering online is not the best way to do it, but if you understand how mondo point measurements work, you really can get pretty close. It helps to know how a specific boot fits, i.e. Solomon's are generally best for narrow feet, but again, I'm not sure a novice would find this info. If you're going to go to a bootfitter anyway, I would pretty much prefer to take my chances online than go with most of the retailers I've dealt with. (My wife got some new ski boots at a large and generally well respected shop in NYC last season, went to get footbeds and the bootfitter refused to do it because they were a size and a half too large, after the original shop spent 2 hours 'fitting' the boot.) One thing that may be an advantage for hard boots is that you can have the shell stretched and molded. I haven't seen much that can be done to soft boots rather than adding custom footbeds, but I'm sure that some work can be done. So back to the original point, I'm sure some people have noticed that hardboots happen to fit them better after switching, but I don't see hardboots as a general solution to bootfit issues - it's just silly in that you are changing some many other factors as well (would be like switching from a sedan to a motorcycle because you don't like the way the driver seat feels). I agree with your main point, though for technical riders are don't do park/pipe stuff, hard boots are a viable alternative. The problem with hard boots is that it leads to buying lots of expensive snowboards. (If you think a Burton T5 is expensive price a Madd or a Virus.) Jeremiah |
#26
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Jeremiah Kristal wrote:
I'm sure that if I put as enough effort into getting soft boots fitted correctly I could get a good fit. I would still have to deal with the pressure of the straps (or continue to use step-ins). Of course based on past experience if I were to drop real money for new soft boots, I would want the same level of service I've received with my hard boot fitting at the Starting Gate. Maybe there are standard snowboard shops that do good fittings, but I wouldn't even know where to begin looking. So back to the original point, I'm sure some people have noticed that hardboots happen to fit them better after switching, but I don't see hardboots as a general solution to bootfit issues - it's just silly in that you are changing some many other factors as well (would be like switching from a sedan to a motorcycle because you don't like the way the driver seat feels). I agree with your main point, though for technical riders are don't do park/pipe stuff, hard boots are a viable alternative. The problem with hard boots is that it leads to buying lots of expensive snowboards. (If you think a Burton T5 is expensive price a Madd or a Virus.) Jeremiah Yea... that's the rub... so you go to a person and tell them that you have this bootfit solution for them... but they have to get rid of all their current equipment, pay $500+ for new equipment, plus spend 3-4 months tweaking this new equipment and relearning how to snowboarding... but then... then they'll be set :P Baka Dasai wrote: What you say is all true, but if the original poster was in the position where nothing else was going to work, then hard boots would become a viable option. Similarly, if he was hard-boot-curious, it could have been the right piece of advice at the right time. If neither of these was true, he could have safely ignored my post as just another hard-booting crank trying to hijack an unrelated thread Lol... yes, if the original poster has exhausted all possible options, and if he was "hard-boot-curious" then this could be what he needs to discover his true "bootwear preferences." That being said, his problems (and actually I would say your problems) could probably be solved provided you put in enough time, effort, and money into it... obviously no one know until you've tried everything... |
#27
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I am repeatedly having problems with a pain that almost becomes
unbearable on the top of my front foot in a 2-straps binding. Just to throw a different option for you to try. It may not be the bindings at all but the angle of your foot. Try angling the front foot a couple of degrees further forward. I only say this coz I also had a pain in the top of my front foot last holiday and this was the reason. I had taken the bindings off for transport and put them back on 1 degree less than normal and just one degree made a lot of difference to comfort. Worth giving a go anyway. -- kitemap http://ugcc.co.uk |
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