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Choosing the Size and Style of Snowboard Binding to Fit Your Riding Style

By: Matt Banks

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Buying bindings can be one of the most confusing purchases a new snowboarder has to make. Primarily because most people looking to start snowboarding have no idea what bindings are. Sure, they know that bindings hold their feet to the board, but that is hardly their only function. Having the right bindings for your style can make all the difference when you do get out on the mountain. And if you are just learning to snowboard, having the right bindings can make the learning curve substantially smaller.

The first thing to consider before you even start shopping for bindings is your price range. How much are you willing to spend on bindings? There are several steps in binding prices and it is crucial to determine which is right for you at the start. Price-point bindings are the cheapest bindings you can find. However, they will perform fairly poorly. For someone who is not spending more than a few days a year snowboarding, this can be fine. The bindings may last quite a while and perform to the level of the rider. But if you plan on becoming a fairly advanced rider, you do not want to buy cheap bindings. Investing in a more expensive and nicer pair provides a better experience, but also keeps you safer. No one wants to blow out a strap trying to land a monster kicker. It can be dangerous.

Once you know how much you can spend, you need to base your choices off of your riding style. As with boots, softer bindings will perform better in a park and stiffer bindings will perform better in the powder. Often, this is denoted by a binding’s flex. The more flex, the softer the binding. Some top-of-the-line bindings even offer adjustable flex levels. This allows you to hit the powder during the day and shred the park at night without having to swap out your gear or mess up your stance settings.

You must also determine what features you need in a binding. Bindings are all very different from one another and the differences can be subtle. Some bindings may use straps which others are step-ins. Some bindings have toecaps and some do not. Some bindings, such as those made by Flow, are almost completely different from other kinds of bindings. Most of these options are based on personal preference and you may have to try the bindings out to see if the system works for you. For most beginning riders, a simple strap-on binding system will work just fine.

Your final determination should be size. This is fairly simple as the size of the binding is directly related to what boot size you have. Always make sure you buy the boot first as you do not want to compromise boot size to fit bindings, it should be the other way around. One important thing to point out is that women’s bindings should always be used with women’s boots. It can be tempting to buy a man’s binding because of the look or price, but it is not designed to work for a woman. Women’s bindings are specifically engineered to work best for women and mixing and matching can cause performance problems and even pain. But once you understand the options, you’ll have no problem at all choosing the best binding for you.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Matt Banks is an avid snowboarder living in Southern California. He writes about snowboarding  and skateboarding for www.boardriderlounge.com where you can find great deals on just about any style of burton snowboard binding or salomon snowboard bindings.

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