Ride El Hefe Snowboard Binding Review |
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The Good Ride TakeA Good Ride Take on Binding Tech This is a Goodride breakdown for all you that are having a tough time choosing your bindings and what to make of the material you are looking at. Most bindings are Metal, Plastic or some combo of the 2. Metal Bindings have a lot of great aspects. Almost all-metal bindings are made from aluminum. Aluminum is great when it come to weight to stiffness ratio and also pretty durable. There is one key issue with metal/aluminum bindings; they transfer all the vibrations from the board right into your feet. This is the same principle that pelage “bass-less” bindings, your feet got totally tired or fatigued. The newer generations have much better/damp bases so this problem has been minimized and in some cases eliminated. There are some companies that make great bindings despite the vibration issue with Aluminum. Some that come to mind are Ride and Rome. Plastic Bindings also have many great features but let’s address some technical stuff first. Most plastic bindings are really hardened glass plastic mix. The high-end stuff tends to have a more carbon, and carbon fiber added for extra stiffness and weight savings. Plastic bindings really dominate the market right now and most top bindings these days are mostly or all plastic. They can be really stiff and react well to your commands. The new bindings finally dialed in the carbon/ fiber integration to the point that the bindings will perform with the stiffness of metal and absorb more chatter. Most industry leaders have limited or completely eliminated metal from their bindings and we feel that with the materials used right now this is the future. Some mostly plastic companies that we feel rock are Burton, Flux and Union. What kind of binding should you buy? It’s a tough call. Both Plastic and Metal bindings offer freestyle, freeride and all mountain styles. At this point we feel that plastic bindings are edging out metal bindings when it comes to the very high end $300+ category. However it is a tough call in the below $300 category as to which material has the advantage.
The Good Ride Take on Ride They are from the same parent company as K2 and you can see have many similarities in terms of board design and company policy. Ride’s customer service is better than K2’s and actually has a # to call on their site instead of just an on-line form. Ride, like K2 seems almost secretive when it comes to having third party entities like us or end users like you review their gear. So many companies like Burton, Rome, YES, Arbor ect. are really proud of their gear and try to do everything they can to get you to ride them. Ride seems to do the bare minimum and despite its large size has very few demo products. Their policy seems to be if you want to try it you have to buy it. Ride chooses mainly to work with variations of flat/rocker snowboards but has recently started to work with hybrid camber. Their hybrid camber is different than YES and Rossignol and leans more on the flat camber side of things but we still like to see them go in this direction. We have found that we like some of their shapes but other boards we weren’t fans of . Like K2 Ride’s rocker shapes always seem to be pretty flat between the feet and it makes for one of the better rocker set up out there. Ride makes pretty good bindings and many people swear by them. They have more parts than most bindings but all in all they do a very good job despite the fact that a lot of the binding is metal. We are big fans of the canted foot bed but can’t say we are a fan of their Contraband strap system. They make good boots that last for a long time but boots are so personal all we can speak to is their build and longevity.
Company Info & SpecsRide El Hefe 2012El Hefe bindingsHigh-end Dialed Versatility$359.95
SIZES: M, L, XL
STYLE: All Mountain
COLORS: Black
Offering the max in customization, response and support, the new 2012 Ride El Hefe snowboard binding is dialed for all of your charging needs. Featuring the new Eclipse RS highback, the CustomFlex™ ankle strap and brand new Infinity chassis. And with Wedgie™ 2.5, 4.0 & 5.0 in the box to pick your level of added pop, drive and support, this snowboard binding gives you the ultimate performance for all terrain, all the time. Complete with a premium soft case, this elite package goes beyond first class status. BINDING FLEX-O-METER:
 CONSTRUCTION:
NEW! Infinity System
NEW! Eclipse RS Highback CustomFlex™ EasyEntry Ankle Ladder Straps 3D ThinGrip™ NEW! AstroGlyde Wedgie 2.5 Wedgie 4.0 NEW! Wedgie 5.0 Urethane Rollbar™ Aluminum Chassis SETUP OPTIONS    FEATURED TECH NEW! INFINITY SYSTEMA super lightweight and flexible freestyle chassis complete with finely tunable adjustments and performance Micro-Disc mounting system.  NEW! ECLIPSE RS HIGHBACKMatching the Eclipse shape, but made with a proprietary Alloy Material designed to be ultra lightweight with added response.  CUSTOMFLEX™Multi-Density 3D thermal formed EVA padding with independent internal sliders allow you to adjust the flex of your ankle strap on-the-fly. Limitless flex options, so whatever flex you want…you get. Tool-less centering adjust.  3D THINGRIP™For better fit and better grip, this new 3D ThinGrip™ offers a new flip-lever tool-less adjust.  NEW! ASTROGLYDENewly engineered ratchet with ultra smooth cranking power and buttery release.  WEDGIE 2.5The ideal angle for advanced freestyle riders looking for that extra pop. If you are riding a rocker board, you’ll especially appreciate getting some added pop with 2.5.  WEDGIE 4.0Precise angle for those riders looking for the utmost drive and ollie pop. Ideal for those who rock the extra wide stance.  NEW! WEDGIE 5.0The maximum angle offered, ideal for the advanced Rider who demands the support and pop that only 5.0 can provide.  ALUMINUM CHASSISAluminum for a reason; the perfect balance of minimal weight, quick response and unmatched durability.
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