Flow Essence Snowboard Binding Review

$229
Intermediate to Expert All Mountain Freestyle
Flow has a unique binding that some people swear by. Flow started the whole quick release thing a few years back. Some love it and some hate it. The binding is well made, reliable and will last a long time. Some don't like the large single ankle/toe strap that fit's over the majority of the top of your foot but others swear by it. If you have pressure points there this might not be the best and you should look for a binding with a toe strap. Flow also has very little shock absorption in their base plate and it has failed to evolve like many bindings have in the past few years. We'd like to see Flow work on more response and try to allow the board to naturally flex. If Flow could do that as well as have a quick release this would be a very cool binding. The Essence more on the high end of the Flow line up and made for more aggressive all mountain freestyle riding.

How It Rides
Flex	Medium	Response	Good	Dampening	Good
Adjustability	Good	Weight	Light	Shock Absorption	Average
Comfort	Good	Lateral Movement	Good	Board/Boot Integration	Good

Compare Prices & Buyer Reviews

Compare Prices And Read Buyer Reviews

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The Good Ride Take

A Good Ride Take on Binding Tech

Metal vs Plastic Bindings

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 plague “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.

Company Info & Specs

ALL-MOUNTAIN/FREESTYLE

All the features and styling you need and nothing you don’t. The Essence is lightweight and designed just for women—built on our 18% glass-filled Nylon lightweight M-series baseplate, flexy enough for mellow cruising, yet rigid enough for support in the park. It’s also incredibly comfortable: featuring adjustable toeramps with soft EVA padding and finished with our I-Flex PowerStrap offering supple, snug support and our convenient MINIratchets allow for perfect, custom adjustment. Our new Ventilated hiback gets glossy prints for extra style and completes this versatile all-terrain binding.

SIZES: Med, LG FEATURES: