# OK, here goes another Flow thread...I'm growing weary.



## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

I've been rockin' a pair of '09 Flow NXT FRX's on a NS Titan for a couple of seasons now. First time I was able to buy the equipment I really wanted, not just what I could afford. And the higher-end Flows are definitely spendy. Anyway, I posted several times here how much I like them, and that the haters were just whining and/or buying the cheapo models. Well, I'm beginning to grow weary of defending them.

First of all, I still REALLY like them, at least, I like the quick entry, the way they feel riding, etc. But I was out last weekend and was having some problems after like my second run. Just didn't feel right, like I had forgotten how to ride. Couldn't seem to really control the board the way I was used to. After my third (slow, cautious) run, I discovered the problem...one of the four straps had lost the screw that holds it to the metal base plate. Turned out it was "only" missing, but the repair guy at the mountain first thought the head had sheered off the screw. Fortunately no, but I took time out of my day to get it fixed (they did it for free, so I slipped a guy a ten-spot for saving my day). And of course, I was still really apprehensive for the next few runs while I wondered if the repair worked.

So, shit happens. But I've now had a strap break -- just split right in half. And the night before going to Tahoe last years, I discovered that one of the aircraft cables that pull the high-back up had split. Fortunately, Flow has great customer service, and they overnighted a whole new cable and high-back ratchet assembly straight to Tahoe Dave's repair shop, waiting for me when I got there. But damn, for an expensive binding, there seem to be a lot of problems. I ride this board hard and fast, and I'm losing confidence in my bindings. I'm afraid I'm going to be bombing down the hill one day and the things are just going to disintegrate. I know, regular bindings break sometimes, too, but jeez, these are only a couple of years old and I've had to do some major repairs to them already. Me no likey...though I still love the Flows, I'm not as ardent a supporter as I once was.

Oh well. More fuel for the Flow haters.


----------



## MunkySpunk (Jan 7, 2009)

Finally a topic that deals with Flow bindings and the opinion of riders on this forum about them!!


----------



## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Should have gotten Unions 

Seriously though, I hope things work out for the best for you. I'm glad Flow has taken care of you.


----------



## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

Leo said:


> Should have gotten Unions
> 
> Seriously though, I hope things work out for the best for you. I'm glad Flow has taken care of you.


Thing is, I really, really do like the Flows. When they're dialed in properly, nothing better. When screws aren't falling out and cables splitting, I llike them a lot. I'd still recommend them, but make sure you always carry some spare parts around with you. I usually carry and extra set of everything, including bindings and a my old board -- just in case. You never know what'll happen, and sure enough the mountain we were at last weekend (Ragged) was in the middle of Total Nowhere, NH. No Ace Hardware in town. Hell, hardly a town, even. If the repair shop at the mountain hadn't had the parts, I'd have been screwed.


----------



## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

surfinsnow said:


> Thing is, I really, really do like the Flows. When they're dialed in properly, nothing better. When screws aren't falling out and cables splitting, I llike them a lot. I'd still recommend them, but make sure you always carry some spare parts around with you. I usually carry and extra set of everything, including bindings and a my old board -- just in case. You never know what'll happen, and sure enough the mountain we were at last weekend (Ragged) was in the middle of Total Nowhere, NH. No Ace Hardware in town. Hell, hardly a town, even. If the repair shop at the mountain hadn't had the parts, I'd have been screwed.


I totally agree. I always tell people to order spare parts from Flow or any manufacturer as soon as they get new bindings.

This is especially important with bindings like Flows where there are a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, that's the risk we take when using bindings with that many moving parts.


----------



## v-verb (Feb 1, 2009)

Glad Flow took care of you! I checked out Flows and decided that I liked the GNU Fastecs better. So far they've been fantastic. I can strap in standing up easily - they are really good bindings - so far! Hope they don't develop problems as I use them more.

If you have a chance just check them out and let us know what you think. I'm curious.

Cheers

nigel


----------



## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Well that kind of stuff is gonna start happening after a couple years for almost anything. I have had stuff like that happen to anything I own after a period of time. If you're really riding hard than its expected. It will also reassure you to know that even in the last 3 years the quality of their product has increased. They continue to improve every year. So when you do finally have to retire your current FRX's, definitely look into just stepping into whatever current year stuff you like. 

Check your stuff prior to your first run and take care of your bindings.


----------



## carverboy (Jan 3, 2011)

v-verb said:


> Glad Flow took care of you! I checked out Flows and decided that I liked the GNU Fastecs better. So far they've been fantastic. I can strap in standing up easily - they are really good bindings - so far! Hope they don't develop problems as I use them more.
> 
> If you have a chance just check them out and let us know what you think. I'm curious.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately it's a matter of when not if your fasttec's will fail. We carry them at our shop and the failure rate is almost as alarming as the lack of service from Mfg. The weak point is the closure tab on the strap. I believe they are shearing because people set them up to tight.
Make sure yours do not need a lot of force to close and I think you will see good mileage from them. Our local ski patrolers have chewed through multiple pairs each. Always they fail at the closure. Everyone who try's them loves them.


----------



## v-verb (Feb 1, 2009)

carverboy said:


> Unfortunately it's a matter of when not if your fasttec's will fail. We carry them at our shop and the failure rate is almost as alarming as the lack of service from Mfg. The weak point is the closure tab on the strap. I believe they are shearing because people set them up to tight.
> Make sure yours do not need a lot of force to close and I think you will see good mileage from them. Our local ski patrolers have chewed through multiple pairs each. Always they fail at the closure. Everyone who try's them loves them.


Carverboy

Thanks for the feedback - I'll check my settings on the closure tab. I'll let you guys know if they start buggering up.

Thanks again!

nigel


----------



## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

I was a dedicated Flow user for nearly a decade. Pretty much every flow I owned had some kind of mechanical malfunction, but despite it, I stayed loyal, up until the NXT-AT 2009 model.

It wasn't hardware malfunction that made me switch from Flows however. I started to get serious bilateral little toe pain. I switched to Ride's canted bindings and all the pain went away. So I have been using Rides (NRC and Contrabands) for the past 2 seasons and very satisfied. 

I loved riding off the lift and snapping into my Flows in an instant and smooth manner, but the foot pain was killing me. So now I gladly sit in the snow on my ass and strap in, in return for no foot pain. The contrabands also take like 5 seconds to strap in. My wife still uses flows but she still has to wait for me to strap in.


----------



## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

carverboy said:


> Unfortunately it's a matter of when not if your fasttec's will fail. We carry them at our shop and the failure rate is almost as alarming as the lack of service from Mfg. The weak point is the closure tab on the strap. I believe they are shearing because people set them up to tight.
> Make sure yours do not need a lot of force to close and I think you will see good mileage from them. Our local ski patrolers have chewed through multiple pairs each. Always they fail at the closure. Everyone who try's them loves them.


Thanks for the insight! It may well be that I have the power strap too tight, but I thought they were supposed to be tight. Loose enough to slide my foot in, but yeah, I have to apply a good deal of force to close the high-back. I thought it was necessary, helped with control. I'm gonna try letting the straps out a notch or two and see how they feel.


----------



## carverboy (Jan 3, 2011)

I'ts not the clamp on the high back. It's the strap across the top of your foot. So after you slip in and pull the high back up that last closure you have to push down,that latch on the side. That's what keeps breaking and unfortunately there is no fix other than installing another latch which means basically we have to cannibalize another binding since Gnu does not supply parts.


----------



## NYHC (Sep 27, 2009)

I love my Flow NXT-AT bindings. They are about 3 years old and never had any probs except fine tuning and shit. They definitely take a beating. 

The 1st pair of Flows that I got for my wife were complete garbage though. I put them on and when I pulled the highback up and snapped it in, the little metal latch got mauled and deformed and would not go in anymore at all. Brand new, right outa the box!!! The act of me pushing it in to snap it caused it to destroy itself. Definitely would have sucked if it happened on the slopes cause it would have wasted a lot of our day renting bindings. The funny part is this was flows top-of-the-line womens binding and when we had to exchange them, we had to go to the lower model, the Minx. Obviously i didnt want to take my chances with another of the same kind. Flow said they never saw that issue before. She had no probs with the Minx except she had to sell her Vans boots because they were REALLY hard to get in and out because the outside of the Vans Encore boots are really wide. 

Flow says that their bindings fit most boots, but thats not true. Chances are you will have problems if you dont have Flow boots. My friend had to get rid of his DC boots when he got his NXT's also.


----------



## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

NYHC said:


> Flow says that their bindings fit most boots, but thats not true. Chances are you will have problems if you dont have Flow boots. My friend had to get rid of his DC boots when he got his NXT's also.


I paid full retail for my Flow The One boots exactly for the reason you stated...I figured they'd be made to fit the bindings. They are. There is a wedge cut out of the heel to help your boot to clear the high back when closing. Works nicely. Width matches nicely, too. Super-comfy, with a great inner-boot design. They were really stiff, perfect for high-speed bombing on my NS Titan. Trouble is, they blew out after less than two seasons. The seem on the outside on my back foot -- the one that slides in and out of the binding all day -- completely split, the whole side of the boot opened up. Of course, out of warranty.

I'm now using my old Northwaves. I had to readjust to accommodate the fatter heel, and the inner boot is primitive compared to the Flows. But they work, and I don't have to spend another $300 bucks for new ones.


----------



## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I too had that same screw come loose while on the hill. Fortunately I caught it early and no issue. A little lock tight and all is good. I inspect my bindings every wax so I try to minimize any broken part. 

My Van's don't fit the best in the heal area, but they work. I might get new boots next year but not in this years budget so not gonna worry about it.

So far they are holding up well for me. I also have a set of M9's and Fives and the reliability on those is just as strong as my NXT's.

I love the exit lift and ride off !!!!


----------



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

If you really like flow boots, look around on ebay for them. I got a pair on ebay last year for $50 brand new. they are my favorite boots ever. They go well with my flow bindings. I have been using them for 4-5 years. I do keep an extra pair of bindings on my old board that stays in my truck at the mountain... I have yet to have any issue with either of my flow binding sets though.


----------



## NYHC (Sep 27, 2009)

hey dude!

i had a pair of flow rival boots that the liner wore out and started to hurt my ankle bone real bad after 2 seasons of light riding. flow just replaced them out of warranty for me with a $300 2011 pair of rift dual zone boa's!

FLOW Snowboarding 2010/11

i told him i only rode them about 15 times each season and they should have lasted longer than that. he agreed. 

the rift dual zoners are the best boots i have ever owned hands down. incredible heel lock down and dual zone control gives you the ability to crank em down where it matters. you can crank down your ankle to give you the heel lock and leave your toes a little loose so they arent crushed. the dual zone tech is awesome. their warranty rocks. the dude Thunder (interesting name) is awesome! flow rulezzz in that aspect.


----------



## GorgeDad (Jan 24, 2011)

Leo said:


> I totally agree. I always tell people to order spare parts from Flow or any manufacturer as soon as they get new bindings.
> 
> This is especially important with bindings like Flows where there are a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, that's the risk we take when using bindings with that many moving parts.


Leo, I just ordered a pair of the NXT-FSEs, and was wondering what specific spare parts you think would be good to have in my boot bag?


----------



## NYHC (Sep 27, 2009)

Leo said:


> I totally agree. I always tell people to order spare parts from Flow or any manufacturer as soon as they get new bindings.
> 
> This is especially important with bindings like Flows where there are a lot of moving parts. Unfortunately, that's the risk we take when using bindings with that many moving parts.



definitely. or have a pair of emergency bindings that you can use while your waiting for parts. my girl and i both use the same size bindings so we have a pair of burtons in the closet in case of emergency.


----------



## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Maybe a few of the screws that hold the strap to the base plate and one of the course adjusting screws on the power strap.

Like I said NO issues here but just a thought on the parts you may want


----------



## Prime320 (Jan 26, 2011)

I have been talking to thunder lately my self. Seems like a cool guy. I had some issues with my flows oln my second ride. The top strap literally ripped. Not during a bail or anything. Seemed like an amazing binding until then. They are a little slow on responding but definitely got good customer service. I can't wait to get some new flows and go ride some more.


----------



## surfinsnow (Feb 4, 2010)

slyder said:


> Maybe a few of the screws that hold the strap to the base plate and one of the course adjusting screws on the power strap.
> 
> Like I said NO issues here but just a thought on the parts you may want


Hell, since one split on me, I even keep extra ladder straps with me. And I carry my old K2 bindings as emergency backups. An extra ratchet isn't a bad idea, either.


----------

