# Flow bindings



## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

Nx2 are the lowest you should go.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

any reason? thanks for the quick response.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

buy the cheapest model that has the active strap tech. Those are the ones that tighten/loosen the strap when you move the highback- makes a world of difference. With The lower models , the strap just stays stationary. Evo dot com has the lowest prices I've seen currently.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

I think it is the Nexus model. I'd go with the non-hybrid model. The hybrid has a toe strap which in my mind sort of defeats the purpose. Also you might find last yrs model cheaper on eBay. I had some a few yrs back before they came out with the active strap. They were good but my thought is they finally have them dialed in with the active strap.


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## Tubby Beaver (Jul 16, 2015)

Argo said:


> Nx2 are the lowest you should go.


THIS

NX2 has really good aluminium baseplate, they have the active strap tech and they have the hybrid strap......minimum you should get IMO


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## Funks (Dec 28, 2015)

Flow Fuse would be the lowest IMHO, it has the Active Strap but a nylon base, and a nylon disk. Depends on the person's skill, specially a beginner.


159$ currently at the evo.com outlet.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Fuse are great. Just as quality as the NX2, just a softer flex. Strap is preference. I ride the Hybrid. I just like the feel better personally. My buddy rides the Fusion. Depends on what you like. I would agree though to spend the money on at least the Fuse. The active strap is awesome. If you just can't swing for it, Nexus is all the quality of the Fuse line just without active strap. But the active strap is the tits, so get it.


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## Oldman (Mar 7, 2012)

^ +1

What he said. Active is the way to go.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

thanks for the responses. I want the active strap. so it seems most of you think the Fuse is good enough with NX2 being better. I am a good intermediate snowboarder. is the flex differences between the fuse and NX2 a huge concern?


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## Wiredsport (Sep 16, 2009)

nixie21 said:


> thanks for the responses. I want the active strap. so it seems most of you think the Fuse is good enough with NX2 being better. I am a good intermediate snowboarder. is the flex differences between the fuse and NX2 a huge concern?


Hi Nixie,

Yes, the Flex difference is very notable between the NX2 and the Fuse. This is not a matter of quality but a matter of preference. 

The NX2 SE that you rode had an aluminum base plate and heel cup. That is Flow's stiffest combination so we can assume that you prefer a very stiff binding. The SE is no longer in production. That configuration is currently produced only in the NX2-GT. The Standard NX2 has a nylon Modback which is notably softer than the SE's that you had ridden.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

thanks wiredsport. if I liked the SE, do you think I would be happy with the fuse? I know its a hard question to answer, as you don't know me!


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Just like the the NX2 there is also the Fuse GT. So you really have 4 to choose from depending on what you want stiffness wise. I have the Fuse GT which I think is rated a 7 in their stiffness scale.

Once on I like them. I have mixed results on the day as far as ease of use. But that may be because my size 8 Rulers would be better in an L and I have a M.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

my issue is cost. fuse is on sale for 161, nx2 for 222, big difference! if I need to wait and get the nx2 then I will


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## Wiredsport (Sep 16, 2009)

nixie21 said:


> thanks wiredsport. if I liked the SE, do you think I would be happy with the fuse? I know its a hard question to answer, as you don't know me!


Hi,

All of the fuse bindings have a nylon baseplate. That is the foundation of a binding and it is notably softer than aluminum. 

Consider this. The relative "stiffness" of a material inclusion in a binding is most significant in the base, less so in the heelcup and less again in the highback. The impact of the stiff material lessens as you move up . 

Now, you may love the softer flex of the Fuse (many do) but it is a big difference.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

This is tough because as an intermediate who hasn't tried a huge range of bindings you probably really have no idea whether you prefer a mid-stiff or stiff-stiff. I was in this boat when I opted for the Fuse GT over the NX. When I don't really know what would be better I tend to just go middle of the road. So I chose the cheaper of the mid ranges.

You tried the stiffest they had and while you seem to have liked them that doesn't mean if you had tried say a Fuse GT you wouldn't have liked them more.

However, if you know what you like I don't see the point in saving half the cost of a lift ticket to get what isn't ideal.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

*Flows*

The Nexus is cheaper by about $30 and has the Active strap. the regular and the hybrid. On Evo. They sometimes will take an extra 10% off so you may get them for about $145 US.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

why is the Nexus so Much cheaper?


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

Let me sort of correct myself. I didnt see the outlet bindings. The Fuse on the outlet is last years model and is $159.97. It looks like they changed the name to Nexus for 2016 because the bindings are practically identical in build. The Nexus is $160.99. Seems like the Fuse should be about $20 cheaper since it is the same binding and is last years model. The all red Fuse does look pretty cool though.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

Just to keep jabbering, Flow seems to have sort of a trickle down technology. The active strap started out in only the higher model bindings a few years ago and has made its way down to the mid-level. I wouldnt be surprised if they all have the tech in the next couple of years. I think I might pull the trigger on one of these soon. Waaaay back in the day, I had some of the early Flows with the canvas strap on the highback and really liked them at the time and I have had a couple of later models. The gripe for me and with some folks is that the ease of kicking into them was a trade off with how tight you could get them. Also, it depended a lot on what boots you had. I think the active strap is a gamechanger for them.


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## Funks (Dec 28, 2015)

*Please note*

Do note that the 2016 NEXUS *IS NOT* "active strap" which lifts up the strap slightly for easier entry when you bring the highback down (look at the vids on youtube for the Nexus - it don't lift). 

The FUSE on the other hand (even last year's model on sale at EVO) has the "active strap". No difference between last year's Fuse and this years Fuse it seems.

Basically, models starting with the FUSE has the active strap. And last year model at 159.97$ on EVO is a dang good price. Per the site, looks like the FUSE with the FUSION strap is only available in Black (M and XL), and the Red (M only). They also have the FLOW NX2 for 199.99$ but only in Black (M).


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

I really appreciate everyone's responses. Yes, I need a large so that great price is not for me. guess I need to decide and go for it! will get fuse or nx2, I know the difference between fusion and hybrid, what is GT?


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

99% sure the Nexus does have the Active strap. its in the Evo description. Also you can tell because the strap ladder thing is attached higher up on the highback rather than closer to the base of the binding.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

VonHess said:


> 99% sure the Nexus does have the Active strap. its in the Evo description. Also you can tell because the strap ladder thing is attached higher up on the highback rather than closer to the base of the binding.


I'll recant, maybe it is. Hmm...

Oh wait. No it isn't. I was reading the evo site thinking I was on the Flow site. It's definitely not. It's not listed on the Flow site and the mechanics can be seen not to exist just from the images.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

f00bar said:


> I'll recant, maybe it is. Hmm...
> 
> Oh wait. No it isn't. I was reading the evo site thinking I was on the Flow site. It's definitely not. It's not listed on the Flow site and the mechanics can be seen not to exist just from the images.


nexus, nx, nxgt, fuse, fusion... who can tell. We'll have to agree to disagree. If you look at the nexus and the fuse vs the flow five for example, the nexus and fuse have 2 attachements- hi back to baseplate and then further up, ladder strap to hi back. The ladder strap to hi back attachment is what accomodates the movement of the strap. On the flow five, one screw holds together baseplate to ladder strap to hiback, so the strap doesnt move. I'm going to go out on a limb here but I think the Nexus is sort of a mid season release and doesn't mention Active strap because they may be moving all the models to active strap next year. You will also notice, the Nexus doesnt have "active strap" printed right below the screw. If they are all going to have 'active strap' next year, no reason to designate it as 'active strap' :blahblah: Anyway, I'll be quiet now.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

VonHess said:


> nexus, nx, nxgt, fuse, fusion... who can tell. We'll have to agree to disagree. If you look at the nexus and the fuse vs the flow five for example, the nexus and fuse have 2 attachements- hi back to baseplate and then further up, ladder strap to hi back. The ladder strap to hi back attachment is what accomodates the movement of the strap. On the flow five, one screw holds together baseplate to ladder strap to hiback, so the strap doesnt move. I'm going to go out on a limb here but I think the Nexus is sort of a mid season release and doesn't mention Active strap because they may be moving all the models to active strap next year. You will also notice, the Nexus doesnt have "active strap" printed right below the screw. If they are all going to have 'active strap' next year, no reason to designate it as 'active strap' :blahblah: Anyway, I'll be quiet now.


I'll have to agree it is super confusing. The page itself on flow for the nexus doesn't say active strap. However if you watch the video they have on the page they also don't mention it as they go through all the options, however in one of the segments you can see them step into an active strap system.

And the mechanism is a little bit different than the lower end, but not nearly as pronounced as the fusion/nx. So I'll be honest, I'm a bit confused at this point. Just seems odd they don't shout out about it on the fuse site.

However, more importantly, for this case the nexus is way softer than the other two so I'm not sure its the right fit for him unless he does a ton of park.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

However, more importantly, for this case the nexus is way softer than the other two so I'm not sure its the right fit for him unless he does a ton of park.[/QUOTE]

true, true.


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## Funks (Dec 28, 2015)

*NEXUS 2015/16*






You'll notice that when the *high-back is lowered, the strap doesn't lift up* on the NEXUS. It has the look of the Active Strap models but not the mechanism. The FUSE is a step up because it has the active strap.


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## nixie21 (Apr 5, 2013)

True, no park for me, I'm too old to learn that (46). this is my 4th season out there!


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## Funks (Dec 28, 2015)

nixie21 said:


> True, no park for me, I'm too old to learn that (46). this is my 4th season out there!


Me too (well 41), my son has the NX2 and I have the FUSE, can't tell the difference between the two - lol. I just go cruising most of the time.
I used to have the Flite and the NX2 / Fuse definitely feels like an upgrade, regarding the ease of entry - even with the Active Strap, the boot still get's hung up on the toe side of the strap (as only the ankle side lifts up). 

I'm kinda wondering if the K2 CINCH CTS/CTX system is a bit easier to get into (as the mechanism they have lifts up the straps on both the ankle and the toe side) but I think the high-back doesn't fold down as much as the flows so the foot entry will be like "J" 'in from the top, instead of pretty much a horizontal push.

Nevertheless, I like my flows and I easily gets me a couple of extra runs as I'm not fighting with my gut trying to strap on - lol. And I like the fusion strap as it spreads the load ontop my foot.


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## VonHess (Feb 16, 2016)

Funks said:


> *NEXUS 2015/16*
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-DrTIIqcZo
> 
> You'll notice that when the *high-back is lowered, the strap doesn't lift up* on the NEXUS. It has the look of the Active Strap models but not the mechanism. The FUSE is a step up because it has the active strap.


Yep, looks like I and Evo stand corrected. Odd that they would manufacture it just like the active strap bindings and not make it active strap. I did say 99% though :grin:


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