# Rome D.O.D. vs Now Pilot vs Malavita



## Flavor_James86 (Jun 6, 2018)

I own a set of DoDs and just love them on everything. I have other bindings but I keep slapping these bad boys on everything and can't really convince myself not to. Even with the hassle of changing them over to other boards they are still my go to.

I have ridden them on 
NS PTT
Burton Royale
Nidecker Megalight
K2 Eldorado 
Ride Warpig.

I love them on the PTT and Warpig but ride them on basically everything. They are the perfect mix for an all-mountainer. They are adjustable but not quit to the level of the Katanas (Pivot Mount). They perform exceptionally well on the Warpig IMO. I really like the straps both the ankle and toe straps are fantastic. The toe straps might be the best in the industry. If you do 'toe cap' or 'over the foot' the strap molds to your boot and gives you a great feeling of response. I typically catch the first chair and am one of the last on the mountain when I ride with little breaks and I never feel uncomfortable or fatigued from being strapped in for long periods. 

The buckles and ladders are good. I haven't ridden the other two models or NOWs at all for that matter, but I do own a pair of Burton Customs. And they are comparable to the Customs in terms of ratcheting. The big names all have that portion figured out. It's such an small (but HUGE) thing on bindings that people don't really notice unless it's bad. Then it can get ugly for the company's PR. One thing to note: DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN to toe strap. You will think that you should keep going because the material stretches and keeps letting you go tighter. No need to do that, just get to snug then maybe one or two more clicks to lock it in. It feels counter productive at first since most people crank until they can't anymore, but for these once it feels snug you are good to go! I over-tightened when I first got them and cracked the release mechanism inside the buckle. Contacted Rome and had a new buckle in less than a week. 

I'm seriously considering getting a second set in the off-season sales.


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## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

Flavor_James86 said:


> I own a set of DoDs and just love them on everything. I have other bindings but I keep slapping these bad boys on everything and can't really convince myself not to. Even with the hassle of changing them over to other boards they are still my go to.
> 
> I have ridden them on
> NS PTT
> ...


Thanks! great review.. The D.O.Ds are my front runner right now.. Do you find the Romes are overly heavy compared to other similar bindings? Just going off what I have read in other threads.


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## Flavor_James86 (Jun 6, 2018)

Crunchatize said:


> Thanks! great review.. The D.O.Ds are my front runner right now.. Do you find the Romes are overly heavy compared to other similar bindings? Just going off what I have read in other threads.


Not really! But I also don't think that a few ounces here and there is going to affect my overall performance. The only time I would think that weight that small would affect anything is if you were in the olympics and you really really need another 2 degrees of rotation to stomp that Double McTwist. But also chances are that if you can stomp a Double McTwist A) you already know what bindings are your "go-to" or B) binding weight means fuck all to you and you can basically do whatever you want with whatever board is strapped to you. 

The important thing is that they are compatible with your current set up i.e. do your boots fit in them? Length? Width? Will the straps easily buckle over the boots? Do the bindings fit on the board? These are things that I am more concerned with.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Can't comment on the D.O.D.s nor the Pilots specifically, but I own a pair of 'Vitas as well as Drives and Selects from Now.

Honestly, for the previous two seasons I'd probably ridden 'Vitas 80% of the time. The Drives were on my pow/freeride board and the 'Vitas were on my all-mountain board. This season, with all the powder we had (*grinning*) it may have been pretty close to the opposite mix. I really like the 'Vitas. In terms of traditional type bindings they're one of my absolute favorites. You can slap them on 95% of the boards on the market and just go ride. Anything other than a pure noodle or a super stiff freeride board, you're good to go. 

With that said, after spending so much time on Nows, I'm spoiled. I'll tell you right off the bat, the straps are just okay compared to the likes of Burton or Flux and the buckles kinda suck. But, the Skate Tech is absolutely legit. Turn initiation is much easier and smoother. Turns feel more locked in. Ankle and foot flexion are more impactful encouraging you to ride more dynamically instead of getting lazy and just laying on the highback. So, I went and bought a pair of Now Selects to replace the 'Vitas and they'll move to the rock board.


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## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

Ended up going with the Now pilots.. the tool-less kingpin feature looks really useful to me since I hate having to travel with multiple bindings and this looks like an easy board swap option, strange they don't really market this as this ended up being a big selling feature. I'm really hoping I notice a big difference with the skate-tech, looks really interesting! I'm interested to see how the buckles and straps look on these as this is typically what people complain about with Nows.. Perhaps swapping in Burton straps is a viable option?


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## Flavor_James86 (Jun 6, 2018)

Crunchatize said:


> Ended up going with the Now pilots.. the tool-less kingpin feature looks really useful to me since I hate having to travel with multiple bindings and this looks like an easy board swap option, strange they don't really market this as this ended up being a big selling feature. I'm really hoping I notice a big difference with the skate-tech, looks really interesting! I'm interested to see how the buckles and straps look on these as this is typically what people complain about with Nows.. Perhaps swapping in Burton straps is a viable option?


I didn't even know that Now had quick swap capability. That in itself sounds like a great reason to pick those up! I know that they market the Skate Tech but maybe they should add a little more content on the kingpin feature. That is a serous draw for people who only want one set of bindings.


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## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

Flavor_James86 said:


> I didn't even know that Now had quick swap capability. That in itself sounds like a great reason to pick those up! I know that they market the Skate Tech but maybe they should add a little more content on the kingpin feature. That is a serous draw for people who only want one set of bindings.


I feel they don't market this because it really is a terrible business model.. make a binding that swaps easily between boards so people buy less bindings and spend less money :crying:


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Crunchatize said:


> I feel they don't market this because it really is a terrible business model.. make a binding that swaps easily between boards so people buy less bindings and spend less money :crying:


Don't you still have to mount a kingpin to each board?


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## Flavor_James86 (Jun 6, 2018)

That's true. But also you can cast a wider net and possibly mark up the price a little more. And be able to justify the higher cost due to that tech. 6 in one half dozen in the other I suppose.


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## Ben.S (Feb 16, 2019)

drblast said:


> Don't you still have to mount a kingpin to each board?


No, just the disc. It's $50 per board for the tool-less kit.

[ame]https://vimeo.com/231279233[/ame]

Works great, and no need to re-adjust bindings for heel-toe position or anything else when swapping them over. Just bolt them on and go. Takes 5 mins.

[ame]https://vimeo.com/284978623[/ame]


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