# Now Brigade vs Pilot



## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

I love my Drives so much I've convinced myself I need one of the above to replace the Cartels I use as well. I've got an annoying as fuck bunion under the ball of my rear foot, and at the end of the day it's noticeably less sore when on my Drives vs Cartels, that damp footbed and kingpin is what I need. 

I've been wanting Pilots, but I can find the Brigades $100 cheaper and as far as I can tell, the only two significant differences are the high back and ankle straps. I'd likely put either drive or older genesis ankle straps on either so that's a non issue. 

Has anyone ridden both to compare, or either and Cartels to compare? Or if anyone wants to convince me to spend the extra $100, go ahead! I'm also thinking Pilots are closer to the Drives so having a bit more diversity with the Brigades could be a plus. 

For park and AM freestyle riding, I don't get fancy on rails, a bit more adventurous on boxes and hit up to large (30-40ft I guess?) Kickers.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Get the Brigades.


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

Nivek said:


> Get the Brigades.


Thanks for that, it was your review that got me considering the Brigades, have you ridden the Pilots as well? I'm assuming the Brigade high back will still have enough meat in it for some charging and hard carving? I tend to drive boards a lot more from my ankles and knees these days which is partially why NOWs are so appealing.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Highbacks are a little less influential on Now than other bindings with how high the heel cups sit. You'll be good in the Brigades.


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## dave785 (Jan 21, 2016)

And get a toe spacer for that bunion bro!


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## firlefranz (Jan 2, 2012)

dave785 said:


> And get a toe spacer for that bunion bro!


Does it help to reduce the pain while riding?
I have a bunionette on my right foot and it feels like its getting more painful every week of riding. I have no problems in running shoes tho.


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

dave785 said:


> And get a toe spacer for that bunion bro!


The weird thing is there's no misalignment of my big toe, looks exactly the same as my other foot. The bunion or pain isn't to the side of the joint, it's right at the base of my foot with no protrusion. I'm wondering if it's just bone bruising that's taking a long time to heal. Palpating the area I can feel a very minor difference, mostly just some inflammation compared to the other foot. But after a day riding chunder or in the park it's not pleasant... I've got remind cush insoles that are probably due for replacement, must be closing in on 150 days on them hah.


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## dave785 (Jan 21, 2016)

Phedder said:


> The weird thing is there's no misalignment of my big toe, looks exactly the same as my other foot. The bunion or pain isn't to the side of the joint, it's right at the base of my foot with no protrusion. I'm wondering if it's just bone bruising that's taking a long time to heal. Palpating the area I can feel a very minor difference, mostly just some inflammation compared to the other foot. But after a day riding chunder or in the park it's not pleasant... I've got remind cush insoles that are probably due for replacement, must be closing in on 150 days on them hah.


Is it located at your sesamoid bones? (Google them - sounds like it is)


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

dave785 said:


> Is it located at your sesamoid bones? (Google them - sounds like it is)


My anatomy's pretty good, and yes that's exactly where it is.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

I like the Pilots, but more because they are not too far from Drives. Different enough to notice them, but not far enough to feel like a lot is missing.

Brigade I assume are not too different from Pilot. So if they're at a solid good price then I guess go for it.


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## txb0115 (Sep 20, 2015)

Pilots and Drives all day long ( with Burton straps - Now still needs to step up their strap game )








... 

I for sure find the Pilots more surfy. I can tell a difference between the two, when the trees get tight and I need the turns quick its a Drive day, when it's gonna be more open terrain I run the Pilots...


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## dave785 (Jan 21, 2016)

Phedder said:


> My anatomy's pretty good, and yes that's exactly where it is.


Nice, I think you're the only snowboarder I've ever met who has known where the sesamoid bones are.

I had a stress fracture on my sesamoid from boarding too frequently last season in boots that were too narrow. I fixed the problem by buying wider fitting boots (and padding in the areas that didn't need to be wide, which is basically everything outside of the toebox) and also by customizing my insole.

The custom insole doesn't mean I just heat molded it. I actually got those "Sole" heat moldable insoles and cut out the rubber bottom from the part of the sole that's underneath the sesamoid. This deloaded the weight from the sesamoid and reapplied it around the rest of the foot. It is a much more comfy version of an orthotic insert that my doctor gave me for my dress shoes :nerd:

If you have $50 to spend then I highly recommend it. My stress fracture healed (took six months but still...) but I didn't have to take any time off of biking in the summer. Those sole insoles also have pretty high arches so tons of support for the full foot. I attached a pic of the one I did for my jogging shoes - you can see the indent. Even with my sesamoid healed, it's now permanently larger than it should be, so I'll always need to give it a little more room in my soles or risk fracturing it again. (And the reason why it got large to begin with was because the boot was too narrow)


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## sindle123 (Nov 22, 2017)

Hey Dave,

New member here, first reply/post etc... 

Dealing with sesamoid issues myself, and actually just had an orthotics place do something similar to what you described to a Sole insole. Curious about a couple things:

1) What boot did you end up switching to? I ride 32 Primes, and don't think the new insole is gonna fit into them unfortunately, we shall see.
2) what types of exercises/icing/heat types of things did you do for your sesamoid issue?
3) Did you keep riding on it while it was hurt, and did that make it worse?

Many thanks for your help here. Really hoping this issue isn't going to take me out of this season.

Cheers,
SW


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