# Burton Malavita vs. Now x Yes Collab



## SnowboardStreet (Dec 25, 2018)

Hey guys,

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on a couple of pairs of bindings. Bought a Yes Typo at the end of last season and gonna start getting together a new set up for the 2019 season here in Aus. While there's sales on I thought it would be a good idea to have a look around.

I'm tossing up between the Burton Malavitas and the Now x Yes Collab bindings. Price isn't an issue as they both come in at the same price. 

I've watched reviews of both and both seem pretty good, obviously different "selling points" for each. Burton are Burton, reliable etc but the reviews all were based on the EST set up which seems to have it's advantages over the RE set up. Now seem to have a pretty good reputation, they also have the "skate tech" technology which seems pretty nice and I guess kind of comparable to the EST setup with the way in which everything transfers through the bindings to the board.

If i had a Burton board with the channel system, hands down i'd be going for Burton Bindings. But as I won't be using the channel system on the YES. board I feel like the skate tech in the Now Binding kind of offers something more or is it just a sales gimmick? 

Riding style is all Mountain, Like to do the fresh tracks and groomers in the morning, then hit the park once everything gets tracked out mid morning/arvo


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

I have a number of different bindings - currently old Cartel EST, Malavita Reflex, Now IPO, Flux DM, and Union Expeditions. I think the Burtons have the best straps and buckles by far. It’s really not even close. The Now straps were actually so bad I replaced both the ankle and toe straps with Burton straps. 

I honestly can’t tell if Now’s skate-tech really does anything or not. It certainly isn’t something so amazing that I would buy a binding because of it. 

Now was awesome to deal with on one issue I had, but I personally stopped by their place in Truckee. Burton has always been incredibly helpful and responsive with warranty issues (e.g. my Malavitas were missing discs in the box because I bought them at their shop sale, I lost some washers in my cartels, and they replaced my board on warranty after two full seasons because of some cosmetic cracking in the top sheet). 

Because of how much I hate the Now straps and how solid the Malavitas work for me, I’d go for the Malavitas if I were you. 


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## ggc100 (Aug 27, 2018)

Yeah same here, I've tried many sets of bindings but none really come close to the quality of Burton. The ratchets are bombproof and never come loose or have fiddly clips after a weeks riding. Burton also has really good customer support, so if anything does go wrong you're in good hands. Cartels, Malavitas or Genesis are always my go to bindings, that being said, I have snapped Burton base plates before but this was from super aggressive park riding and they were replaced with no cost.


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## kriegs13 (Nov 28, 2016)

Ive had multiple pairs of vitas and one pair of NoW Pilots. The pilots weren't really for me. Nothing particularly wrong with them but I didn't notice much benefit from the skate tech situation and other bindings I had were more comfortable. That's not to say the NoWs aren't good. Just weren't for me. Vitas, on the other hand, are awesome. I only stopped riding them as im now in 8.5 boots and its an awkward size for Bs mediums (at least in my case). Otherwise I would probably have them on everything. tHey're super comfy and easy to forget theyre one. I have had the ratchets freeze up on my once mid day. Kind of annoying but just about any mountain shop with have burton stuff so they were able to swap ratchets and get me going right quick. 

Side note: now that the strap situation has been addressed, I really do love Union Forces for all mountain worry free bindings.


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## powderjunkie (Jun 30, 2015)

I ride the NOW bindings pretty exclusively on all my boards. Absolutely love the fact that you can keep the baseplate on each board and just move the boot portion of the binding on the NOWxYes colab. Check out the angrysnowboarder binding review on youtube. Skate tech is not a gimmick and definitely works. The physics of it makes sense and the lifetime warranty on the bindings is unbeatable.


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

Vitas are a forget about them binding. Mount them, adjust them, never think about them again. All day comfort. Nows are different. They feel different. They make your board feel different. So it's all just personal preference. For me, Now. Yes vs any other model really depends on your boot. Low profile then the Yes collab is solid. Higher volume and your better off in hanger 2.0. So Brigades for something more freestyle, Pilots for all mountain everything, and Drives for all mountain charging or freeride.


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Duuuuuuude you can totally feel the difference with Skate Tech.

Today, for the love of science, I rode my Now Drive on the Stun Gun, which had Malavitas, and the difference in response is very very noticeable. 

I actually feel Drives are too much on the Stun Gun, so I will try Pilots next or just put Genesis ankle straps on the Malavitas. But the dampness underfoot against chop with Now and the edge response is for sure noticeable.

L Hangar 1.0 on 10.5 Vans Verse which are very bulky boots and the fit is great. Perfectly centered and plenty of room... as opposed to Union L which pinched my heels and were simply waaaay too tight while at the same time having a massive baseplate compared to Now size L. I do prefer Hangar 2.0 because it sits lower against your boot so it's less restrictive, but for a 'response' binding or less bulky boots, hangar 1.0 is good.


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## Kenai (Dec 15, 2013)

F1EA said:


> Duuuuuuude you can totally feel the difference with Skate Tech.



Which dampers (or whatever the hell you call them) do you use? My IPOs came with medium and soft, I believe. Might have been medium and firm. Crap, now I have to look it up. 



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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Kenai said:


> Which dampers (or whatever the hell you call them) do you use? My IPOs came with medium and soft, I believe. Might have been medium and firm. Crap, now I have to look it up.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Bushings. 

I have Medium (yellow) on the Drives and Hard (black) on the Pilots. I only choose them because the color matches better hahahah

In other words... the actual hardness i think makes very little differemce (the harder ones last longer), but the important thing is to have them. That board to urethane contact, definitely helps dampen vibrations when on edge. 

Most bindings have reasonable dampness and many people/places dont need that too much; but Whistler can get vicious. We have runs with a ton of elevation drop and it's crowded, so the chop is real. 

On the opposite end is Flux. Damn those bindings, I only ride those when it's dry powder or in interior BC.


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