# Question on bindings for new flagship



## z man (Apr 14, 2015)

It looks like there have been a few binding discussions around this board, but I recently picked-up a Jones flagship 169wide and need new bindings. I am a little overwhelmed with the choices but wanted to see if there were any opinions on the flowering and how they would match-up to the flagship. 

Jones Mercury-there are some deals out there on 2021 model. Don't know a lot about this binding.
Union Falcor- I am a little concerned about all the highback breakage issues but have also see some deals on 2021 (but durability is a concern)
Now Drive- seems to be limited supply around and seems similar to Mercury.
Rome Katana-seems like a solid binding with good adjustability but don't know much about them.

Any feedback or advice is appreciated.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

I'd go with the Now Drive or Jones Mercury.

For a board that stiff and that size, it's more fun with an extremely aggressive binding. Now's feel great on that board. I love Katanas but I think they'd be slightly too surfy on that board unless that's the feeling you're after.


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## Eivind så klart (Aug 30, 2020)

Nitro Phantom Carver ✌🏻 Stiff as fuck with metal wires in the straps gives no play. Best bindings I’ve ever ridden for carving and high speed.


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## Yeahti87 (Jan 17, 2019)

My bud has the new Flagship 161. I have Now Drives 2020 and I’ve owned the Falcors 2019 and the Katanas 2019 (gonna rebuy the newest model 2021 I’ve tested as I need a smaller size after downsizing the boots and like the new ankle straps better).

I don’t consider the Flagship that stiff but I prefer boards that are stiff/very stiff, especially in the tips. The Flagship is a medium stiff board for me with a forgiving camrock profile.

For the bindings, it’s a matter of preference imo. Any of these would work for me on that board.

The Falcors and Now have a lot of response behind them but their limited forward lean adjustment is a downside. Can be fixed with filing the highback at the bottom to make it closer to zero forward lean setting. My Tacticals and Acerras have a minimal forward lean that doesn’t match Now’s highbacks even at the minimal forward lean setting so the Drives are out soon. This becomes an issue only if you jump and the boot moves around the heelcup. I haven’t noticed this while carving and changing the edges mid air because the boot remains in the heelcup if you don’t force spins. It shouldn’t be an issue with any other boot that has more built-in forward lean.

The Katanas have indeed more freedom for for-aft movements and their flex is softer than the rest of these but that pivot set up as high as possible gives a truly great response on your toes and their adjustability allows for a perfect fit. I’ve spent a lot of time on the new Amplid Unw8 + Katanas combo and I didn’t find any issues with the response while that board is at least 2 grades stiffer than the new Flagship. I was super stoked on getting Cleavers but some credible feedback from users like @drblast about broken baseplates have made me stick to the Katanas. I’ll see first how my friend’s Cleavers will work next season.

If you found a deal on Burton X-base Reflex, I can highly recommend this binding as well. I’ve been using them this season on basically anything fron medium soft all mountain freestyle boards up to really stiff carvers like Amplid Pentaquark and they’re just great. The lightest binding on the market, good adjustability, stiff but super comfortable. Just pricy.


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

Lots of good advice and options already, really can't go wrong with anything mentioned here. 

Those Nitro Phantom Carvers are no joke, they were actually too stiff/locked in for my preferences but given they're going on a 169 Wide I doubt that's going to be an issue. 

If you can find any 2020 or earlier Rome Targas on clearance those would also be a great fit, more so than the Katanas and seems verdict is out on the Cleavers still.

Now Drives are a natural choice with Jones boards too. If you haven't tried Skate Tech before could be worth a demo beforehand but they really do ride incredibly smooth and responsive. As long as the forward lean matches and you don't need to rotate your highbacks they'll do the job very well.


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## z man (Apr 14, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback. Yea I don't consider the flagship overly stiff. I still have a Ride Yukon from 2004 that is considerably stiffer (and full camber). I have been looking for a couple weeks for some rome Targas. The only ones I can find in a large/xl are in Europe. A solid binding in the 7/8 stiffness range would be fine for the flagship. At the same time I would like a binding that is fairly damp.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

z man said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Yea I don't consider the flagship overly stiff. I still have a Ride Yukon from 2004 that is considerably stiffer (and full camber). I have been looking for a couple weeks for some rome Targas. The only ones I can find in a large/xl are in Europe. A solid binding in the 7/8 stiffness range would be fine for the flagship. At the same time I would like a binding that is fairly damp.


Targas were discontinued last year in favor of the Cleavers. Cleavers are excellent in every way, except for the base plate breaking problem there's a thread about here. If you mount in a 4x4 pattern I don't think it's an issue, also Rome was great about replacing my broken one.


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## unsuspected (Oct 26, 2015)

Now Drives are some great bindings but the strap are total crap. So if don't wanna switch them for Burton ones I would go Apollo. which should be more like the O-Drives with carbon highbacks.
Skate-tech is the tits.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

unsuspected said:


> Now Drives are some great bindings but the strap are total crap. So if don't wanna switch them for Burton ones I would go Apollo. which should be more like the O-Drives with carbon highbacks.
> Skate-tech is the tits.


I have to reluctantly agree with this, and this is with Pilots. Great binding, but the number of times the straps have slipped off my toe is too much for me. I've switched to Rome Cleavers and I'm quite happy with the response. And no slipping.


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## z man (Apr 14, 2015)

unsuspected said:


> Now Drives are some great bindings but the strap are total crap. So if don't wanna switch them for Burton ones I would go Apollo. which should be more like the O-Drives with carbon highbacks.
> Skate-tech is the tits.


The Apollo's seem to be sold out most places. What about the Jones mercury bindings? Are they not stiff enough to drive the flagship? They seem to be available and even discounted. Wondering how much of a difference there is between the Apollo and mercury.


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## z man (Apr 14, 2015)

Donutz said:


> I have to reluctantly agree with this, and this is with Pilots. Great binding, but the number of times the straps have slipped off my toe is too much for me. I've switched to Rome Cleavers and I'm quite happy with the response. And no slipping.


Yes I have considered the Cleavers but but concerned about the baseplate issue folks have encountered with them.


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## unsuspected (Oct 26, 2015)

z man said:


> The Apollo's seem to be sold out most places. What about the Jones mercury bindings? Are they not stiff enough to drive the flagship? They seem to be available and even discounted. Wondering how much of a difference there is between the Apollo and mercury.


Mercurys are softer than the Drives but could work depending on your riding. Just ride them with the stiff bushings and you'll be fine.


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