# adding Burton straps & buckles to Nows



## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

So I bought Now Pilots this year, yet to ride them and I can already tell the straps // buckles // ladders are pretty shitty especially compared to Burton or even Union. I bought them on the idea of using the tools less kingpin to be able to swap one set of bindings across 2-3 boards allowing me to travel with only one set of bindings, however the stock straps & buckles are unacceptable as is.

I understand its a pretty common mod to swap complete Burton straps, ladders, sliders, and buckles on to Nows which should make it a much better binding.. My issue is I can't seem to locate anywhere to get a complete set of replacement Burton parts.. Local shops don't seem to have them yet, Burton.com doesn't have the double take parts available and fixmybinding.com is sold out of everything... Is there an easy way to source this as a complete set? Or do I have to wait until later on this season when more replacement parts become available?


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

I also switched to Pilots this year from Burton genesis, before buying I had read some complaints about the straps that had me worried but like you I wanted to travel with the now tool-less kingpin system. 

Our season has just ended down here and to be honest they have been faultless, I have no concerns taking them to Japan with me next year without doing any mods. Better yet they give me much less foot fatigue than the Genesis ever did.


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## buller_scott (Jun 10, 2018)

JDA said:


> Our season has just ended down here and to be honest they have been faultless, I have no concerns taking them to Japan with me next year without doing any mods. Better yet they give me much less foot fatigue than the Genesis ever did.


Off topic I know (apologies to the OP), but interesting that your Pilots are more comfy than the Genesis. I've got an old pair of IPOs but have been back on Burton for the last two seasons, and the only thing keeping me from going back to Nows is that shittily designed toe strap (yeah, cause every boot in the market has a square toe box), and the complete lack of highback rotation (i.e. my rear highback is now 26 degrees off compared to the heel side edge).


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

https://www.fixmybinding.com

If you can't find 'em here,.. you prolly aint gonna find 'em. 

Some stuff sells out in the off season but they do restock during. Good luck.

-edit-
I upgraded _all_ my Cartels ankle straps to the Genesis hammock strap using this site.


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## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

chomps1211 said:


> https://www.fixmybinding.com
> 
> If you can't find 'em here,.. you prolly aint gonna find 'em.
> 
> ...


Ya everything is sold out on fixmybinding.. I guess I will have to wait until they restock this season. I tried contacting Burton but they wont sell me hammock straps lol.. I guess they are on to people modding Nows.

The Nows are cool and I am excited to try them but honestly putting them side by side with a comparable Burton binding or even Union (which are not the greatest..) they seem a bit cheap and lacking features of a binding in this price point, mainly due to the straps and buckles. Hopefully once I get a chance to ride them I will change my bind.. I am very interested in the kingpin tool less and its the main reason I bought them in the end, that being said the tool-less kit is also sold out everywhere so hopefully they restock that soon :crazy2:


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

buller_scott said:


> Off topic I know (apologies to the OP), but interesting that your Pilots are more comfy than the Genesis. I've got an old pair of IPOs but have been back on Burton for the last two seasons, and the only thing keeping me from going back to Nows is that shittily designed toe strap (yeah, cause every boot in the market has a square toe box), and the complete lack of highback rotation (i.e. my rear highback is now 26 degrees off compared to the heel side edge).


Yes I've done back to back testing, alternating days on each binding and without fail I generally have some fatigue in my foot after a day on the Genesis and no fatigue at all on the Nows. It may not be the same for everyone but that's just what I found, I don't use the Genesis anymore.

Also the Pilot toe strap works well on my Vans Implant, no complaints there.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Just checked, flea bay has parts. Anyway I save all my old parts, cause ya never know. If you have a shop that is closing sometimes you can pick up a box of parts for darn cheap. Anyway local core shops should have some extra parts.


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## buller_scott (Jun 10, 2018)

JDA said:


> Yes I've done back to back testing, alternating days on each binding and without fail I generally have some fatigue in my foot after a day on the Genesis and no fatigue at all on the Nows. It may not be the same for everyone but that's just what I found, I don't use the Genesis anymore.
> 
> Also the Pilot toe strap works well on my Vans Implant, no complaints there.


Oops, I just realised my typo - 16 degrees off, not 26 (I ride +6 on my carving board). 

Good to hear that your toe straps work - I had to flip mine, first day I used em (they kept slipping off my toes). 

I was tempted by the Pilots earlier this year, I must admit. They look like a good binding. I'm kinda precious about highback rotation though, which is a bummer.


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## RHSTi (Jan 8, 2019)

that is some interesting news, Riding Genesis X for the past two years, it is a good binding with good response and comfort but there is definitely fatigue at the end of the day.


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## powderjunkie (Jun 30, 2015)

Im surprised that you have the issues with the straps. I have the 2015 Now Drives and the new NowxYes colab bindings and I can definitely tell that the new straps are alot better. And yes.... Now bindings are much better on the foot fatigue than most bindings ive ever tried.


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## Paxford (Jan 7, 2019)

Hate to break it to ya but I’ve had nothing but trouble with the kingpin tool-less. ZERO tolerance to get those bushings lined up and inserted. My bindings only have a season on them so they haven’t rounded out at the insert, but come on how much can I expect this Delrin-ish material to give even after 100 days riding. I’m putting ~180 pounds of force with one hand and trying to insert that f’ing pin with the other. I watched the vids and it looked easy, but I bet those bindings and bushings are WELL worn in. F’ing bushings flying everywhere. I’d never try it in a parking lot at a resort.

Someone please tell me there’s a secret method besides a drill. I’d be happy to sell the tool-less to ya but seriously I don’t wish them on anyone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rayt100 (Aug 29, 2016)

JDA said:


> Yes I've done back to back testing, alternating days on each binding and without fail I generally have some fatigue in my foot after a day on the Genesis and no fatigue at all on the Nows. It may not be the same for everyone but that's just what I found, I don't use the Genesis anymore.
> 
> Also the Pilot toe strap works well on my Vans Implant, no complaints there.


I wonder why there's less foot fatigue with now bindings. Is it that the rocking on the kingpin requires less force to get on edge therefore putting less pressure on the foot?

I ride burton and union bindings but really want to try a now


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

Paxford said:


> Hate to break it to ya but I’ve had nothing but trouble with the kingpin tool-less. ZERO tolerance to get those bushings lined up and inserted. My bindings only have a season on them so they haven’t rounded out at the insert, but come on how much can I expect this Delrin-ish material to give even after 100 days riding. I’m putting ~180 pounds of force with one hand and trying to insert that f’ing pin with the other. I watched the vids and it looked easy, but I bet those bindings and bushings are WELL worn in. F’ing bushings flying everywhere. I’d never try it in a parking lot at a resort.
> 
> Someone please tell me there’s a secret method besides a drill. I’d be happy to sell the tool-less to ya but seriously I don’t wish them on anyone.
> 
> ...


Agreed, I have done the switch a few times and struggled with it although I would say it gets easier each time. If you can visually line up the holes it will slip straight in, that is what I found, certainly works better than just trying to force it in :| 



rayt100 said:


> I wonder why there's less foot fatigue with now bindings. Is it that the rocking on the kingpin requires less force to get on edge therefore putting less pressure on the foot?
> 
> I ride burton and union bindings but really want to try a now


I have no idea why but even though I can't really feel the kingpin system I think the design is brilliant, you are basically applying more leverage onto each edge by moving the pivot point the way they have done it.


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## Paxford (Jan 7, 2019)

JDA said:


> Agreed, I have done the switch a few times and struggled with it although I would say it gets easier each time. If you can visually line up the holes it will slip straight in, that is what I found, certainly works better than just trying to force it in :|


Yep, I figured that out after a few tries. I can line the holes up horizontally but not vertically. The hanger will not seat down in to the baseplate unless I put 100% of my weight on top of it and even then just barely. The thickness of the 4 rubber bushings between binding/board are preventing the hanger/base from mating up. I have soft, medium and hard sets of bushings, tried them all, heck I even shaved off every imperfection in them. 

The answer may be to loosen the 4 screws that hold the baseplate down to give it a little play, but then that kinda defeats the purpose of tool-less and risks losing my angles. That or take about a mm off each of the 4 bushings, which I hesitate to do because they work great as-is.


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## robotfood99 (Mar 19, 2016)

For those having toe caps slipping off (down) - try this: instead of just flipping the toe caps (swapping left and right), swap over the toe straps and caps left and right. Because the strap is kinked, if you put the kink up it will be impossible for the caps to slip down. I run all my Nows this way and never had slipping toe caps. Boots are from Burton, Adidas, Ride.


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## Crunchatize (Mar 27, 2015)

So I finally got the full set of DT malavita ankle and toe straps swapped on the Now Pilots.. Much better binding now I think, side by side with the stock Pilot straps vs Burton there is really no comparison, the Burton looks like a much better product and the toe cap actually fits my Vans Infuse boots .

I tested out the Kingpin tool-less and I agree, out of the box this would be impossible to do outside on the resort. It was very difficult to line the kingpin with the hanger, and was pretty much impossible to do without help of an Allen key or screw driver so not really tool-less at all. I would say that out of the box its not much easier to swap the tool-less kit than just removeing the screws and disk like a normal binding. 

That being said.. I took a chance and drilled out both holes with a drill bit just slighly larger than the existing hole (5/16" i believe). It is still difficult to put the nut in and has to be perfectly lined up but its doable by hand now.. should get better as they work in hopefully. Tested this to make sure there is no unwanted movement at the kingpin and there is no change from the stock hole size with this mod. I'm happy with the set up now and will be traveling with this set of Pilots and 2 sets of tool-less kingpin for my 3 boards!


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

Just be careful with the tool-less bolts that you tighten by hand, I had one of them almost fall out on me. It was completely unscrewed and just about to fall out as I knocked the snow off my board to put it in the car at the end of the days riding.


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## stard (Dec 27, 2018)

Hey,

I just called Burton 2 days ago and buy parts from them. Just call man.


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## Tycho (Nov 17, 2010)

How are you guys swapping straps with Burton Genesis?

I just had a toe buckle break on my Now Pilots and I'm sick of the toe straps slipping off my boots every second run. I also just happen to have a pair of Burton Genesis, Soni figured I'd try the swap out, but the ladders don't fit on the Pilots.


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## Canuck (Feb 18, 2019)

Tycho said:


> How are you guys swapping straps with Burton Genesis?
> 
> I just had a toe buckle break on my Now Pilots and I'm sick of the toe straps slipping off my boots every second run. I also just happen to have a pair of Burton Genesis, Soni figured I'd try the swap out, but the ladders don't fit on the Pilots.


I put the nitro Vibram toe straps on my pilots but just had to do a little file job on the ladders to get them to slide into place. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## LightninSVT (Dec 31, 2010)

I don't get the point of these? You still can't pack multiple boards in a board bag with those tabs sticking up on each board. I guess for parking lot swaps near home base? If you do any traveling how would these work? Still have to remove, right?


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## ckang008 (May 18, 2009)

JDA said:


> Yes I've done back to back testing, alternating days on each binding and without fail I generally have some fatigue in my foot after a day on the Genesis and no fatigue at all on the Nows. It may not be the same for everyone but that's just what I found, I don't use the Genesis anymore.
> 
> Also the Pilot toe strap works well on my Vans Implant, no complaints there.


are you using the est or the reflex version Of the genesis? I was considering EST for my Fish 3D but now have second thoughts 



JDA said:


> Agreed, I have done the switch a few times and struggled with it although I would say it gets easier each time. If you can visually line up the holes it will slip straight in, that is what I found, certainly works better than just trying to force it in :|
> 
> 
> 
> I have no idea why but even though I can't really feel the kingpin system I think the design is brilliant, you are basically applying more leverage onto each edge by moving the pivot point the way they have done it.


Agree with the foot fatigue. after using ipo and pilot I tried some Flow bindings and the chatter gives me a lot of foot pain, especially after stomping landings or from drops. The shock received from conventional bindings resonates much more than Now bindings. 




Crunchatize said:


> So I finally got the full set of DT malavita ankle and toe straps swapped on the Now Pilots.. Much better binding now I think, side by side with the stock Pilot straps vs Burton there is really no comparison, the Burton looks like a much better product and the toe cap actually fits my Vans Infuse boots .
> 
> I tested out the Kingpin tool-less and I agree, out of the box this would be impossible to do outside on the resort. It was very difficult to line the kingpin with the hanger, and was pretty much impossible to do without help of an Allen key or screw driver so not really tool-less at all. I would say that out of the box its not much easier to swap the tool-less kit than just removeing the screws and disk like a normal binding.
> 
> That being said.. I took a chance and drilled out both holes with a drill bit just slighly larger than the existing hole (5/16" i believe). It is still difficult to put the nut in and has to be perfectly lined up but its doable by hand now.. should get better as they work in hopefully. Tested this to make sure there is no unwanted movement at the kingpin and there is no change from the stock hole size with this mod. I'm happy with the set up now and will be traveling with this set of Pilots and 2 sets of tool-less kingpin for my 3 boards!


I swapped out the original strap for some malavita ankle and supergrip 2.0 toe straps. So much better ratchets and way more comfortable.

The kingpin system though is quite impossible to use as you said. There’s absolutely no way to line up the inner bolt without a screwdriver to guide it. Ultimately I just unscrew the whole plate from board and that saves me more time than trying to line it up. there is definitely improvement they need to work on for this system consider the high price they are asking for per kingpin set


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## JDA (Feb 10, 2016)

ckang008 said:


> are you using the est or the reflex version Of the genesis? I was considering EST for my Fish 3D but now have second thoughts


Yes they were reflex, I have sold them now. I bought some Base X EST half price but haven't tried them yet.


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## Paxford (Jan 7, 2019)

LightninSVT said:


> I don't get the point of these? You still can't pack multiple boards in a board bag with those tabs sticking up on each board. I guess for parking lot swaps near home base? If you do any traveling how would these work? Still have to remove, right?


Parking lot swaps is the point, but as mentioned the system doesn’t work. The tabs stick up an inch or so. I imagine if it’ll fit in your bag you wouldn’t need to remove the tabs for travel. Perhaps by stacking two boards base to base. It’s sketchy.


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## Paxford (Jan 7, 2019)

ckang008 said:


> I was considering EST for my Fish 3D but now have second thoughts


Why? Something wrong with the EST system? I’ve always wanted a channel board but now you have me second guessing.


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## ckang008 (May 18, 2009)

Paxford said:


> Why? Something wrong with the EST system? I’ve always wanted a channel board but now you have me second guessing.


nothing is wrong with the channel system, just that the now binding skate tech may possibly has less chatter compared to EST footbed. Also, now binding fits just fine on channel boards.

I only owned 1st gen EST 2008 uninc bindings and I get foot fatigue riding those old EST bindings. I think older version of the EST footbed packs out very quick and loses riding comfort fast. Plus it’s not as easy as replacing footbeds compared to now bindings’ bushings. I’m just not too sure if there is any noticeable improvement for last 10 years for EST bindings to spend 200+ dollars on new set of bindings


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## ckang008 (May 18, 2009)

Paxford said:


> Parking lot swaps is the point, but as mentioned the system doesn’t work. The tabs stick up an inch or so. I imagine if it’ll fit in your bag you wouldn’t need to remove the tabs for travel. Perhaps by stacking two boards base to base. It’s sketchy.


i think to do parking swap for the toolless kingpin you need to really shave down those bushings to give it some space tolerance.


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## Paxford (Jan 7, 2019)

Gotcha, I was thinking you had issues with the channel on the board because I think of the channel and the est binding as a system. I think I get it now, you don’t want a burton est binding but you have a channel board, and I agree with you, the NOW’s are amazing. Should be sweet on your 3D.


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