12/05/2026
Choosing the correct binding is super important as it’s the bindings that connects you to your board. Every bit of input your body makes — every turn, every press, every jump — goes through your bindings first. So getting the flex wrong can make your whole setup feel off, even if your board and boots are spot on.
Binding flex refers to how stiff or soft the binding is — primarily in the highback (the tall bit at the back of your heel) but also in the baseplate. Just like snowboard flex, it’s usually rated on a scale of 1–10, where 1 is noodle-soft and 10 is race-stiff. Most riders sit somewhere in the 3–7 range depending on how and where they ride. Soft flex bindings move with you. Stiff flex bindings transfer your energy directly into the board.
A softer binding (roughly 1–4 on the scale) gives you more freedom of movement. They flex with ease, which makes buttering, pressing, and jibbing rails a lot easier. The binding absorbs some of the impact, which also makes it more comfortable on rough snow or choppy groomers. The trade-off is precision. At speed, a very soft binding can feel a bit washy — like there’s a slight delay between what you’re telling the board to do and what actually happens. For beginners or park riders, that’s not a big deal. For someone who likes to carve hard at pace, it can get frustrating.
At the other end of the scale, a stiffer binding (roughly 6–10) locks your foot in and transfers energy directly into the edge of your board with almost no delay. When you lean into a heel-side carve, the board responds immediately. There’s no slop, no lag, just instant feedback. This is what you want if you ride fast, carve aggressively, or spend a lot of time on steep terrain.
If you’re not sure where you sit, a mid-flex binding (around 4–6) is almost always the right call. It’s versatile enough to handle everything from park laps to off-piste charging without being rubbish at either. Most of the best-selling bindings we stock fall into this bracket — and for good reason. The vast majority of riders spend their weeks mixing up terrain, and a mid-flex binding keeps up with all of it.
