Keep and try Drake Podiums or sell them off?

Hey @gone-surfing, welcome to the forum!

Drake Podium is a good binding.  I have two sets, I used to ride these while testing boards.  They are marketed as super stiff, but it's a mid stiff Flex by my standards.  High quality, long lasting, comfortable.  Better for carving than your Now Drives (SkateTech is not recommended for hard carving).

However, there's a heelcup (on both the Drake and the Nows) that will contribute to drag.  Your Stranda, even if it's a wide version, is probably only 275mm at the waist, max.  Unless you have tiny feet, boot out will be a problem.  

I recommend any rear entry binding for the lower overall length and reduced boot out potential.  Flows are by far the stiffest, that's what I ride.  NX2 Carbon with the Fusion Straps.  Not a perfect binding, but by far the highest performance available for the kind of carving I do.

Thank you for the very informative answer @wild-cherry - I have a US 12 boot and you are correct, the Shorty is 270 waist width and Biru 275.

Am I correct in saying this is the NX2 binding version you are talking about? Also, would they be too stiff for my setup or is that not something to worry about too much right now?

Posted by: @gone-surfing

↑

Also, would they be too stiff for my setup?

I don't even know what this means...   What is this concept of "Too Stiff" that you refer to?  I can't relate.  Do you mean "Painful"?  That's the only way I can make sense of "Too Stiff".

In all seriousness though, it's not outrageously stiff, and certainly not too stiff for carving.  25 years ago lots of bindings were stiff like these or close, it was normal.  

Showing my newbie knowledge levels. I had read that you could end up with an interface that “overpowered” the board if the board was too “soft”. Not even sure if I read it or just inferred it from a bunch of content.

Thanks again for taking the time to advise me. I’m going to give them a go.

I've got Flux CV-LTD on my Shorty and I think it's a great match for good conditions (neither are very supple on ice). 

One of the cool things about the Shorty is the progressive sidecut that goes from >10m down to <8m.  I'm not dynamically shifting my weight that much throughout every turn, but it's nice to be able to get my weight up over the nose or the tail for lazy carves... changing the turn radius a bit without hammering the edge angle.  To do this, you need some lateral mobility.

The Skate tech has a wide footprint with practically no lateral mobility.  I've got Jones Mercury on my 154 FC6000 because I had them and I'm not really weight shifting much on that little board.  I preferred the 'feel' of the Flux CV (not the stiffer LTD on that board), but the Mercury are very supple in lousy conditions.

I think the people that mention "over-powering" are often more freestyle-oriented and want to get their weight over the nose/tail for presses, butters, etc.  If you put stiff bindings on those soft boards, the board is always going to give (with a stiff platform underfoot).  But having said that, some carvers do have a more 'surfy' approach and do like more flex from their binding.

The Salomon Shadowfit is practically the opposite of skatetech, and has a flexible heel loop and provides that lateral play, but still has a decent platform underfoot and good heel-toe drive.  I actually think it feels more "Skate" like as it allows your heel to roll a tiny bit with ollies.  I've got these on a 'surfy' pow board

You've got the Drake, I'd give them a try.  I haven't ridden them, but I suspect they'll allow a bit more lateral movement than the NOW and you might like that (gone-surfing?).

BTW, the older flux had a very wide, solid footprint and felt very locked in.  The newer chassis with the bushings on the corners provide a bit of lateral give and comfort... The CV & CV-LTD with the higher heelcup have good heel-toe drive... even with the softer highback (which I quite like).  The chassis flex of the CV is very noticable (surfy?) and I don't think it'd be quite enough for the Shorty (if you want to ankle steer at all).

I've been running the Rome Cleaver on an all-mountain/freeride for a few years, and with the Bataleon Infinity straps I've started carving more with it as well.  It's more comfy/supple than the Flux, has more flex underfoot, but the straps go so high it's pretty locked in and responsive.  Better for more up-unweighted transitions, but not as much ankle mobility for down-unweighted style transitions (though I suppose I could lower the straps).

@board-doctor thank you for the reply! It is very nice of you to write up some of your experience in such detail. It really gives me an idea of some of the dimensions I can think about, in relation to bindings. I'm coming from pretty low knowledge base, but will (hopefully) be spending a lot more time in the mountains over the coming years, so it's really interesting to me.

My username is related more to the fact that I also surf (in the sea), so I'm not sure what my slope style is yet 🙂

PS Looking forward to trying the Shorty next week. Snow forecast just updated to say we're getting 170cm of snow in the days before I arrive, so fingers crossed. I've had a lot of fun days on the Biru.

Yeah I figured you might be a sea surfer.  You might like a little more flex as you're use to moving your feet around on the board.  Everyone's different.  I've got a loose ankle and need the support, but at the same time I don't like being totally locked-in.