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Bindings

NOW Brigada 2019-2020 Women’s Snowboard Bindings Review

UPDATE: Check out our review of the NOW Brigada Snowboard Bindings for 2020/2021 by clicking here.

  • Sizes: S, M
  • Flex: 6
  • Entry System: Classic
  • Price: €250
  • BUY ONLINE

Why we chose the NOW Brigada women’s Snowboard Bindings: The all-new women’s freestyle binding on the block.

The Brigade’s little sister makes its debut for this season and delivers the missing piece in the NOW puzzle – a performance, all-mountain, freestyle focussed women’s binding. Where the two previous women’s options – the Conda and Vetta – catered for both intermediate and more advanced all-mountain riders, respectively, the Brigada stands out from the pack as a binding with a primary purpose – ripping up the park.

“A unique base plate designed to pivot over a central fulcrum and direct the pressure out to the four corners of the contact bushing”

Skate Tech is where NOW have made a name for themselves, with a unique base plate designed to pivot over a central fulcrum and direct the pressure out to the four corners of the contact bushing. Naturally, the Brigada gets the same treatment and allows for a smoother, surfy, ride but with all the energy and response you’d want from a premium binding.

The all-new women’s specific FM Highback features here, too. It has a lightweight, minimalist designed to make tweaking and creative, freestyle riding way more achievable, but has an asymmetric outline, with a higher medial side, to follow the natural angle of your riding stance and deliver more contact and support to the boot. The colourways have steered away from some of NOW’s more gender-neutral black and white aesthetics and gone full bubblegum green and pink. Maybe not to everyone’s taste, but they’ll certainly make a statement at the drop-in for the jump line.

“This one’s got mass appeal written all over it but will definitely find its calling in the park”

Lastly, there are the all-new Asym Sieva heel straps with NOW’s Flipit technology. Not only do they feature a stiffer lateral side, for increased response, but they can also be swapped across to the other binding and flipped upside down to provide a much more responsive strap when you want to up the aggression.

As standard for NOW, the contact bushing can be swapped out with the option to purchase any of the three different densities to dial the response and cushioning down to a T. The Highback can also be drastically downscaled for the Highcup, which only leaves you with a sliver of support at the back of the boot to optimise complete freedom for bending all across the board.

The long-awaited addition to the NOW army didn’t disappoint. This one’s got mass appeal written all over it but will definitely find its calling in the park.

Tester’s Verdict

Joy DutchWhitelines

“I’ve always been a bit reluctant to fully give in to the hype behind NOW bindings, I’m very much in the school of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but I have to admit these are a great pair of binders.

“I could shift my weight even slightly and the energy transfer was instant”

I felt like they gave my riding a really loose, surfy feel and I could shift my weight even slightly and the energy transfer was instant. The edge to edge transitions are super smooth and you’re able to roll through turns with ease. I like that they feel more chilled, they’re not twitchy and ultra sensitive, but when you’re hooning it on piste, they’re still super responsive.

The straps are comfortable and don’t leave pressure points across the foot. I liked that the highback was a smaller profile, it allowed for more movement and you’re able to get more playfulness out of the binding. It fit well with my boot and unlike some bindings there wasn’t any digging in around my calf.

My only gripe is that the footbed seems quite wide, it could be due to wearing a smaller footprint boot, but I felt like there was quite a lot of space either side of my boot.”

Trade Secrets

JF Pelchat – Founder, NOW Bindings

“The Brigada is the ultimate women’s freestyle binding and one of the most liked and sought after amongst our female riders, it was designed with the same concept idea as the men’s Brigade model but with a women’s DNA. The highback on the Brigada uses a minimalist approach that is supportive yet just the right flex and torsional rigidity, it is the perfect binding for all the ladies out there looking for a comfortable ride to hit the park, catch air or just plain having fun on the mountain.”

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