- Price: £269 / €300 / $300
- Sizes: S, M, L
- Flex: 6-7/10
- Entry System: Classic
Why we chose the NOW Pilot Snowboard Bindings: No more turbulence or bumpy landings, this is VIP cruising at the price of economy.
If you’re new to NOW bindings and looking for their most versatile potion, here’s your answer. The Pilots can step up to the plate for confident and aggressive all-mountain riders, but they don’t need to be all about gunning it down the mountain to get the most out of them. Sitting right in the middle of NOW’s binding range the Pilot’s are primed for takeoffs, landings, and cruising at altitude.
Surely nobody’s a stranger to NOW’s SkateTech at this stage, as JF Pelchat’s revolutionary binding approaches its tenth birthday. Instead of cranking the straps as tight as possible and generating leverage on the highback to make turns, NOW rely on a central hanger where the binding can very subtly pivot through a central kingpin and apply pressure directly down and out to the edges via four contact bushings.
“Sitting right in the middle of NOW’s binding range the Pilot’s are primed for takeoffs, landings, and cruising at altitude.”
The result is increased feel, power and efficiency, all bundled up in a responsive, surfy ride. Additionally, the rubber bushings help to dissipate much of the vibrations and chatter that occur at higher speeds or firmer snowpacks.
The bushing comes in three variations of stiffness, rated Surf Style Response, Universal Response, and Firm and Snappy Response (although it must be said, we still go by NOW’s original scale of Softy, Mid-Chub and Morning Missile). These can be easily swapped out to fine-tune the levels of response you want in your ride, although with the Pilot being a relatively stiff binging it makes sense they come available in both the medium and stiffer shores.
