UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2018/2019 Rome D.O.D here

• Price: £205
• Sizes: S/M, L/XL
• Flex: 6
• Entry System: Classic
• ROMESNOWBOARDS.COM

Here’s one for braver souls: the Rome D.O.D. (which stands for ‘Do Or Die’) is a new binding for the 2016/17 season, aimed at the all-mountain freestyle rider who isn’t afraid to step up to the big stuff.

The medium-sized highback, which is brand new and unique to the D.O.D, has a varying flexibility that makes it perfect for freestyle. A little bit of give toward the top means a looser feel when you’re messing about at lower speeds, but when you pile on the pressure it responds in kind and delivers the response you need. Like all Rome highbacks, it can also be fully rotated to perfectly match up with your heel edge.

“The medium-sized highback has a varying flexibility that makes it perfect for freestyle”

The lightweight aluminium chassis is designed to allow you to flex the binding from side to side (as in towards each end of your board), but keeps it rigid from your heels to your toes. This makes it easy to really work the board through the turns without compromising on edge-to-edge response. The ‘V-Rod’ baseplate adds to the effect, as it only makes contact with the board in a narrow channel between the edges.

If you prefer to ride with a canted footbed – that’s one that sits slightly higher on the outside of your foot than on the inside, putting your foot at an angle that eases pressure on your knees – then the Rome D.O.D. comes with a second footbed that boasts 2.5 degrees of cant.

A freestyle binding like this one needs to be able to handle the big impacts, so there’s plenty of EVA in the footbed to ensure happy landings. Just as important are comfortable straps that keep you locked up and supported; the retooled toe strap holds your boot in a vice-like grip without any unwanted pressure points, while the support offered by the ankle strap can be increased or decreased on the fly by adjusting the tension.

While far from essential, it’s always nice to get a binding that matches your board. With five colourways to choose from, there’s a Rome D.O.D. for every setup.