Rome 390 Boss Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my Rome 390 Boss snowboard bindings review.

In this review I will take a look at the 390 Boss as all-mountain snowboard bindings.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the 390 Boss a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain bindings.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Rome 390 Boss FW

Price: $389 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-mountain/Aggressive All-Mountain/Freeride

Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)

Flex Feel: Mid-Stiff (6.5/10)

Rating Score: 84.9/100

Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Bindings

Overview of the 390 Boss’s Specs

Check out the tables for the 390 Boss’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the 390 Boss Most Suited To?

The 390 Boss are best suited to riders looking for bindings that are just that bit stiffer than medium and favor faster, more aggressive riding just a bit over slower, more playful riding, but don't want super stiff bindings and want them to be able to perform at least decently when riding slower/more playfully. 

If you want good shock absorption and board feel to go with it and plenty of adjustability to ensure they fit your boots and board well, then they should be even more suitable. 

Too stiff for beginners, IMO, but well suited to intermediate to expert riders who are looking for something like described above. 

Best matched to boards in the 4/10 to 7/10 flex range, and even better suited to those in the 5/10 to 6/10 range, IMO. 

Test/review details for the 390 Boss

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the 390 Boss are capable of.

Demo Info

Binding: Rome 390 Boss, M/L

Date: March 15, 2024

Mounting

Mounting on the 390 Boss was pretty straight forward. The footbed was a little annoying to keep open, but nothing major. Angles are easy to setup and easy to read. 

Even though they technically have a mini-disc, you can still mountain 4 x 4 as the discs are just big enough to let you go 4cm apart. 

Responsiveness

I felt I could get a little more aggressive on a carve and made my setup a little more carve-oriented than with my control bindings (Burton Malavita) but not by a huge amount. 

On the flip side, I found they weren't quite as good for short/sharp turns at slower speeds. Not bad, but not as good my control bindings and they felt better when riding them a bit more aggressively on a carve or a faster turn. 

Board Feel/Butterability

They felt decent for board feel - that mini disc likely helps - but not quite as good as my control bindings or the Rome Vice, which I also rode that day. 

Pop/Ollie Power

I found them a little more work to initiate ollies/pop on vs the Malavita and Vice, but overall power felt the same. 

Adjustability

Heel Cup: Yes

Stance Width: Good stance adjustability - as mentioned earlier, it has a mini-disc, but can span 4cm, so that helps and enables you to setback on extra sets of inserts for those boards that have that feature.

Highback Lean: Yes, tool-less.

Ankle Strap Position: Yes but not independent of highback rotation. 

Toe Strap Position: Yes - 2 positions. 

Ankle and toe strap length adjustment: Tool-less.   

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: There is technically no extension, as in you can't make the footbed longer, bu the footbed does move back and forth, so you can move it closer to the heel or closer to the toe, so it essentially has toe and heel adjustment. Which is good for boot centering. This along with the heel cup adjustment should mean that boot centering on board and bindings should be achievable (assuming you're within the boot range for the binding size).

Highback Rotation: Yes 

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | The Channel | 4 x 4

Shock Absorption

Really good, which is typical of Rome bindings, in my experience with them. They absorbed shock and chatter at least as well as my Malavita's and the Vice. 

Entry/Exit

Nothing special in terms of getting in and out of them, but nothing bad either. Worked as they should. Perfectly fine for unstrapping on the move when approaching the chair lift and ratchets felt smooth enough and nothing sticky or anything. 

Comfort

Overall nice and comfortable. 

Ankle Strap: No pressure or anything, and conformed well to my boots, but just something about them not quite ideal. Nothing that bothered me and definitely not a deal breaker. Maybe just psychological, but I'm not sold on the frameless ankle strap on the 390 Boss. But again, it's nothing bad, I just prefer their other straps. 

Toe Strap: Felt fine and conformed well. 

Canted Footbed: No.

Padded Footbed: Really good padding in the footbed. 

Highback: Also good padding across the high-back. Never sure how much difference it makes, but these didn't produce any calf bite, which was great. Whether they would without that padding is hard to say. I've ridden bindings with zero padding without calf-bite too, but these particular highbacks might go better with that padding than without. Either way, these were nice and comfortable.

Ankle Support 

Felt fine. Felt normal. Nothing too locked in, but nothing that felt loose or anything either. Just how I like it, typically. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The 390 Boss are the kind of bindings that give you that bit more performance for faster, more aggressive riding than your average bindings, but they still have some forgiveness and won't turn your board into a tank at slower speeds either.

They also have really decent adjustability and board feel and even better shock absorption.