Nidecker Flow NX2 Fusion Review

Hello and welcome to my Nidecker Flow NX2 Fusion snowboard bindings review.

In this review I will take a look at the NX2 Fusion as all-mountain snowboard bindings.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the NX2 Fusion a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain bindings.

Overall Rating

Bindings: Nidecker Flow NX2 Fusion

Price: $379 (USD recommended retail)

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

Flex Rating: Stiff

Flex Feel: Mid-Stiff (7/10)

Rating Score: 83.3/100

Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Bindings

Overview of the NX2 Fusion’s Specs

Check out the tables for the NX2 Fusion’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Who are the NX2 Fusion Most Suited To?

The NX2 Fusion are best suited to anyone looking for a mid-stiff binding with easy entry/exit. The best rider for these bindings will prefer to ride fast more than they do slow but will want a binding with good board feel and shock absorption and some forgiveness for when they don't want to be hauling it all the time. 

Best matched to boards in the 5/10 to 8/10 flex range and even better for the 6/10 to 7/10 range, IMO. 

Not a good option for beginners, IMO. Too stiff for that. Lower intermediate riders would likely find them a bit much as well. 

Test/review details for the NX2 Fusion

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the NX2 Fusion are capable of.

Demo Info

Binding: Nidecker NX2 Fusion, L

Date: May 8, 2024

Mounting

Mounting was pretty straight forward with the NX2. There was no screw to remove the footbed, it just squeezes into the heel padding.

Adjusting the angles on the disc was easy and was able to re-adjust the angles (after inverting them when setting up!) by just loosening screws and spinning the disc.

The strap, probably because it's one piece, can get in the way when you're trying to screw in, if you already went to efforts to set them up before mounting them. But only a minor annoyance when mounting or re-tightening. 

Making any necessary adjustments for proper boot fit was pretty straight-forward in the way you do it - it just took a bit of trial and error to get setup where you wanted it to balance out both easy entry and good support. 

Flex

In-hand High-Back Twist Flex: The NX-2 has very little twist flex. Really quite stiff in that sense. I'd say 9/10 for twist flex. 

In-hand Pullback High-Back flex: I could maybe feel just the faintest hint of flex when trying to pull back on the high-back, but sure if I was imaging it. So little-to-no flex there. 

Toe and ankle strap flex: There's of-course some flex here, but they are stiffer than average, from my experience. They are stiffer medially than they are laterally. 

On Snow Flex:  Despite being what felt like a really stiff - like 9/10 flex - in hand, they were a lot more mellow to ride in than their in-hand flex would suggest. They're still stiffer than medium, but they felt right in that mid-stiff zone to me. 

Responsiveness

I found they felt really good on a carve. Could get deeper and felt they made my setup a slightly, but noticeably, better for carving than with my control bindings (Burton Malavita).  

Not as good as my control bindings for short/sharp slow speed turns though. Not bad or anything, but they were better for carving/speed than slower, more playful stuff. 

Board Feel/Butterability

Surprisingly good. Particularly when you take into account their flex feel in hand - and even on snow, they weren't exactly soft - and the fact there's nothing obvious that would seem to help them with board feel. 

Pop/Ollie Power

I found they weren't quite as easy to initiate pop with vs the Malavita and didn't allow me to produce quite as much power as I could with the Malavita. Was certainly a subtle difference and that weren't bad or anything, but I preferred my control bindings for this aspect. 

Adjustability

Heel Cup: No. But also maybe? There's technically no heel cup on the Fuse due to the way flow bindings work. But it looks like there's a way you can move the whole high-back forward. But I didn't figure it out in the time I had them (was in a good position for me). Don't quote me on that and get confirmation before you start messing them, but it did look like you could, which would act as a kind of heel cup adjustment (if it is in fact meant to move!).

Stance Width: You can run the disc horizontally or vertically - if run horizontal then there is lots of stance width adjustability. 

Highback Lean: Yes and tool-less.

Ankle Strap Position: No

Toe Strap Position: Yes – 2 positions

Ankle and toe strap length:  Tool-less

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: No – has a foamy footbed that just pops in over the white foam parts that are part of the foamy part of the baseplate that stick through the metal part of the baseplate.

Highback Rotation: No (or at least I don’t think so, but there is a hole on each side under the screws that hold on the ankle strap and the one that holds on the highback. But there seems to be no way to use it to adjust the highback or ankle strap that I can see and Flow doesn’t mention it on their site or in the instruction booklet that came with them).

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

Extra: They also use an offset disc – so you can adjust boot centering, depending on which way up you put the disc. Or you can run vertically if you want as well. The offset gives you about 4mm (⁵/₃₂") of difference. Running vertically gives you around 13mm (¹/₂") of difference – so still more toe/heel centering adjustability running vertically, but if you need just a little bit of an adjustment and still want that stance width adjustability of running the disc horizontally, then that offset disc is a great option to have. 

Shock Absorption

Footbed: The NX2's footbed has got some good cush to it, particularly in the heel where you want it the most. The underside of the baseplate also has a layer of foam on the bottom to help with cushioning – and creates little air pockets with hexagon shapes that provide a sort of suspension-ish thing underneath. There’s even a little padding under the disc.

On Snow: Felt really decent for absorbing shock on snow. I wouldn't say top-tier, but definitely above average. 

Entry/Exit

Fast and easy, which is of course one of the selling points for these bindings. But I still found I preferred the Supermatic for entry/exit. That said, these are 200 grams (each) lighter than the Supermatic, so there's a bit of a trade off there - heavier and a little easier for entry/exit vs lighter and slightly not-as-good for entry/exit. 

Process for "Strapping" In

As entry/exit is one of the reasons you'd get these bindings, I'll give the strapping process a bit more attention here. 

Once you've set them up where you want them, you enter the bindings from the back. To do this you pull back on the high-back and this also lifts the baseplate at an angle that allows you to get your boot in more easily (Called Active-Strap in Nidecker's marketing nomenclature). You push your boot in and then pull the high-back up and lock the lever in place.

To exit, you pull back on the lock and pull back the high back and lift your foot out.  

Like with all Flow bindings, there’s a sweet spot you need to find to make sure the binding is tight enough to be responsive and supportive but loose enough to get your boot in and out easily. Once finding that sweet spot, I find the system works well. But I find it does tend to take a bit of trial and error.  

Note that I have found that the adjustment of the piece of strap that connects the ankle strap and toe strap is the key to getting that balance right.

Comfort

Overall I found them nice and comfortable. 

Ankle Strap: It's on the stiffer side, but I found that it conformed well to my boots and there weren't any pressure points or anything. 

Toe Strap: Ditto ankle strap (and they're kind of one in the same - though there is certainly some level of independence to them). 

Canted Footbed: Yes, and quite obviously so just by looking at it. (2.5 degrees according to Nidecker).

Padded Footbed: Yes, really cush there (see shock absorption section above for more). 

Highback: ¾ of it (from top) is padded. Decent thickness of padding too. But main thing is that I didn't get any calf-bite from them. 

Ankle Support 

I found it's ankle support to be good without being great. I felt like I could get it to be better, but it came at the cost of getting in easily without the boots rubbing. With a bit more time and trial and error, you may be able to dial in that sweet spot a little more and get a bit more ankle support without sacrificing any of its entry/exit qualities. 

But even where I had it wasn't too bad or anything.  

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

Overall I enjoyed my time with the NX2 Fusion but I still preferred the Supermatic, even with the extra weight. But if you were looking for easy/fast entry and wanted the weight savings (and it is noticeable), then these would do the job well.