Flow NX2-TM Bindings Review

Hello and welcome to my Flow NX2-TM bindings review.

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

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

NOTE: This review has only been updated to the 2024 model, as it was discontinued after the 2024 model.

Overall Rating

Overview of the NX2-TM’s Specs

Who is the NX2-TM Most Suited To?

The NX2-TM are best suited to anyone looking for a binding that's stiff, but still with some forgiveness, that excels mostly for carving and bombing but does well in the park as well. And of course someone who wants that easy in rear-entry. 

Not for a beginner - too stiff for that, IMO, but intermediate and up should be fine with these bindings. 

The NX2-TM in More Detail

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 22″ (555mm)

Board tested with: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker

Boots tested with: Adidas Tactical ADV, size US9.5

Baseplate Length: 9.76" (24.8cm)*

*measured on the top side of the footbed - part of the heel of the baseplate is raised a little bit.

Highback Height: 7.2" (18.2cm)*

* from top of board to top of highback it's 11" (28cm).

Weight: 2lb 5oz (1040g)

* for one binding, including screws and disc. The average weight of a small sample size of around 45 bindings (2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022 models) I weighed, was 1lb 15oz (890 grams). The lightest was 1lb 8oz (680g) and the heaviest was 2lb 9oz (1,160g). So the NX2-TM are on he heavier side. 

Flex

When doing the in hand flex test on the NX2-TM the highback barely twisted at all - and there was certainly no movement when pulling back or trying to bend the top of the highback. Like, it felt like 9/10 flex to me. I thought Flow's 7/10 flex rating for this binding was going to be way off - but when riding it definitely didn't feel as stiff as the highback suggested - and 7/10 actually felt about right. 

Responsiveness

It was a little more to manage for short/sharp quick turns at slow speeds versus my control bindings (Burton Malavita) but when it came to hard carves, you could get more out of the NX2-TM versus my control bindings. Really good on a carve, I found.  

Board Feel/Butterability

I was expecting the NX2-TM to be a bit dead underfoot after looking at the rigid metal baseplate with metal disc (all be it with softer padding on the underside of the disc) not to mention the size of the disc - which was bigger than most regular size discs (let alone mini-discs). 

But I was pleasantly surprised with the board feel when I rode in them. It wasn't like top-end board feel, but it was actually pretty decent. Part of that I'm guessing comes from this rubbery waffle-like membrane thing that sits on the bottom of the baseplate (which I'm guessing also helps with the NX2 TM's shock absorption as well). And the soft padding underbelly of the disc probably also assists. 

Pop/Ollie Power

I found I could get a pretty similar amount of pop out of the NX2-TM versus my control bindings, or maybe just a hair less. 

Let's Break this Text Up with a Video

Adjustability

Whilst the NX2-TM doesn't have an extendable heel ramp and you can't change the ankle strap position, there was a lot of adjustability, including being able to shift the highback forward, good stance width adjustability and a disc that fits literally any board you can think of. 

Heel Cup: There is technically no heel cup on these bindings due to the way they work. But there is a hole where you can move the whole highback forward, which acts as heel cup adjustment essentially. 

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

Highback Lean: Really easy to adjust with the tool-less mechanism. I don't think you can get zero lean - feels like it's set at a bit of lean even at it's most upright position.

Ankle Strap Position: No

Toe Strap Position: No

Ankle and toe strap length: Yes, tool-less. And once you get this set, you can lock them in place and forget about it - and just use the rear entry.  

Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: No

Highback Rotation: No

Compatible with: 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | 3 hole | channel

Shock Absorption

They absorbed shock and chatter really well. There's some really decent padding in the footbed and then there's this rubbery green waffle like thing on the underside of the base plate, which I assume also helps with shock absorption. 

Entry/Exit

This is typically a quick note on how smooth the ratchets feel when tightening your straps - in a typical strap binding review. 

But for rear-entry/speed entry bindings like this, it's an important part of how they work. Ease of entry/exit is this bindings' unique selling point - so of course will elaborate a little more in this section. 

It takes some time to get them set right so that they are both good to ride in and easy to get in and out of. So take your time to set them up. At first I had them considerably and unnecessarily tight - and easy mistake to make, when you're not used to these bindings. And that also made them hard to get into using the rear-entry feature. But after a bit of tweaking and playing around with them, I was able to find the sweet spot. 

After finding the sweet spot they are really easy to get into - and learning to do it without stopping was a cinch. So for anyone looking to get going quickly off the lift, this will be a great feature. 

Getting out of them was easy as well. Not quite as easy as getting into them, but still pretty easy. You've just got to get used to the idea of lifting your boot up and back rather than straight up as you would after removing the straps on a typical strap binding. 

A really good feature is having those ankle and toe ratchets lockable, so you don't accidentally tighten or loosen them (either by accidentally knocking them or forgetting your in rear entry bindings and by habit going to strap or unstrap them - as I did). 

I did prefer the Hybrid strap that I had on the Fenix-Plus that I also tried the same day - so if I was to get these, I would go with the NX2-TM Hybrid over the Fusion version. Just like having that toe strap to wrap around my toes. 

Comfort

These bindings were really comfortable overall. When I first had them strapped too tight, I did have some pressure points, but when I realized how much you can loosen them off (to make that entry/exit easy/smooth) without loosing support - those pressure points went away. Just remember not to crank them too much. 

Ankle Strap: Nice and comfortable - once I had them set right didn't notice it.

Toe Strap: Ditto ankle strap - because well, it's all pretty much one strap. 

Canted Footbed: Yes 

Padded Footbed: Good padding

Highback: Padding over the whole highback. But most importantly I had no calf-bite.

Ankle Support

The ankle support didn't feel as good as with my control bindings, I found. It wasn't terrible by any means, but it wasn't quite as good. I realized after inspection that the ankle strap sits a little lower on the ankle than my control bindings. And with my control bindings there's an option to have a higher ankle strap position than the setting I have it on. 

I felt they could've been a little more supportive of the ankle, but it wasn't like super unsupportive or anything. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

The NX2-TM are a great all-round binding that will really appeal to those looking for quick, on the move entry into their bindings. 

Compared to my previous experience with Flow bindings (circa 2012 model), these were night and day - the hinge that opens the bindings out to let you in (which didn't exist on the old model I had back in the day) really makes a difference - and the overall quality is much improved across the entire binding. 

Whilst I'm not a convert to the rear-entry thing, as I actually kinda like the ritual of stopping taking a breath and strapping into my bindings (and can do it pretty fast, can remove them on the go etc), so it's not necessarily something that gets me excited, but for some (particularly those who ride with skiers a lot) this is a really good feature. 

Importantly though, is that the performance once you're in the bindings is really good, and that's improved a lot since I last rode flow bindings - so whilst I'm not super excited about the rear-entry aspect, as bindings, ignoring that aspect, the NX2-TM performed well.