Hello and welcome to my Flux XF bindings review.
In this review, I will take a look at the XFs as all-mountain-freeride snowboard bindings.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the XFs a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how they compare with other all-mountain-freeride bindings.
Overall Rating
Bindings: Flux XF 2021
Price: $299 (USD recommended retail)
Style: All-Mountain-Freeride
Other Uses: All-Mountain, Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (4/5)
Flex Feel: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 93.1/100
Compared to other All-Mtn-Freeride Bindings
Out of the 16 men’s all-mountain-freeride bindings that I rated:
Overview of the XF’s Specs
Check out the tables for the XF’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain-Freeride |
Price: | $299 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Edge-to-Edge: | Fast |
Weight: | Normal |
Mounts To: | 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 |
Sizing
SIZE | US BOOT SIZE | EURO BOOT SIZE | UK BOOT SIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
S | 5-7.5 | 36.5-40 | 4-6.5 |
M | 7-9.5 | 39-43 | 6-8.5 |
L | 9-13 | 42-47.5 | 8-12 |
Who are the XF Most Suited To?
The XFs are great for anyone looking to match to a medium to medium stiff board. Great for that 6/10 to 8/10 flex range.
In addition if you are looking for something with great ankle support, I found these very supportive of my ankles.
They are also very comfortable and highly adjustable - so you can them dialed in just right. If you're willing to sacrifice a little in terms of shock absorption, these bindings are one of the better going around, IMO. One of my all-time favorites.
Not for beginners, but work for a high-end intermediate rider, assuming they suit their style of riding.
The XF in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the XFs are capable of.
Demo Info
Bindings: Flux XF 2021, Large
Date: March 8, 2020
Conditions: Well groomed and hard packed on groomer. Not super hard but quite firm for the most part.
Off-groomer good. Nothing fresh, but still some old snow and nothing too crunchy or icy or anything.
Colder than the day before. Part of that being here hour earlier because daylight saving. -11°C (12.2°F) and -14°C (6.8°F) with wind, but it felt even colder than that.
Cloudy but still at least 90% visibility.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance Width: 550 (21.7”)
Board demoed with: Rossignol One LF, 2018
Baseplate Length: 24.5cm (9.65″) – the toe ramp was slightly extended, so it goes a little shorter than that. And since the heel ramp and the toe ramp both adjust it can go a good bit longer than that. I suspect they would go as short as 24cm or possibly even shorter and probably as long as 25.5cm.
Highback Height: 20cm (7.87″)
Height from footbed to top of highback: 27cm (10.63″)
Flex
More twist in highback than I remember from the previous model, but not massive amount of twist. Trying to bend it back, there is zero movement. Solid as. Overall when riding felt like a 7/10. Stiffer than medium, but with a little forgiveness.
Responsiveness
Just like I remembered it from previous models. Made my board feel more “carvy” – as in could carve harder and hold a carve deeper versus my test bindings (Burton Malavita). Almost felt to a point of being mildly twitchy on my board to start with, but I soon settled into that, and my board felt more alive than with most bindings. A really nice dynamic feel. And still really good maneuverability at slower speeds too.
Board Feel/Butterability
Really good board feel – just like a remember it being from previous models. A little step down from my test bindings, but not by a lot. There’s no mini-disc or anything like reflex or pods or anything crazy in the baseplate, but it might be the minimal padding in the footbed that really helps with the board feel for these guys.
Adjustability
Heel Cup: No
Stance Width: Can run disc horizontal or vertical, so good for stance width adjustments when running horizontal.
Highback Lean: Yes, tool-less
Ankle Strap Position: Yes
Toe Strap Position: Yes
Ankle and toe strap length: Yes, tool-less
Gas pedal/toe ramp extension: Yes
Highback Rotation: Yes
Compatible with: 2 x 4 | 4 x 4 | Channel
So, you can adjust these bindings in most ways. You can adjust the heel ramp too, which you can’t on most bindings, so that gives you some extra adjustment there, too. Really the only thing that stops it from getting 5/5 is no heel cup adjustment.
Shock Absorption
This is the one area where these bindings do lack. To be fair it didn’t bother me that much. But it might be something that bothered me if I was riding them everyday, but I’m not sure. If shock absorption isn’t that big a deal to you, these could be the perfect bindings (assuming you’re looking for something in this flex range).
Entry/Exit
Nice and smooth – as per usual with Flux.
Comfort
Despite that lack of padding in the foodbed, they really are quite comfortable overall.
Ankle Strap: Really like Flux’s ankle straps and particularly so their waffle strap, so no complaints there.
Toe Strap: Really nice as Flux toe straps tend to be
Canted Footbed: No
Padded Footbed: Not a lot of padding there (see shock absorption)
Highback: A little padding there, which is nice – but the main thing really is calf-bite – and there was none of that, so all good, there.
Ankle Support
Really, really good ankle support, as is again, typical of Flux.
Changes for the 2021 Model
The 2021 model is practically the same as the 2020 model. The one change won’t change the feel, but does make them more convenient. They now come with a disc that is compatible with the Channel. So you no longer have to get a separate disc to put on a board that uses the channel.
Changes for the 2020 Model
The biggest difference on the 2020 model vs the 2019 model, is the highback. The 2019 Model had Flux’s “Axis” highback. The 2020 model now has a “Retro-Mod” highback. The highback lean adjuster is also a little different, but that’s a minor thing. Everything else seems to be the same – but of course, the highback is a major component, so it’s a relatively significant change there.
Changes for the 2019 Model
The toe strap has been tweaked (FTM ver5.0) which takes what was already an awesome toe strap and made it even better. I thought Flux had one of the best in the industry as it was, and this makes it that little bit better.
They may have done some other tweaks for the 2019 model but as far as I can tell it’s otherwise the same binding as the 2018 model.
Changes for the 2018 Model
The main change that I noticed from the 2017 model is the new ankle straps. They XFs use Flux’s new “Waffle Strap”. At first when I looked at it, it looked just like a honeycomb strap – but on closer inspection you can see that the holes don’t go all the way through. I loved these new straps.
The other new things are:
- Footon – not exactly sure what this is but apparently it helps with board feel and snow buildup. Didn’t notice anything with snow build up – but these bindings do have great board feel – especially given their stiffness
- Beer Buckle – they have a new buckle on the straps – which also doubles as a bottle opener
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
RESPONSE | 5.0 | 30/30 |
BOARD FEEL | 4.0 | 12/15 |
ADJUSTABILITY | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
ANKLE SUPPORT | 5.0 | 15/15 |
SHOCK ABSORPTION | 2.5 | 5/10 |
COMFORT | 4.0 | 8/10 |
ENTRY/EXIT | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 93.1/100 |
For those looking for a binding that's great for carving, provides really good ankle support, but still operate well when riding at slower speeds for when you want to slow it down and get a bit more casual - or for doing slower more technical tree runs, the XF should be squarely on your radar.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the XFs, are ready to buy or want to research current prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the XFs compare to other all-mountain-freeride bindings or want to check out other options, check out the next link.
Bindings: Flux XF 2019, Large
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the XFs are capable of.
The main change that I noticed from the 2017 model is the new ankle straps. They XFs use Flux’s new “Waffle Strap”. At first when I looked at it, it looked just like a honeycomb strap – but on closer inspection you can see that the holes don’t go all the way through. I loved these new straps.
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