Hello and welcome to my NOW IPO bindings review.
This review is for the 2017 model and hasn’t been updated for 2018
NOW is outside the brands that I normally review. But I had the chance to try some at a demo day so I thought I’d review them here.
In this review I will take a look at the IPOs as freestyle snowboard bindings first and foremost – but they’d also be suitable as all-mountain bindings.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the IPOs a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain bindings.
Overall Rating
Bindings: NOW IPO
Price: $229 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freestyle
Other Uses: All-Mountain
Flex: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 79.5/100
Compared to other Freestyle Bindings
Out of the 17 Men’s Freestyle bindings that I rated:
- The average price was $204 (USD)
- The average score was 75.8/100
- The highest score was 94.7/100
- The lowest score was 50.0/100
- The IPOs ranked 9th out of 17
Who are the IPOs Most Suited to?
The IPOs are best suited to freestyle and all-mountain riders. They score the best as freestyle bindings. They have great shock absorption which allows good cushioning for landing jumps and tricks.
The following are the scores for how they did when rated as different types of bindings:
Freestyle: 79.5/100
All-Mountain:78/100
Beginner: 76/100
Freeride: 70/100
The IPOs in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the IPOs are capable of.
Demo Info
Bindings: NOW IPO 2017, L
Date: February 27th, 2016
Conditions: Chopped up and slushy on the groomers. Some small pockets of powder off. Some rain later in the afternoon but mostly fine. Visibility good all day.
Bindings angles: +18/+3
Flex
The IPOs definitely felt like they had a medium flex – they’re rated as a 6/10 and that sounds about right to me. This is a good flex for all-mountain riding and also for freestyle riding if you’re hitting medium to large jumps.
They have this hinge tech in their bindings called “Kingpin Pivot”. This supposedly transfers more power to the edges and reduces the effort you have to put into your turns and therefore reduces fatigue. There’s a video further down that explains it further.
It wasn’t that noticeable to me – but I wasn’t fatigued after riding them – but I only had them on for a couple of hours.
Butterability
Not super easy to butter – but not hard either.
Adjustability
The IPOs were easy to adjust and had all the adjustability you would expect from a modern binding. Nothing special but solid.
Shock Absorption
This is probably the best part of the IPOs. They have plenty of cushioning and this makes it great for landing jumps and tricks.
They also do really well at reducing chatter in rough bumpy conditions (which I had plenty of on the day so I was thankful for this!). The dampening is awesome.
Entry/Exit
Pretty easy to get in and out of. Pretty standard – not easier or harder than most bindings. Good smooth ratchets that feel sturdy too.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
I like how they show a close up of the bindings in action in this video.
Comfort
These are pretty comfortable. I would say definitely above average but not amazing. They’ve got all that cushioning and great dampening which definitely helps with comfort – and I think if I’d ridden them all day, then I would have noticed that even more.
Also they have nice straps that contoured well around my boots.
A bit of canting in the footbed would be nice to see.
Responsiveness
They aren’t super responsive. Not what I would use for really bombing hard freeriding. But They’ve certainly got enough for freestyle riding and riding the groomers.
Boot Support
They feel pretty firm around the boots which is great if you like that firm feeling. And, more importantly, they are firm without any pressure points.
Changes from the 2016 Model
The IPOs have a lower than average highback – though I think they made this a bit higher for the 2016 model compared with the 2015 model, which was apparently even lower.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Shock Absorption: | 5.0 | 25/25 |
| Butterability: | 3.0 | 12/20 |
| Flex: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Adjustability: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Comfort: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Responsiveness: | 2.0 | 4/10 |
| Entry/Exit: | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 79.5/100 |
Overall, they didn’t blow me away but they didn’t disappoint either. There’s was nothing particularly special about them – even though they did have that pretty unique tech with the Kingpin Pivot.
I didn’t notice too much difference from that but maybe over longer periods you’d notice reduced fatigue because of it.
Otherwise they are solid bindings, well made and with good comfortable straps. The best part of these bindings was their awesome shock absorption and dampening qualities. Probably the weakest point was their responsiveness.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you’re interested in NOW’s IPOs and want to learn more, to research prices and availability or if you’re ready to buy, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freestyle or all-mountain binding options, or want to compare the IPOs to others, check out the links below.
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