Looking for new snowboard bindings? Here are the 5 best rear entry snowboard bindings and theres one for everyone!
ear entry snowboard bindings are amazing and have great benefits as long as it matches your snowboarding style.
The majority of people that use rear entry bindings love how fast and easy it is to strap in.
In this article I will review the best rear entry snowboard bindings that you can get for snowboarding season!
Rear Entry Snowboard Bindings vs Regular Bindings And How To Use Them
Rear entry snowboard bindings have an unlockable high back which folds down and allows you to slide your foot in without readjusting the straps everytime.
To exit from traditional snowboard bindings you have to undo the toe cap and ankle straps fully to free your boots.
Which means that everytime you want to rebind you have to restrap and tighten the toe cap and ankle straps with the ratchet.
This makes traditional bindings a lot slower because of the time it takes to ratchet two straps.
Once you adjust the foot and toe straps to your liking on rear entry bindings, you will never have to touch them again because you can exit by unlocking the highback and folding it backwards and down.
When I first got into snowboarding, I actually thought normal snowboard bindings would work like rear entry bindings.
But later I found out that normal bindings aren’t that straightforward.
To get your Flow’s adjusted on day 1 you should start with the top and adjust your forward lean dial. Then move to the top portion of the strap dial and then lastly the toe strap portion.
Your still going to have to make some adjustments as you go, but this will get you close enough.
What Types Of Snowboarders Should Try Rear Entry Snowboard Bindings?
You will probably run into a lot of problems if you are doing a bunch of powder all the time.
However, if you are doing a lot of powder all the time then you are probably not looking for rear entry bindings.
But for the average snowboarder and weekend warrior that isn’t doing anything real crazy it can be great.
If you want to just get out there and get laps in, rear entry bindings will be great for you.
The basics of choosing snowboard bindings comes down to your riding style and many other factors.
For expert riders who are riding hard and fast while requiring a lot of responsiveness and speed, this binding may not be the one for you.
But if you are an average joe who wants to enjoy snowboarding a handful of times per year, it may suit you.
It’s definitely good to not have the wet butt from sitting down and strapping in all the time.
Rear entry bindings are also ideal for anyone who has a bad back or a hardtime bending over to strap in.
Pros And Cons Of Rear Entry Snowboard Bindings
Rear entry bindings are a lot easier and faster to set your boots in while standing compared to regular bindings.
However, it can be difficult when you are sitting down.
If you get into a powder situation it’s going to be really hard for you to get your boot back in to the binding and clip back up. It all depends on your riding style.
The newer flow rear entry bindings have active strap technology (AST), which means the ankle strap will elevate and loosen to give more room to your boots when the highback is folded downwards.
This technology prevents you having any trouble getting into the bindings when you have snow on your boots.
The straps which come over your boots will lock you in a lot more than a toe heel lock or a side of the boot lock. Rear entries are preferred by a lot of people than any other step in.
For the majority of people it is a luxury to not have to sit down everytime to strap in. You can even do it riding too.
With rear entries you will be a lot faster than your buddies if you are in any big mountain situation where you are in the flat and pushing along.
You can push along and easily slip your foot in the back and strap it up with speed before anyone else.
One minor negative about the flow NX2 is that the toe cap may begin to slide off and not stay up too well everytime you click in.
This may require a little ratcheting or you can look into the Alpha flows if you don’t want this issue.
A big positive of rear entry is that you don’t have to feed the ladders into the ratchets on a freezing day when you are layered up and wearing big mittens.
There are many other types of snowboard bindings, however the strength with rear entry is that they “strive to blend the control and support of traditional strap bindings with the quick and easy use associated with Step On bindings and step-ins of the past.”
The 5 Best Rear Entry Snowboard Bindings:
Flow Fenix
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Best for | All-Mountain |
| Available in | Hybrid and Fusion |
| Comfort | 7/10 |
| Responsiveness | 6/10 |
| Toe-Heel Stiffness | 5/10 |
| Lateral Stiffness | 5/10 |
| Canted Bankbed | 2.5 degrees |
| Colorways | black, petrol/red, green |
| Baseplate | AXIS-Series |
| Highback | Glass-Filled Nylon Asym AXIS-Series UniBack |
| Straps | Active Strap Technology |
| Buckles | Locking Slap Ratchet (LSR) |
| Additional Features | Nylon Offset MultiDisk – 4HP, 3HP, and Channel compatible |
| Ability Level | Intermediate-Advanced |
| Flex Rating | Medium |
| Binding Style | Rear-Entry |
| Binding Mount Pattern | 2×4, 4×4, Burton 3D, Channel |
This rear entry binding is an all mountain binding perfect for just riding around the whole mountain and charging those hard and fast lines.
The construction is made of glass filled nylon, so it’s supportive and responsive when you need it.
The flex is stiff, so it will be perfect for charging really hard and fast. You will be able to get all the power out that you put in during carves. The flow fenix comes with a new exo frame powerstrap which is lightweight.
The highback is a one piece union back, stays symmetrical and so it supports your foot and calf really well. It also allows the power transfer from your calf to transfer to the board really well.
The highback on this rear entry binding also utilitizes the active strap technology, so once the highback is released it will go back and out to give you easy access for your foot.
It also utilizes the locking slap ratchets, so this ankle strap can also be used as a traditional strap binding. The footbed has EVA padding with gel inserts to aleviate chatter and support those big landings.
The footbed is canted at 2.5 degrees so that allows for correct alignment of your knees ankles and hips.
Flow Omni
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Best for | Women |
| Available in | Hybrid and Fusion |
| Comfort | 8/10 |
| Responsiveness | 7/10 |
| Toe-heel stiffness | 6/10 |
| Lateral stiffness | 5/10 |
| Flex | 7/10 |
| Canted Bankbed | 2.5 degrees |
| Colorways | Black, aqua |
| Baseplate | FUSE-Series |
| Highback | Carbon-infused Nylon Asym Fuse-Series UniBack |
| Straps | Active Strap Technology |
| Buckles | Locking Slap Ratchet (LSR) |
| Binding Mount Pattern | 2×4, 4×4, Burton 3D, Channel |
| Ability Level | Intermediate-Advanced |
| Binding Style | Rear-Entry, Strap |
The flow omni is a womens all mountain rear entry binding perfect for charging around and carving. It has an asymmetrical union back highback which makes for a better female fit and provides a lot of flexibility and support.
The rockered baseplate absorbs impact to keep your legs fresh and reduce fatigue. It’s also extra wide for added stability.
These rear entry bindings feature a 2.5 degree canted bankbed which gives you more power over the nose and tail of your snowboard.
Like all the others it comes with active strap technology which lifts up the strap when you open the highback.
This reduces friction and gives you more room for ease of entry. These bindings are very responsive so you want to be very confident in your riding.
Flow Nexus
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Best for | Overall |
| Comfort | 6/10 |
| Responsiveness | 5/10 |
| Toe-heel Stiffness | 4/10 |
| Lateral Stiffness | 4/10 |
| Colorways | Black, white |
| Baseplate | AXIS-Series |
| Highback | Glass-Filled Nylon Asym AXIS-Series UniBack |
| Straps | Fusion PowerStrap |
| Buckles | Locking Slap Ratchet (LSR) |
| Additional Features | Nylon Offset MultiDisk – 4HP, 3HP, and Channel compatible |
| Ability Level | Beginner-Intermediate |
| Binding Style | Rear-Entry, Strap |
| Binding Mount Pattern | 2×4, 4×4, Burton 3D, Channel |
The nexus is one of the more popular rear entry bindings and comes with a rockered axis-series baseplate which directly transfers your power to your board.
The highback is an axis-series asymmetrical uniback with central-supportive spine and softer lateral flex. The fusion version comes with the fusion comfortfit powerstrap which is available on all flow bindings.
This powerstrap gives you extra pressure control and reduces pain in your feet. It is also made with an EVA core.
The back of the rockered baseplate has targetted cushioning for your heels, perfect for heel driving and putting down a lot of heel pressure when you’re carving.
Flow Fuse
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Available in | Hybrid and Fusion |
| Style | Freestyle |
| Comfort | 8/10 |
| Responsiveness | 7/10 |
| Toe-heel stiffness | 6/10 |
| Lateral stiffness | 6/10 |
| Canted Bankbed | 2.5 degrees |
| Colorway | Blue/black, black, stormtrooper |
| Straps | Active Strap Technology |
| Buckles | Locking Slap Ratchet (LSR) |
| Additional Features | Nylon Offset MultiDisk – 4HP, 3HP, and Channel compatible |
| Ability Level | Intermediate-Advanced |
| Flex Rating | Medium |
| Baseplate | FUSE-Series |
| Highback | Glass-Filled Nylon Asym Fuse-Series UniBack |
| Binding Style | Rear-Entry, Strap |
| Binding Mount Pattern | 2×4, 4×4, Burton 3D, Channel |
This rear entry binding has a medium flex with great support and comfort.
Flow Fuse comes with active strap technology to make it easier for you to slide your boot into place. The fuse has a thick and comfortable 3D strap for maximum force.
There are two bolts on either side of the heelcup which you can use to adjust the heelcup forward and backwards.
The baseplate is canted at 2.5 degrees and is glass filled nylon with great on landing support. It also has mid flexing on the baseplate for surfier turns.
The highback is a onepiece glass-filled nylon material with plenty of support and drive. It’s not the stiffest highback that they make, but it’s not soft.
The highback is also attached to a cable which gives extra support and less flex. T
he fusion version uses a kush EVA powerstrap suspended by two exo spines for performance and comfort.
This also gives you a really good toe to heel response. The powerstrap moves to accomodate your boot on entry.
Moving around on the board will have a little bit more give and movement to it because of the nylon frame which is a little bit softer but still has a lot of power to it when you really need to drive through with your heels because of the movement of the wings.
As you are driving through your heels and turning really hard on your heels, you’ve got that power to really push back there.
One of the biggest factors for the ride feel on rear entry bindings are the footbeds. The footbeds are made of EVA, but has a lot more rebound than pretty much any other EVA you can find.
It provides a very unique and lively feel underfoot but smooth at the same time. It absorbs microvibrations and big shocks really well.
This footbed feels a lot firmer than standard EVA and when you compress it, it will rebound really quickly and feels a lot more intrusive.
Whenever you ride fuse’s you might want to widen your stance an extra half inch just to accomodate the stiff canting.
Flow NX2-GT
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Best for | Freeriding |
| Available in | Hybrid and Fusion |
| Comfort | 10/10 |
| Responsiveness | 10/10 |
| Toe-heel stiffness | 10/10 |
| Lateral stiffness | 10/10 |
| Canted Bankbed | 2.5 degrees |
| Flex | 8/10 |
| Colorways | Black & grey camo |
| Baseplate | NX2-Series |
| Highback | Aluminum Alloy ModBack |
| Straps | Active Strap Technology |
| Buckles | Locking Slap Ratchet (LSR) |
| Additional Features | Aluminum Offset MultiDisk – 4HP, 3HP, and Channel compatible |
| Ability Level | Advanced-Expert |
| Flex Rating | Very Stiff |
| Binding Style | Rear-Entry, Strap |
| Binding Mount Pattern | 2×4, 4×4, Burton 3D, Channel |
The NX2 is perfect for intermediate to advanced level riders that want the convenience of a reclinable highback but the quick reaction and aggressiveness of a very stiff style binding.
Overall this is an 8 on the 1-10 flex rating scale and it’s going to be quite a bit stiffer. Because of the aluminium style chasis.
It has a 2.5 degree cant to it to help relieve stress off your knees and it also has a good amount of lateral flex.
The NX2 has active strap technology which means the fusion strap elevates and loosens so you can easily get your foot inside.
The straps on the NX2 distribute a lot of pressure around the top of your boot.
If you are someone who gets cut circulation and numb feet when snowboarding, the strap style of the NX2 will be a lot more comfortable for you and there will be less pressure on your feet.
You can use the ratchets on the NX2 like a traditional style snowboard binding if you need to.
However, you can just adjust the straps at the beginning of the season and you will be good to go without having to touch them much again.
The baseplate is very absorbant for chatter and on landing. It’s very dampening and has a lot of boardfill with the binding.
This binding is mainly aimed towards an intermediate rider who wants a stiff and responsive binding with the easy access of the step in system. It may be a bit too stiff for freestyle and park riding.
The Bottom Line
Flow manufacture many great rear entry bindings suitable for many styles and many different types of people.
Rear entry bindings are rising in popularity and are a great option for many snowboarders out there.
These were my top picks in no particular order of the best rear entry bindings in my opinion.
If you have had any good or bad experiences with these products, let me know in the comments.
FAQ
Are rear entry snowboard bindings good?
Rear entry snowboard bindings are great! They allow you to strap in your boots much faster than regular bindings and it’s easy to stand up while doing it too.
