No matter how well you choose your snowboard boots, you still need a good grasp of the bindings.
Are snowboard bindings universal? The simple and short answer is: no. You can get different types and styles to suit each rider. This is where it differs from skiers’ bindings.
Skiers essentially do one thing, and that is that they go downhill. They ride the chairlift up and then go down again. That’s the whole day really.
Snowboarders have a bit more freedom. They can ride down the hills, but they can also head into the snowboard parks, on the half-pipes, over the jumps, and along the rails. They can even ride in urban settings.
This why snowboard bindings should fit what the riders intend to do. The best snowboard bindings give you the freedom to move into the parks and pipes, but they’re also stiff enough to ride downhill when required.
While we recognise that you’re (hopefully) not setting your own bindings in the beginning, you should at least understand what to expect from a professional fitter and how they’ll adjust your board.
There is a lot more to understand about bindings (mounting patterns, sizing charts, channel systems, binding/board compatibility…etc.), but that's all for later when you're a bit more advanced. For now, we'll keep things simple give you enough information to get you going.
