I was wondering which of the two bindings will fulfill my freestyle needs the most. For rails and stuff. I know the cartel is supposed to be a freestyle binding, but i'm concerned about the high high-back and the feelrating of 7. Is it forgiving enough for freestyle? and doesn't the high-back pose a problem with rails? If anyone had ridden the p1 or cartel (or both) and can give me some info on which is best for rails and jumps, let me know.
greetz
My input
I rode this years cartels and I didn't like them that much. they put a lot of unwarrated stress on my lower calfs. I rode this years P1s for a day and enjoyed the back and how lazy I could ride them and still get an amazing comfortable ride. looking at next years cartels, they look the exact same as this years. just do some research and maybe ride a pair of each. I just know I wont buy cartels ever again and only see using mine when I instruct. I am most likely going to get the P1 wingtips or Co2 and I might go flux (super titan)
dont go with the p1 carbons
i blew them out 2 times this season (the 05-06 models). each foot within 3 weeks. its a poor design, cheap plastic. i'd recommend the flux's. they look siiick, and they have the toe strap as well.
Shredd on, Shredd off.
@##
only a crazy weirdo would recommend sweatshop auto parts yoshida carmate bullshit bindings over the bindings more pros use than any others (and i don't mean burton sponsored army either)
non-carbon p1s
i would surely go burton, cuz there on top of bindings right now. and between the p1s and cartels i would ahve to say p1s. theyre much more forgiving than the cartels, and your right, the skybacks on the cartels do pose a problem jibs. another option to look at is the missions. theyre a cheaper alt to good all around performance. but if you have the cash, go with p1s. (non-carbon of course)
airblaster
so i rode the cartel LTD's this season, really solid, the only difference pretty much was the look and design. I have tried the p1's only once and not really that great for jibba jabbin...cartel ltd's way better....and flux? c'mon they look gnarly as heck but bust out really easily....but i guess bindings are different w/ every person who rides em and the only way to really find out is to ride them yourself. but if you want opinions, Burton Cartel LTD's all the way...or OLS's just because the designs are gnarlier....Flux, no....missions aren't bad tho....but definitely Cartels.
I rode both
I rode Cartels until mid-Feb and then got some P1s for the rest of the season. I had been riding Cartels since they were released and wanted to try the P1s. They're very similar, the only real difference that I noticed the highbacks. The Cartel is much better for carving and ripping through trees quickly, the P1s are a bit more forgiving which is nice when you are trying to press and mess around. My suggestion would be to match the bindings to the board. I rode an UnInc 160 all year, in retrospect I think the Cartels were better on it, they allowed me to twist a bit harder, however I was teaching all year and the P1s were more forgiving for riding for extended periods of time. Both are great bindings, if you ride hard and fast go with the Cartels, if you want to be a bit more mellow and ride with slower friends, pickup the P1s. P1s are heavier, but not by much.