Andy

Flow has a channel disk for the new burton boards.

to add to Bristol's comment, icy conditions are no problem for any lib board because thanks to the magnetraction, you dont even feel the ice. The t-rice is definitely better for bigger stuff, but if youre looking for a jack of all trades board, the banana is perfect.

Well, the 2010 is a lot stiffer than 2009, I tried my friends 2010, and I actually prefer the pop of my 2009 banana. Its still very springy, so yeah its great for jumps. Its great in the park.

The best bindings to use with any lib tech board from my experience are the binding machines from Mervin mfg.
http://bentmetal.com check it out, not sure if you can buy em from dongfunk, I got mine from a store downtown.

If by hardware you mean the screws, I think they come with the bindings as well, the part that goes in the channel is on the board.

Jason, the only reason I would personally recommend a softer boot is that the part of the binding that covers your foot is a single rigid piece and not two separate flexible ones. The hate posts above that obviously came from the same person... are a little uncalled for. You can put these on the regular way or from the back, you have the choice (although the front is a bit tough to get into), and if you have any sense of balance at all, the one second it takes to get into these is more than enough on any slope. Usually the faceplate is not an issue as you dont touch it unless you get into these from the front.

When I rocked flow bindings in the past, an issue I had is getting out of them, as you have to be standing or go down awkwardly on your knees. Some of my friends praise the k2 cinch bindings as you have a combination of straps and the flow ez back. (in my opinion there are a few too many moving parts to make them reliable, but that is just a personal opinion)

Also bootwise, make sure that the sole of the boot at the back has a smooth transfer from the boot to the sole. I say this because I ruined a perfect pair of Liquid boots with my flows because they tend to get caught on the part of the sole that sticks out.

Hmm, I dont know... My 156 fits very very tightly with the bindings on. It will if you take them off.

I would say youre good with a 156. If you look at recommended boards for the weight class LIB suggests a massive board. Im a little on the heavy side myself, 6 foot tall and 190 pounds, and my 156 is PERFECT. It has a little more flex than the smaller sizes which makes up for the weight. Your size 8 feet would get lost on the large boards.

The banana is the ATV of snowboards. Any terrain, any surface, it kills it. Groomers, even when its icy get destroyed by the magnetraction, and in pow, the banana butters straight through. I dumped my burton custom for a banana, and never been happier. Its a pretty flexible board, so if you are looking at tougher hardcore terrain, you should check out some stiffer boards, but generally, the skate banana works no matter where you shred.

It depends on the length. The shorter, the less flex, but the range is 4-6 / 10. The 148 Narrow board is pretty stiff, and the 159 Wide is a bit more flexible. Check out the lib site, They have the specs for all their boards. Here is the banana page.http://www.lib-tech.com/snow/snowboards/skate-banana/

Basically its the Lib Skate banana made for women. Same manufacturer. It is one of the best all purpose boards out there. Ive been riding a banana for 2 years now and it is a board you cant put down. Once you go btx, there is nothing better out there.

If you want bindings that go with the board, Mervin makes bindings called BENT METAL BINDER MACHINE that are coloured the same way as the lib tech boards. Their website isnt updated with a lot of the styles, but for example, you can get the bindings with the same toxic green pattern as you see on this years banana. They are a little rugged looking, but so far Mervin has earned themselves a good name making some of the best boards, so why not bindings.

http://bentmetal.com/