Binding Advice

My son has outgrown the bindings that came with our board. The board is a 136 LF Witness and the bindings are LF Transits (size 9-10). He is now wearing an 11 and still growing. He is about 120 lbs.

Skill wise he is a beginner rider but was able to clear the wake the last time we went out (the first time out with our new wake tower). I would like to get him good bindings as I hope they last for a while and maybe get handed down to his younger brothers.

I was searching E-Bay and the classifieds here and was quickly overwhelmed...

Will other brands of bindings work with our Liquid Force board?

How to binding sizes compare to street shoes sizes? Compare between different brands?

What are a few good pairs to look for?

What are some pairs to avoid?

What is the advantage of closed toe vs open toe?

How much difference is there with older model year bindings (2004, 2005, 2006, etc.)?

Thanks

Ebay is a good place if you don't have a local pro shop. A local shop allows you to take him in and try on some bindings. I have worn Transits over the years and I love them, a bigger pair of them would work well. I am wearing closed toe Murrays this year and they are nice and comfy. Some people say they give you better board control with closed toe, I have noticed a subtle difference in this area.
I think that in last two years, bindings have been much improved in comfort and I think you would be ok with most of the upper level bindings from 06 and up. In my experience binding manufacturers size recommendations run close to street shoe size and I have worn Hyperlite, CWB and Liquid Force. I think that you should ask your son about his preferences about binding stiffness and post those up and then people can make better recommendations. Also, after you find a price range, that can help with recommendations.

All brands will work with one another. Go to each companies website to see what the sizes correspond to in terms of shoe size. A lot of the newer bindings use real shoe sizes now-a-days. As for good pairs- well that is all personal preference. Some are lose for tweaks and grabs while others are stiff for max ankle support. Also there are different forms of straps, velcro, laces, and even none at all. On top of that there are high end personal bindings and then there are some pretty decent lower end bindings that fit more people and can be shared. Avoid, however, very low end bindings as a good fitting binding will reduce a lot of injuries. Anything you can do with a close-toed binding you can do with an open-toed pair as well. Shawn Watson rides both version of his bindings- all personal preference again. The newer the bindings the better in terms of development. Especially in the years you mentioned binding development has been considerable each and every year.
List some that your thinking about and people on this site can advise you.

What was said above is great. Support your local shop if you have one. Take him in and try on a bunch.

With a growing foot I would highly suggest the Ronix Oxfords. its a highly overlooked boot, But I'm forever impressed with these. Some of my fav bindings and they adjust to a varying size of feet, would be perfect for your sons foot. Most bindings that are made for varying sized feet are terrible, no support or comfort. but the oxfords perform like a high end boot (they were in fact originally designed to be a high end boot).