Moving Binding placement?

[smpayne]

I'm new here - You Diva's are awsome!!!!
I have been reading that women's bindings should be mounted a few centimeters forward of where they normally would be placed for men. I currently ski K2 Axis XR (I think they are more of a GS ski) and was wondering if it was worth it to have the bindings re-mounted?

While I have made SIGNIFICANT improvement in my skiing last season, after a 9 year hiatus (jumped from a moderate intermediate to beginning advanced), I have noticed problems getting my weight balanced properly to carve my turns.

Would getting my binding re-mounted slightly forward of thier current positions make a significant enough difference to warrant the effort and expense?


----
Will be at Mt. Baker a week from Monday

 

[HotChocolate]

smpayne,

Welcome to the boards!!!

I have women specific skis so my bindings are already slighty forward so I can't really answer your question because I don't know the answer. I can say this though...if I were to buy a pair of unisex skis I would request that my bindings be mounted forward. There are plenty of Diva Tech's here that I'm sure will give you some good sound advice when they see your posting.

I'm just an early bird this morning...speaking of birds Happy day before Thanksgiving!

 

[volklgirl]

smpayne,

Welcome!!!!

Your best bet is to go to a great bootfitter first and see if there's an issue with your boots, footbed, or alignment - sometimes boot fit, forward lean, or canting is actually the problem. The bootfitter should also be able to tell you if a forward mount will be a benefit for you. A lot will also depend on your build, weight, agressiveness, and technique

FWIW, I had moveable bindings on 2 pairs of my unisex skis and got a chance to play with them. What I found was I put them back to their original position (standard mount) and never messed with them again.

Let us know how you make out!! :D

 

[Jilly]

I'm with you volklgirl. See about the boots first. You just may need a tweak, something like heel lifts or custom foot beds. Make sure those boots aren't too stiff either. Then maybe a private lesson, explain to the instructor your goal and what you feel. Again it could something as simple as timing and co-ordination or arm position. Glad to see you're back on boards and with the Diva's.

 

[marta]

I had my bindings moved forward an additional 1.5-2 cm, it really tamed my bucking bronco skis. But I determined the need by renting a demo pair just like my own skis, that had moveable bindings so I can move the bindings around. Then I brought that feedback back to the shop.

I agree with the others - visit with your bootfitter first to check for balance/alignment issues, and then go rent a pair of whatever current K2's are most similar to the Axis and test the binding positions to get a general feel. All that and an upper level lesson can make a huge difference.

 

[Snowsong]

Ditto on all the above. It's an individual thing. One thing I did discover is that with the new integrated bindings, some brands of bindings can't be moved very far forward on unisex skis. The Look bindings that came with my Dynastar Comps could only be moved 1 cm. forward.

 

[tcarey]

agree with the bootfitting first! You don't want to keep drilling holes in your skiis.Not every women needs a forward mount.If I had that done to my skis I would topple over.There is no one size fits all!

Terry

 

[SnowHot]

I agree, start with the boots, but this ski from 03-04 is kind of dated in shape. 106/64/95 w/ 18M radius. This radius is what might be putting you back too. It might be time to start demoing skis. What do you like about these current skis and where do you think their short comings are?

 

[smpayne]

Thank you so much for your input. I took the skis and boots down to the "local" shop (I think there are only 2-3 in the entire LA/OC area). They said the boots look ok (on dry land), but moving the bindings forward would make them turn quicker and leaving them as is would make them more stable at high speeds.

Since turning has been an issue and stability has not, I decided to have them moved. Now it is just a mater of testing them out. I believe that the skis are a bit too long for me in the first place, so I'm hoping I won't loose too much stability by moving the bindings forward.

PS.. I'm afraid to start demoing, because it will just make me want a new pair of skis, which I just can't afford right now. A friend of mine got her daughter a pair of K2 Lotta Luvs 167cm for $125 (used once) at the REI used gear sale. She won't sell them to me. Oh well, they are too big anyway.

 

[volklgirl]

They said the boots look ok (on dry land)

Did they take the liners out and 'shell fit' you in just the plastic shell? Did they put 'smiley faces' (black marks from a Sharpie) on your knees and put you on a cant machine? Did they have you stand centered in your boots and look at you from the side to check your forward lean? Did they put in heel lifts and ask how that felt?

IMHO, if they didn't do all of this, I would run, not walk, to another shop - they're just taking the easy way out. Typically moving the bindings forward without first balancing the skier in the boots leads to other ski problems like the tails skidding out. :(

Oh, and ditto what SnowHot said.

Good luck, though! You'll have to let us know how the whole project works out.

 

[liquidfeet]

smpayne,

I see you are from So. Calif. and an intermediat/advanced skier. Are you skiing down crowded slopes on hard, home-made (thus fast) snow? If so, a ski with a 16 m turn radius may be quite difficult to force into the type of short turns needed to slow you down so you don't run into those moving obstacles all over the slopes (other skiers.) If this is the case, I think the ski itself may be forcing you to skid your turns just to keep yourself moving at the speed that you choose. Forward placement may help you to load the front of the ski, and thus to carve better, but even when carving the ski will want to yield a big wide turn.

If you are a vigorous, dynamic skier, with that forward placement you may be able to bend the ski to yield a tighter turn radius. Are you? If you are not skiing that way yet, then moving the bindings forward may not help much.

Let's see what others say about that.

 

[marta]

Moving the bindings up could help make a too-long ski feel "shorter" and tame it if it feels wild.

Big bottomed women or women with really small feet might also just not totally be in the ski's sweet spot. Depends on if the manufacturer's mount is from the toe or center of the boot too.

 

[smpayne]

I do ski So Cal local man made hard stuff, with LOTS of obsticals. Some days the snow is really fast and near the end of the season is becomes slow crud.

I am 5'3" and the skis are 160cm, I weigh too much to admit, with most of it in my lower torso.

The only adjustment the guys at the shop did not try with my boots was the "canting". There is a place in west LA that can do that. We did get them so they fit and discussed heal lifts, my high instep and my big fat low calfs. We added stuff, took stuff off, etc. They are really comfortable now. I have played with the cuff tilt, found a position where my skis did not sit flat on the snow and got out the allen wrench until they did sit flat (that was a really cool experiment).

 

[liquidfeet]

When I moved my bindings forward on my Volkls (they have three positions avaliable, so without using a drill you can move the boot position forward or back), I suddenly could initiate my turns better. I got out of the back seat more often, and began feeling the carve and learning to make it happen on demand. I have read articles, which I can't find right now, that describe why a forward binding placement does make a big positive difference in helping the skier to carve versus skid her turns.

However, skis that are made to carve long turns, such as GS type skis, may skid anyway if you are trying to get them to make shorter, quicker turns in order to negotiate crowded slopes and to control speed. Those skis are made to linger in the fall line, thus speeding up, as they carve those big GS turns.

(I say "may skid" because I am just now learning all this stuff. What else has there been to do this summer, while waiting for the snow to return? The more knowledgeable gear heads on this forum may be able to confirm or revise this.)

I'd go ahead and have someone move the bindings forward, so your ball-of-foot is centered on the ski.

 

[smpayne]

Tried the skis with the bindings moved forward and I think it make a big difference. I now feel like I can get over the tips of the skis better and they don't feel too long anymore.

My feet and legs are rebelling after a 1 1/2 days of skiing (first time up since April). The boots killed on day 1 but by day 2 we negotiated a truce. I have to ski 2 runs, take them off, rub out my feet, put them back on and we are fine, as long as I remember to loosen the buckles before getting on the lift. Somehow my feet just don't sit right until after about 2 runs. We played this game last year and I could wear the boots all day, sometime without loosening the buckles or maybe just one.

Thank you ladies for all your help and suggestions!!!!

 

[liquidfeet]

smpayne,

Glad things worked out for you. I really feel your pain when you say you stop and take your boots off. That is awful. I ski with pain and stinging feet all the time. But it's usually not so bad that the boots have to come off. Good luck with negotiating a truce with the boots.

Have you had your bootfitter grind them out (or punch them out)inside to make more room for your feet yet?

 

[smpayne]

The pain is actually most acute in the arch and on the top of the foot - Custom footbeds would probably help. The weirdest thing is that I only have to do it once after about 2-3 runs and only to the right foot. If I do it too soon, it won't work. Afterwards, I am fine all day, after a few more times out, I probably won't even need to pop the buckles

After Monday, my first day out, I really thought I was going to have to do something drastic, but Tuesday was much better. We won't discuss the bruises on the backs of my calfs from the top of the boot.

 

[volklgirl]

Geez,

You need to go see a boot fitter! You should not have to go through all that, even on your first day. And you most definitely should not have bruises! Ouch!!

 

[sleddog]

You may need to remove the back spoiler on the boot if the cuff is tight enough to cause bruises - or you may need a small heel lift or softer flexing boot to help get your weight forward. If your quads burn after a day of skiing then you're probably a back seat driver and need to learn better positioning on the skis.

As far as the instep problem, sometimes the fix is as simple as grinding a bit off the boot board which is the flat removable piece underneath the foot between the liner and the shell. You should only grind the top though as the bottom is molded to sit flat on the shell.

 

[SnowHot]

SMPayne. I have to agree with Volklgirl. YOU HAVE TO go to a bootfitter.
These boots are not your friend, right now. They may or may not be your friend in the future, but in any case you really need to see an expert in this art.