Author Topic: Binding Recommendations  (Read 371 times)

jim-ratliff

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Re: Binding Recommendations
« on: November 06, 2006, 07:38:41 pm »

I really love the railflex setup (and the LD12 would be fine).  Two big advantages of the railflex.

1. The rail allows you to move the binding forward and backward easily (a single center screw).  Three positions of 0, 15mm, -15mm.  The balance can be important in changing the character of the ski or allowing the ski to adapt to the snow.

2. Even more importantly, in my opinion is the constant boot pressure that the floating heel/toe allow.  With fixed binding (bindings screwed to the ski) the pressure on the binding varies as the ski flexes. When the ski is flexed, the bindings push harder against the boot, and when the ski releases the bindings move away from the boot slightly. In fact if the ski rebounds/counterflexes enough it can come off the boot with no real pressure.  With floating heel (the freeflex) or heel and toe (railflex), the flex of the ski has no effect on the binding pressure.

3. Ideally, the DIN you want to ski at should be in the middle section of the bindings range.  The LD12 adjusts from a DIN of 4 up to DIN of 12.  The midpoint of that range is 8, and I would suggest that anything in the 6-10 range for a DIN setting is a better match than using that binding at a 4 or an 11.

 I have, in past years, had skis pre-release just from the flexing and vibration associated with skiing over cattracks that have frozen and from the counter flex from rebound of the ski.  I have been skiing with DIN settings of 6-7 for the last few years and never have a problem with pre-release on any of my Railflex/FreeFlex skis or on an earlier pair of Marker piston bindings (a floating heel binding).
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