[Closed] Snowboarderists, What binding angles do you use?

I've always put the rear binding on a -ve setting ever since someone told me to do this.

Stand naturally in a comfortable exactly as if you were going to be say standing in a queue for a while but keep your head up and don't look at your feet. Once you are sure that your feet are in a comfortable position look down at the angle your feet are at. This is rougly the position that your feet should be in when standing on your board. It's more comfortable and the more comfortable you are the better your technique will be and the longer you will be able to board for. Don't get sucked in to what the "pros" set up is. Unless you are a pro yourself it's not relevant. Rotating your high back is a good thing too so that the top of them is effectively prarallel with the edge of the board.

-ve on the rear is a bit pointless unless your riding switch or in the park. It is easier to crouch though, which can be pretty handy for off piste tree runs. I tend to ride duck in places like Whistler, where I know i'll be spending half my time in the trees.

If you're carving up pistes/off piste, then both angles being positive (or at least get the rear close to it) is more comfortable.

Just play around and see what you like. It's a very personal thing

Goofy front foot around 15 degrees back foot between -5-10 degrees. As above have a play.

Yeah I have my back foot pointing backwards a little these days. I suppose it it makes switch easier, and I need all the help I can get.

+12 and -12.

Just do what feels comfortable to you - have a play around. The front foot should be fairly simple but have a play with your rear foot.

peterfile - Member
-ve on the rear is a bit pointless unless your riding switch or in the park.

If you're carving up pistes/off piste, then both angles being positive (or at least get the rear close to it) is more comfortable.

for you! I have a much better carve with my bindings set with back in neg position although I do like a wide stance. riding with both bindings facing the same way feels bloody awful to me it did when I learnt in 1993 and it still does today also its not even what is taught these days either.

think about heel carve, basic position is similar to sitting on the loo, toes out is natural and you can get lower, lower in carve is better. Especially through the carve.

Less than 30 total angle - ie +18 and -12 but not +21 and -12.

These day +18 and -9, but it varies depending on how I feel.

Oh and please note I'm rubbish.

I like a duck-foot stance so that in theory I'll be as stable riding switch as regular. It also helps you get nice and low - try getting your arse as close to the ground without both feet pointing out 😀

Cheers, Rich

If carving is your thing, then you want a positive angle at both ends.
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+15 or +18 on the front and -9 or -12 on the back depending on what feels 'better' from season to season. with higher angles on both ends I feel you can control more of the toe edge better, but I think +15 and -9 is my favourite. Re rotating highbacks I HATE this and it kills my legs so I never do it. Try it to see if it works for you but it's not for everyone.

Sorry but what is -ve? I havent got the bindings to hand and thought it was just numbers?

double post

I am an intermediate all mountain rider not much park stuff and wanted to improve my boarding.

Can you ride switch? One of the biggest steps up in my riding (16 years, including a couple of seasons) occurred when I learned to ride switch. I've not had any other thing which has improved/opened up so much in those 16 years.

Set up a reasonable duck stance and spend a couple of days making yourself ride switch. Those couple of days will pay for themselves over and over. 🙂

Haven't ridden for a few years, but always rode duck foot at +12-15 front and the same on the back. I started out goofy but spend as much time switch as not so +same/-same is good for me.

As above, if you really want to carve then your back foot should be positive. Waaaay back I'd go for +15 front and +9ish back, means you can get your weight forward nicely and transition much more smoothly. On a proper carving board angles would be much more aggressive than that.

passtherizla - not disputing what you're saying, however if you practised as much carving with +/+ as you probably have +/- then I think you'd be far better.

+15 / -12 here.

I like it because I'm pretty inflexible so anything that helps me bend my knees and get lower is good. Plus as others have said it makes riding switch much easier which can be useful.

When I started off (90s) everybody ran both positive. Then there was a while where everyone seemed to have the back foot almost square (say +3). Now duck stance seems almost ubiquitous.

Sorry but what is -ve? I havent got the bindings to hand and thought it was just numbers?

Back foot pointing right like this:
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+15, -15 on my goliath, but its set up true twin.

On my more all mountain board I am again +15, -15 however rear binding is in the furthest back position to give a long nose.

just play about but generally i find my setup quite comfy as your feet generally don't stay straight!

Cheers Guys! I know its personal and a can of worms but the more info i can get before playing around the better!

Can you ride switch? One of the biggest steps up in my riding (16 years, including a couple of seasons) occurred when I learned to ride switch. I've not had any other thing which has improved/opened up so much in those 16 years.

Not well! I intend to try to solve this next week which is one of the reasons for a better setup

Oooh run a Goliath here too. (+15/-12 on the reference holes so not quite symmetrical).

Great board innit?

Unless you genuinely ride switch a lot, riding duck can damage your knee, the angulation when riding regular and at speed is just too much, personally I ride zero on my regular back leg so the option for switch is there (I've never been that good at switch but there are times you need to). Not sure what my front is about 12 at a guess, I did spend many years zero zero trying to be cool, but in the end you need some directional angulation if you want to cover a bit of ground at any speed so the experts used to tell me.

my knees are fine and I like to ride really fast!

I did spend many years zero zero trying to be cool,

LOL. That sounds MUCH worse for your knees!

I could never get anywhere close to that thanks to my massive clown feet. I'd be dragging my toes in the snow every time I turned. 😆

Sorry IGRF thats not quite true... your toes naturally point away form your body and not straight forward, having both bindings facing the same way can lead to knee damage. I have been riding 19 years done a couple fo seasons several weeks a year away. say you're goofy right foot forward, My back knee on a heel side turn is being pushed in a direction that its not flexible in. not great for knees. (in a + + position)

Surely, it will only hurt your knees if you have them set up incorrectly, i.e. at a setting which is uncomfortable / unnatural which is putting an incorrect twist / force through the knees?

I made the switch to duck years ago and find it better for comfort and control and just put the angles to a comfortable and natural stance. Works for me. I can almost sit on the back of the board for the flats with my Malaveta bindings and according to the gps regularly hit the mid 40s in mph with no issues.

not ridden for a few years now but seem to remember my back foots pretty square, started -ve but didn't feel comfy twisting my body around on heel edge

I could never get anywhere close to that thanks to my massive clown feet

god i miss snowboarding 🙁

+12 -12 but i like to think i'm young still and play in the park, plus pieste riding can be dull so ride switch lots.

Can you ride switch? One of the biggest steps up in my riding

+15 -15

i carve better like this, as it means i'm more inline with the board, and can get weight over the leading end of the toe-edge.

(those guys in the photo's up there are too 'open' - they'd fail their NZSIA exam for that)

and it's better for messing around.

+15 -15 as well

is this just the obvious so you can ride switch well or does it teach you useful stuff for riding regular?

Learning to ride switch forces you to re learn how to ride by forcing you to actually focus and think about what you are doing and making sure you get the basics of stance and balance right rather than just "doing it". It does have a positive effect on your regular riding.

I personally think riding switch improves your overall technique. You have to 'unlearn' a lot of bad habits and get a lot smoother, focusing on weight movement and edge-edge transitions. If you want to jump/rotate then being able to ride switch well also helps - you can take off/land either way quite comfortably.

If you only ride a week a year it might not be worth the effort as you want to make the most of that week. The more you do the more worthwhile it is.

god i miss snowboarding

+24deg & +9deg but I learnt to ride in the 80's and I like to carve.

you using a wide board? Mine feels OK

Yeah I used to ride a Sims Wide edition just so I could fit my feet on. Mind you at that point I was using Switch step-in bindings which sat very close to the board so your toes don't get lifted out the way as much as they do with regular bindings.

These days I'm rocking a Goliath which isn't specifically a wide edition, but big enough with my angles and normal bindings (K2 Autos).

spending 2 days fannying about riding switch would probably feel like a waste TBH

Learning it is actually lots of fun (I'm still learning).

Gives you something to do if you find yourself cruising down an easy run with a group.

Good thing to try at snowdomes too, where they are too short for a straight run down to be satisfying. I often ride the poma switch to save my legs/testicles 😀

gonefishin/tonyd ah right cheers, thought there might be something other than the obvious in it.

Learning it is actually lots of fun

maybe when kids are old enough to ski I'll join their lessons and learn to ride properly

I used to be a decent skier until I started boarding in the mid 90s, then didn't ski for 10+ years despite lots of weeks and 4 seasons boarding. Last winter holiday we went on my missus decided to learn to ski (was struggling with boarding) so I rented some for a couple of days and had great fun trying to remember how to do it. I can't wait to be able to teach the kids.

(those guys in the photo's up there are too 'open' [u]according to the NZSIA teaching criteria[/u] - they'd fail their NZSIA exam for that)

More than one way to skin a cat, though. If you look at photo's of people really hauling on a snowboard, especially over difficult terrain, they tend to have that open body position. I'm thinking Regis Rolland, Johan Olofsson, Tom Burt, Jeremy Jones. And snowboard racers.

Can't be all that bad!

On the learning = fun/work thing, I couldn't agree more. If it was easy staight away, it wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun!

And I think that's why learning to ride switch is rewarding, you pretty much have to learn to ride again, but you know how it's done, you recognise the mistakes and flaws and know how to correct them, so you teach yourself!

(those guys in the photo's up there are too 'open' according to the NZSIA teaching criteria - they'd fail their NZSIA exam for that)

One of my instructors had various exercises involving riding switch for sections, or making every few turns a 360 spin so you swap between regular and switch. Good fun, useful, and thankfully the snow was soft. 😆

+15 / -15 here too, centred, not silly wide, on a Lib Tech T.Rice - I mainly ride backcountry stuff and tend to end up riding switch as much as regular. I can't be bothered to change my binding angles around and my setup seems to work well in powder as well as for occasional park-y stuff. That said, I've got healthy knees... so far.

Play around. I found the most important factor was how comfortable it was to move the knee though a complete range of motion and stay in balance i.e. knees open enough, but not too much. Feet wide enough apart but not too much.

I tried a more forward facing position like the hardboot carvers but struggled, and it started to feel like mono-skiing and I don't wear a turquoise one-piece skisuit.

I'm currently at +15-5 with a fairly wide foot stance biased toward the back of the board. It works best in soft snow and is still passable carving on-piste but good enough to really go for it. I need a bigger board really ~162.

If I had a day alone I would learn to ride switch, but I'm always out with mates who are not interested in "homework"

If you have your hips parallel with the board then equal +ive and -ive is "correct" bio-mechanically. Think about how you would stand if you were squatting (weightlifting) - you want your feet pointed so your knees can track over them.

If you have your hips rotated forward then you need to rotate the feet forwards as well and in extreme examples (like in klumpys pictures) where you are basically just blasting down the mountain virtually in a straight line you will want to have the hips and both feet pointing forwards.

I normally end up changing the angles a few times each day depending on my mood, the terrain & the conditions. Generally I find equal duck-footedness is more comfortable and gives more control at lower speeds, plus it makes switch much easier.

+12 -9 with a fairly wide stance.

It's all down to biomechanics though innit? I will tweak my setup though by +/- 3 degrees as the season progresses and muscles adapt (or injury requires it)

Think the general rules (as mentioned above) is that the total angle shouldn't exceed 30 degrees and when you bend you knees (keeping a straight back ie. without 'breaking' at the waist), your kneecaps should 'track' roughly inline over your 'second' toe.

This should help reduce the risk of knee injuries and facilitate edge-to-edge transfer and allow torsional twisting of the board.

The exception is hardboot carving when +ve angles are used for both bindings

maybe when kids are old enough to board I'll join their lessons and learn to ride properly

Read/watch this:

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1405315741

It is a really good book and DVD that talks you through the basics of turning, shifting your weight etc.

I'm self-taught and I found it quite useful because it made me think a lot more about what I had already blindly stumbled my way towards. A mate of mine, who has also ridden for years without lessons, had an epiphany and realised why his technique left his legs burning.

Probably no substitute for real lessons, but it has the advantage that you can do it at home before a holiday.

Disappointed that klumpy didn't bite my trolling 😉