Boot position on board

[ectobar]

I'm looking for some opinions on boot position related to snowboards.

 

Everything I've read says center the boot and binding on the board and be done with it. I'm cool with the centering of the binding, but having some thoughts about the boot.

 

An athletic position with good balance will have you standing with most of the weight on the balls of your feet. If my boot is centered on the board, the balls of my feet aren't on the center of the board. They are slightly to the left (goofy stance), so with the weight on the balls I'll have a tendency to turn left. So I was thinking why not adjust my bindings so the ball is as close to the center as possible.

 

I'm guessing the negatives will be some possible loss in edge control since the ends of my feet won't be right on top of the edge of the board. And possibly some excessive heel overhang that could come in contact while turning. Currently with my boots centered I have about a half inch of overhang on each side of the board. If I center the balls of my feet I'll end up with no overhang toe side, and maybe 2 inches heel side.

 

I ride a decent amount of park, and am just looking for a little extra balance. I've still got at least 10 days on the radar for this season, so I'll give it a go and provide some feedback.

[Timeless]

That's a really interesting thought, one or two things to consider:

 

Would you really want to be in the "attack" stance all the time? For me when letting the board run flat I want to be in a relaxed "neutral" position. When initiating a toe side turn you do naturally "assume the position" with weight transferring to the front foot centered over your knee and toe as the board is on edge, I guess this is really what you are looking for. If you were to centre your foot you would move the ball of your foot further from the edge.

 

With a heel turn, you are no longer on the balls of your feet no matter where you position your feet, your heel has effectively become the new ball of your foot, maybe this is the crux of your question, in a snowboard stance you have two "balls" at the heel and toe depending on the direction of turn.

 

If you were to imagine a very "feet forward" alpine like stance, you would get much closer to what you are imagining would be ideal, but in this position the whole body position, flex and style are quite different.

 

The other thing to consider is that strapped into a snowboard you cannot really be "on your toes" like you would imagine for the 'athletic stance" which would be necessary to keep your weight centered, it will just be like standing on one edge of your board unless you can fild a way to elevate your heels considerably.

 

I can tell you something from personal experience, having them not centered makes the ride very uncertain, you are always compensating for weighting one side of the board too much (as you are not really "on your toes"), this is really tiring without being obvious, but the minute you get them properly centered the whole thing just feels much better.

 

Also, dont centre the binding, put your boot in it and make sure the centre line of your boot (front of your shin) is in the middle of the board, this will vary with boot styles.

 

A good test is to completely relax with your body aligned with the board on a long straight (but not flat) section and see how much correction you are having to put in, I've always found this quite obvious.

 

Just my thoughts, thanks for something interesting to think about on a boring afternoon

[Erin808]

I guess riding park is different because I feel like my weight is not on the balls of my feet at all. I do constantly adjusting my bindings based on conditions and how I am riding so I am in favor of trying something new.

[ectobar]

Looking at my setup now, the center line of my boot seems about as center as its getting. But thanks for the tip, that does seem like a much easier way to eye it up over just trying to judge overhang.

 

I think being in the attack position all the time would probably be pretty tiring. I just don't feel like I can ever truly ride with the board flat and be relaxed.

 

The point you make about the heel lift is excellent. I guess once strapped in I'm just not really going to be able to get the weight on the ball of the foot.

 

I guess the real solution is to make some adjustments, have a safety meeting, and then try to jib my ottoman.

[burton71]

You don't want the balls of your feet centered on the board at all...you won't be able to toe side turn properly and the heel drag will suck. You want your boots centered, or as close to centered as possible.

 

It sounds more like you want to adjust the forward lean of your highbacks.

Edited March 18, 2011 by burton71

[ectobar]

You don't want the balls of your feet centered on the board at all...you won't be able to toe side turn properly and the heel drag will suck. You want your boots centered, or as close to centered as possible.

 

It sounds more like you want to adjust the forward lean of your highbacks.

 

But then I don't even get to play with a screw driver. What fun is that?

 

I like the idea though, and thats certainly easier to adjust on the fly. I'll give it a go.

[nick malozzi]

I always mount my bindings without worrying about centering so I can get my angles right. Usually I strap in just to make sure I didn't mess anything up. Then I unstrap and strap just the boot in and center it up. Strap In again, and make sure the centering didn't make my angles feel off (typically that isn't an issue). Then I make sure my high backs are straight (lining up with the heel side edge). A lot of people ignore or forget that step, and some bindings don't even allow for that adjustment. Realizing I could do that made everything a lot more comfortable. Then I usually stand in my board and watch TV, throw some 3s in the living room, piss off my neighbors, etc. Sounds dumb, but do that for 30min, and you'll realize pretty fast if your board is setup right or not.

Edited March 18, 2011 by nick malozzi

[ectobar]

I always mount my bindings without worrying about centering so I can get my angles right. Usually I strap in just to make sure I didn't mess anything up. Then I unstrap and strap just the boot in and center it up. Strap In again, and make sure the centering didn't make my angles feel off (typically that isn't an issue). Then I make sure my high backs are straight (lining up with the heel side edge). A lot of people ignore or forget that step, and some bindings don't even allow for that adjustment. Realizing I could do that made everything a lot more comfortable. Then I usually stand in my board and watch TV, throw some 3s in the living room, piss off my neighbors, etc. Sounds dumb, but do that for 30min, and you'll realize pretty fast if your board is setup right or not.

 

I like to line up my highbacks with the board, but my current bindings aren't designed that well for it. I'm riding some Union Contacts, which I'm a big fan of otherwise. They allow for highback rotation, but once you do it your pretty much stuck with one forward lean setting. Basically the plastic of the highback comes in contact with the heel cup and takes the forward lean adjuster out of play.

[nick malozzi]

I like to line up my highbacks with the board, but my current bindings aren't designed that well for it. I'm riding some Union Contacts, which I'm a big fan of otherwise. They allow for highback rotation, but once you do it your pretty much stuck with one forward lean setting. Basically the plastic of the highback comes in contact with the heel cup and takes the forward lean adjuster out of play.

Yea, prolly wouldn't bother me unless it pushes them forward. I actually typically remove the adjusters completely. I like the freedom and the flex, lightens the binding, and it's one less screw to come loose and get lost in the woods.

[Glenn]

If you want more balance you want the biggest widest base at the bottom supporting you. That base is your whole foot, the ball is a small and rounded part of the foot that will not balance you. There are lots of tools out there to improve your balance through training that you may want to look into. If your highback is getting pushed forward because of the design issue you stated, then you may want to grind down where the parts meet if possible, or rotate the high back to neutral and just deal with the loss of flexibility. Unless you are carving hard and/or riding pipe then highbacks really should be dialed way back.

[Kyle]

Glenn, if you're talking about balance boards as training they are easy to make. I remember one of the coaches for my high school hockey team made some out of a small split tree and a small board. Fairly cheap and easy training device rather then spending money on a balance board. Just a thought.

[Glenn]

Glenn, if you're talking about balance boards as training they are easy to make. I remember one of the coaches for my high school hockey team made some out of a small split tree and a small board. Fairly cheap and easy training device rather then spending money on a balance board. Just a thought.

 

Balance boards, slack lining, yoga, climbing, exercise balls ... the list goes on. Personally I don't find any amount of cross-training to be as effective as time on the snow.