spacing between your boots? does your heel come up? A Nate response added

[mrpreuss]

for Nate it does....

 

Nate Answering my question - "Well I learned to ski with a rear toe plate. I have not tried double boots. But the advantage that I think there is with a toe plate is that I am able to lift my heel up which allows me to get on the front of the ski more in the turn. If you watch whatever video you have of me you might be able to see that my back foot is up almost all of the time. "

[Horton]

He is alien

[Roger]

I Believe Andy Mapple has said his heel rises in the pre-turn as well. Long time ago, so not 100 percent certain of that. Also not certain you can tell if Nate's heel is up in the shot either...

 

[ral]

I saw a discussion about heel up with a Radar boot. I use front Reflex and back D3. Could not switch to a Reflex R system in the back as I felt my heel going up all the time...

[DavidP]

Seth Stisher wrote a great article in the July 2009 WaterSki Mag p.57 "Maximize Your Stance" that talks about boot setup - location on ski, spacing between boots, pivoting boots.

[skibug]

If I stand flat footed on the floor in a good slalom stance (knees slightly bent) and transfer my weight to the front foot, my rear heel comes off the floor. If I try to drive the rear heel back down I wind up transfering better than 50% of my weight to the back foot. So, for me, i guess I need heel lift to get the right amount of pressure over the front foot in the pre turn. I am thinking this is part of the reason why I struggle with a double boot set up.

[Wish]

I put a spacer under my rear hardshell for the above reason.

[mrpreuss]

his fibula is 5 inches off the ski so he is on his tip toe for sure

Nate Quote:

"Well I learned to ski with a rear toe plate. I have not tried double boots. But the advantage that I think there is with a toe plate is that I am able to lift my heel up which allows me to get on the front of the ski more in the turn. If you watch whatever video you have of me you might be able to see that my back foot is up almost all of the time."

[Mateo_Vargas]

So will the fruit loop be making a comeback?

[skibug]

Most atheletic sports have you on the "balls" of your feet, not flat footed....sort of makes sense that this trasnlates to slalom skiing. Obviously NASCAR has you on a different set of "balls"....but I said athletic sports.

[mrpreuss]

about half of the top ten men slalom skiers in the world ski a toe plate

[454SS]

I can definitely see where lifting your rear heel could shift your hips into a much more balanced position and not just in the pre-turn.

[mrpreuss]

.

[Razorskier1]

Forgot about spacing. My toe strap is close enough to the front binding that when I get my foot in just right my toes are touching the back of the front binding.

[mrpreuss]

a majority would be a reflex front and a soft rubber rear binding

[Sethski]

Cool topic for sure. I have to agree that being able to lift your heel is an advantage. Our bodies weren't made to stand with one foot in front of the other, therefore we need a way to be able to stand as naturally as possible. I personally use a Reflex RStyle with my own modification of A-a 1/4" block under my heel, B-a two-lace bungee that adds pressure to my ankle so that I get some resistance as my heel comes up. I still release easily when necessary. I believe the rear RStyle is better than using a rubber boot in the rear with a Reflex front. I personally believe it is a great balance between an RTP and a rear boot.

 

I think us mortals need some security in our rear foot which Nate the Great may not need. In the end, try them all and see what works for you.

 

My two cents...

[A_B]

As I think about it, if your rear heel is fixed, if you are trying to lift it up, wouldn't that put more pressure on the tip of the ski? I don't think it is neutralized by being fixed.

[skibug]

I think I agree with @AB...

 

If you have a propensity to raise your heal (naturally, not forced) like I do; I think if you tried to fix the heal down, then you would be having the adverse effect of lifting the back of the ski as you heal tries to come up. If you use a looser setup or RTP, when the heal comes up your weight does transfer; but, the force of the heal coming up is not exerted on tail of the ski in an upward force/direction.

[Wish]

does it matter how much? I have my hardshell set so my heal comes up about one inch. Cant imagine having it fixed to the bottom of the boot.

[skibug]

I would think however much you need so that you aren't pulling the tail of the ski upwards when the heal comes up.