Hardshell binding question

[Ralph Lee]

So if I'm standing on the swim platform, foot in binding, binding on ski, I can lift my heal up about an inch inside my boot befor freely. Other than that one upward movement my foot feels pretty secure. Recently I've been wondering if my heal being free to move upward like that is having a negative effect when in the course?? Any theory's welcome...

[Glock]

Can you post a picture of your boot so we can see what your talking about?

[Ralph Lee]

 

@Glock Does that help smart Alec? The rusty screws and electrical tape don't show up we'll in the picture

[gregy]

I can lift my heel a little. An inch seems like alike a lot though. Liners getting worn? I did put a custom insole in my liner to take up some space.

[eleeski]

Heel movement is bad. Mold your liner or tape in foam shims around the heel. You might have to grind around your clip highest across your foot to get a good hold down. I've used foam over the top of the foot. It's a lot of work to get rid of heel lift but worth it.

 

Professional ski boot fitters are good at this. Buck at Olympic Bootworks in Squaw Valley did a great job on my snow ski boots and did Brian Detrick's waterski boots. @BHarwood also custom fits waterski boots. The pros will optimize your boots.

 

Eric

[bigskieridaho]

@Ralph Lee Pretty sure your liner might have something to do with that. Maybe time to grab a new one?

[Ralph Lee]

@gregy @eleeski @bigskieridaho - Thanks! I think I'll mess around with it.

The one time I got to ski with Mapple he mentioned I should try a foot insert while I was floating in the water. I forget to ask him why when I was done skiing. I've never noticed a problem while skiing, but I don't like the thought it

[LOTW]

The heal lift is why I went to the Reflex front and later the rear also, problem cured.

How tight are you guys cranking the buckles? I crank mine as tight as I can but not sure if this is best, so tight that my feet ache after 7-8 passes. Comments? Also, I use the white cuff, 140 lbs and 5'4" and I always wonder about the black cuff.

eleeski-glad to hear the desert is treating you well, when are you coming to Canada?

[Horton]

@Ralph Lee your heel being free seriously changes the release. I would NOT ski in front boot that let me lift my heel one inch

[Ralph Lee]

@Horton Thats one of my worries! Just tested my binding to see if I exaggerating the one inch lift. I did not exaggerated it. To keep my heal down snug I have to tighten my mid buckle about 6 knotches past my personal setting, which feels really tight to me.

 

I guess my next question is how much heal lift in a dry test is normal? Plus my binding tightness definitely coincides with my fin settings (which I'm liking) so I'm not thrilled to change them drastically

[Horton]

All I can tell you is that if your heel lift substantially you're putting more stress on your ankle doing a forward release. I would question if you have the right size shell or the right thickness of liner or if you simply need to crank down the buckles

[Ralph Lee]

@Horton thanks!

According to the charts the boot is the right size. I will mess with a new liner first.

[Horton]

Why not crank down the middle buckle?

[Ralph Lee]

I use to ski with it like that. I have it set to where I barely don't need to unbuckle and relieve tension during a long set. Im going try it though.

[eleeski]

Try a thicker Intuition liner. If you heat mold it with a toe cap, it's pretty comfortable even cinched tight.

 

If you are skiing before you can get new stuff, put some foam over the top of the foot and crank it tight. That should help the comfort factor. I like the camping sleeping pad foam. Also if your heel is narrow, tape some foam around the heel to tighten that up. Bootfitting!

 

Eric

[Andre]

Reflex are not 100 % safe bindings.

I m affraid that a one inch lift of the heel could lead to a nice "zipper" inthe back of your ankle in case of the perfect fall...