Rear Powershell Free to Lift or Not?

[Patmaster]

Powershell users - how many of you fix/modify the rear boot and prevent if from lifting, as it is intended to do?

[Ed_Johnson]

@Patmaster ... I spent 15 years on Powershells with the springs, and locked down. Ended up with a riser fixed under the heal of the rear boot. That worked out best.

 

Skiing with Andy Mapple, he kept telling me to go with a Reflex Front and the R-Style Rear for much more freedom of movement, and the ability to have much more hip movement available. Did that 3 years a go, and it was the single best move I ever made. Andy was 100% correct.

 

 

 

[Patmaster]

@Ed_Johnson yes, I know, he told me the same thing and I tried. But - many years with fixed rear boot (hard) made it really difficult to switch back to any setup where the rear foot is allowed to move much. I also use a fixed riser under the rear heel. Just wondering what the other people are doing who are on double hard shells. Regina, Dave Miller,others?

[jcamp]

@Patmaster Regina has her's locked down.

[Patmaster]

@jcamp, thanks! After years on fixed hardshells it is so hard to move to a "heel-free" system in the rear. That made me wonder what makes sense. Following other discussions on the topic, it is becoming clear that slalom techniques with and without fixed rear heel are probably more different than most of us thought!

[jcamp]

@patmaster just remember Regina is a world-class athlete who is freakishly strong and talented!

[SkiJay]

@Patmaster

The difference between fastening the rear heal down and leaving it free to move up and down affects what happens when you move forward over your front foot late in the pre-turn.

 

If fastened down, either the rear foot levers more tip into the water (with the front foot acting as the lever's fulcrum), or it restricts your ability to move forward. If the heal is free to lift, you'll have an easier time getting up over your front foot, and you'll be less likely to over-engage tip possibly suffering tip-grab.

 

Andy Mapple did this video of his back foot while skiing with a toe piece. This seems pretty good evidence that being able to raise your back heel is good.

 

[Ed_Johnson]

As I said before Andy told me for 2 years to get rid of the rear Powershell and switch to the R-Style Rear. I explained to him how years a go I tried a Reflex front with a Wiley Rear, and I could barely get up out of the water, the ski was wobbling all over the place. Felt like I had no control and could't run a pass.

 

Andy said the R-Style would make your foot feel like it was still in a hardshell but allow for slight heal lift and much more hip movement. To further convince my mind I was still in a hardshell, I sewed a velcro strap around the top of the liner I had used in the Powershell and did not use the short liner made for the R-Style. This worked GREAT. It felt like I was still in the Powershell but now had all these new benefits, and it was the single biggest improvement to my skiing in years.

 

 

[ALPJr]

I get just the right heel lift in my rear Vapor Carb' with the top lace snug, not tight.

 

[adamhcaldwell]

A lot of things here are suggesting that the heel or lack of heel lift will promote or hinder someones ability to keep hips up. From my experience, its not so much about 'heel lift' as it is about mobility in the rear ankle and foot.

 

When it comes a rear binding, two things that dictate performance more then anything.

1. High range of ankle flexion.

2. Minimal lateral stiffness.

 

I would argue that the rear heel lift on a set of Powershells has a lot more to do with lateral "roll" of the rear foot as the knee flexes forward then it does straight up heel lift. The rear shin can move laterally with much less 'input' to cause the ski to 'roll', or block it from rolling.

 

Anyone have any video of the back of a powershell in action like Mapples video?

 

Anyone who has ever replaced a rear boot on a set of double bindings like a Radar has probably struggled a bit until it breaks in due to the fact that there is nothing to de-couple the lateral input of the rear shin during a turn. A new boot typically is stiffer by a significant amount. Excessive lateral stiffness in a rear binding will work in opposition to what the front foot/ankle/shin is trying to do to the ski.

 

Think of it like this. During a heel-side turn, the front knee will move to the inside edge while the foot and ankle flex and roll the ski up on edge. The back leg is going to remain more vertical to the surface of the ski. If the rear boot has excessive lateral stiffness, the interaction between the rearboot and rear-shin will quite literally 'block' the ski from rolling over (or block your front foot from accomplishing its job). This subsequently prevents the nose of the ski from engaging, and blocks you from rolling the ski up on the way to apex.

 

There are lots of pitfalls associated with binding systems that do not have a method of 'de-coupling' the lateral input from the feet/shin of the front and back foot. A common body position usually shows up if the lateral stiffness of the bindings are the root cause; COM in the back seat with excessive rear knee bend and a stiff/straight front knee. Its a big sign the REAR leg is controlling most of what the ski is doing.

 

 

 

[Horton]

One other thing to keep in mind - With the springs, your back heel has to move farther up to start a release if you fall forward.

[eleeski]

I struggled to keep the velcro from pre releasing. I tried a spring to try to start the release later. Not necessarily a bad thing to have another tool to adjust when a release starts.

 

@Ed_Johnson Good call on the velcro strap on the liner. Nowadays I'm using a rubber band for the same effect. I have a kick in hardshell rear so I can get up one footed. Lots of freedom of movement. My mind thinks I'm secure in my hardshell so I can concentrate on skiing. Couldn't make a pass with a naked foot in a toe kicker (too many decades of double boots).

 

A word of caution: don't allow the movement of the rear foot by just running the hardshell clips loose. My foot got stuck halfway out and sprained my ankle on a relatively low energy fall.

 

After that, I replaced the cuff clips with a rubber band. Eventually I removed the cuff entirely (like the R-style). Now even more plastic is gone. This has been an evolution. If you like your rear support but want more movement, there are things you can do that won't radically change the feel you are used to but allow more movement.

 

@Patmaster I'd keep the spring/lift system you have so your release stays consistent (if it is working well for you). Remove the cuff or grind on the shell to give more rear foot mobility. Velcro the liner so it feels comfortable. Or switch to a softer shell (I found the Powershells plastic too stiff for my liking). Assuming you are looking for more rear foot mobility?

 

Eric