Safety issue: HO freemax boots

[anklebreaker]

I'm an intermediate skier that badly broke my ankle last week on an HO Freeride ski with HO Freemax boots. It will require surgery which means 4mo+ until I can walk or pickup my 2yr old again. I believe the design of the Freemax front boot is uniquely unsafe and likely to cause similar injuries.

 

More background:

The skier's back foot will exit the rear tow immediately during a fall on a Freemax setup. The front foot will not: the static lower lace combed with heal of the boot prevents the foot from coming out even in the worst fall. Unlike the Skymax, the Freemax has very little ankle support. So, when you fall, the back foot comes out, the front foot will stay in, and when the ski hit the water during flip/rotation of a fall, the skier can badly twist or break their ankle. It seems like this boot has the wrong combination of what may be independently good technologies: flexible / soft ankle with a footbed that will not release your foot.

 

During last week of bedrest I've done some research and believe this to be the most dangerous of all HO boots but is marketed toward the casual skier. The Syndicate has a release mechanism, the Animal doesn’t have the static lace and a double boot prevents twisted ankles, the Skymax has ankle support.

 

Ankle safety was not even an after thought before my injury. Now it's life changing. Be safe everyone! Get boots that release or are safe!

[anklebreaker]

What boot do people recommend to avoid stuff like this? Hopeful I'll get back on skis at some point. Syndicate given the ankle support and release?

[BraceMaker]

Man fractures suck. You're joining a fairly large club of slalom ski ankle/leg injuries, lots of threads you can reference.

 

I'm not sure if I agree with the summary about the risks of the freemax vs. other laced up boots. I think there is a some amount of user error and this is perhaps an issue with all of this type of bindings. You essentially want to adjust the static laces in order to resize the binding. At that point with the elastics loose you should be able to easily pull the foot out and put the boot on without adjusting the static cordage. Its not like a shoe that you put the foot in then tighten. After that you just snug up the elastics.

 

If you were in a skymax you would have been even more stuck in the boot and I don't think you'd have saved the ankle.

 

 

[mmosley899]

@anklebreaker I have mounted several versions of this boot on the MOB release system. That will provide the safety you are looking for.

[anklebreaker]

@BraceMaker interesting. I thought of it as tying down the static lace to make the boot tight. As if I were putting on shoes. You keep it much looser? That makes sense in retrospect but isn't intuitive IMO.

[anklebreaker]

@mmosley899 thanks for the tip! I was not aware of these. Outstanding ROI to avoid an ankle break

[owennibley]

@anklebreaker 2 years ago I was on a lace type boot and really cinched it down. I too did not know the intent of the design for the lace up boots: Snug but loose enough to release. I broke my ankle because I crashed and my ankle came part way out, putting the forces at a weird angle. Accidents happen so I don't blame the manufacturer, but I do wish I would've know the design intent.

 

I since have gone to reflex releasable front binding and a VERY loose lace type boot in the back. Haven't had an issue with it and it has released during crashes.

 

Good luck with the recovery.

[UCFskier]

have you tried the radar binding? good support and the bungee style laces release when needed....

[BMG73]

I don't think its design flaw. Its kind of like picking out a car. Some have safer ratings than others, yet you can get hurt in anything. So heal up and go ski.

[Hallpass]

Somewhere in my mind I'm thinking that the cinch cord bindings I have owned, for ski or wakeboard, had warnings not to overtighten, or cinch down the laces. Might have been on the tags that came in the box, or maybe even printed on the boot. ICBW.

[BraceMaker]

@Hallpass they do but it's usually in the box and bindings are often mounted by the seller

[SkiBadger]

I fractured my ankle about 3 years ago using a reflex with a rear toe. 8 screws, 2 brackets, 3 surgeries later I am on a Radar vapor boot and deathly afraid to overtighten it. During the OTF fall, my ankle hyper flexed forward before the binding finally released. I am a fan of the reflex system (840 release), HOWEVER I believe the strap to limit forward flexion is absolutely needed to prevent the type of injury I had. I see now Reflex is selling the black boot with the achilles strap to limit forward flexion. It is also interesting to me to see that Reflex is the only co. to offer boots with a strap limiting forward flexion. I also am interested in Mosley's MOB release as it provides an escape in a torsional fall.

[SkiBadger]

@anklebreaker - Good luck with your surgery and recovery. You may want to buy a knee roller and keep by the bed for those late night bathroom trips. And I recommend you get an iwalk2.0 so you can 'walk' hands free and carry your 2 yr old. :)

 

[lpskier]

I had exactly the same injury in 1974. Rubber high wrap front boot and a kicker. Unless you have a forward type fall I doubt you’ll release from any binding other than Fogman, Reflex, MOB or similar releasable binding system.

[BraceMaker]

@lpskier I'll add, did a femur in an Obrien slider front with wraps with RTP - you can do a surprising amount of damage in any binding system. I think MOB is probably the closest to a true DIN style release system - however know that people blow ACLs all the time in DIN bindings. All you can really say is that the MOB is the only system with releases for twist/lift/combo crashes. But you can blow a leg in basically any binding system if the direction sucks. I see real pros take these crashes on instagram and all I can say is they are great at getting their skis off the water.

 

@SkiBadger - the reflex boots with that strap are also some of the only shells that allow that much motion ie. the strap was added when the shell was modified to allow the extra dorsiflexion.

[vtmecheng]

So sorry to hear of your injury, it's especially horrible with young kids. I also broke my ankle (doc said I was lucky to not need surgery) in an older O'brien lace-up binding and it was completely my fault. Way too tight everywhere and didn't think at all about release. Then I tried an HO xMax and even with things almost too loose I didn't come out in an OTF fall. My foot was half way out and I luckily just sprained the ankle. After that, I spent some time with a few different bindings to see how well I could release. What I found is that my foot size made all the difference. Others would release fine in a binding but my size 13 foot would get stuck, despite using the largest size binding. It makes sense. When a foot releases from a binding there are three points of contact that must be cleared or the friction at these points must be overcome. A longer foot needs more translation in order to clear all three points so gets stuck more easily. This all made me look at release systems because they are independent of the foot size. I personally went with the MOB system, mounted to my xMax binding and bungee changed to a paracord. The Reflex style would probably have worked in both of my injuring falls too but I like the MOB multi-axis release and fantastic customer support. To date I have "self tested" the MOB system maybe 4-5 times (I had some stack issues causing OTFs) and it has worked perfectly every time.

 

Take care of yourself, my youngest was 3 when I broke my ankle. I've also been through 3 non-ski related foot surgeries in life and two were with young kids. It's hard. Stay positive, don't push more than your doc and PT say, and don't stop PT too early. Next year you will be back on the water with new bindings and/or go with a release system. Key is to be personally content with the system selected so it isn't a constant worry while skiing.

[6balls]

@mmosley899 has the release system you need as a rear toe plate skier. Wide array of choices for front binding the release is the key, and Mike's system releases not just front/back but rotational. Super safe.

Mike correct me if I'm wrong but so far not a single tib fib straight up or spiral fracture on your binding release?

[vtmecheng]

For the record, I don't blame O'Brien or HO for my injuries. It is on me to make sure the binding and my anatomy work together for proper release. I didn't do that and learned my lesson. Also, there's inherent danger in this sport. It's up to you to decide the level of risk you're willing to accept. Some don't think twice, others think but decide life is short and injuries happen everywhere, still others don't want the risk.

[ejj]

I’ve read so many of these posts—lace boots that are too tight.

 

I know some people love the old-school style of the high wraps like Wiley’s or similar.

 

I use a Vector Boa—and I loosen and tighten every time. But I always take care not to go tight.

[OldboyII]

If in the water, after set you unable to take off the ski without loosening laces - you are in danger.