lagdawg

I would definitely go with the Strada binding on the front. I have skied many different bindings and since moving to the RS1s (predecessor to the Strada) I would never go back. There are several systems that would fit your criteria of no soap/ consistent release with RTP etc including (Reflex, FluidMotion and more). But I would go with the strada for price and ease of use and setup. I know ScarletArrow tried the RS1s and didn't like them and went back to the Wiley's so you may or may not like it but I would say go for the Strada.

I have always used both palms down to get up but then switch before I start my pullout. I thought this was the way that almost everyone did it. It seems much easier and less strain on the arms and elbows when getting up. I don't think I would be comfortable switching after pulling out. But I have ended up with both palms down in the middle of the course and it completely screwed me up.

The boots themselves can still be used either in front or back. Even if these bindings didn't include the sequence plate as long as they came with one front plate and one rear plate you could mount either boot to the front/rear plates. This really only comes into play if you are only using one strada in front or when you order to make sure you get one front plate and one rear plate.

Looks like they are set up for RFF, but it doesn't really matter as the Left and Right boots of Stradas and RS1's can be used in either the front or the rear. So you just move the left boot to the front and right boot to the rear if you are LFF.

HO 410, Also look at the D3 gloves. I think they may have the bumps that you are looking for.

That only applies to "tournament-supplied" handles. The last sentence negates the triangle rules for handles that are supplied by the skier themselves.

The US Gear handles have a stiff plastic tube instead the standard endcaps you would find on most handles. They are nearly impossible to bend. If you can roll up your armguard then it is not nearly as stiff as a US Gear handle. If everyone used intow ropes for tournaments that would make things much easier.

The first method is my preferred method and the one I use nearly 99% of the time. However, here in Ohio, there is a contingent of skiers who seem to prefer the US Gear handles. Because of the stiff plastic covering the rope down to the "Y", these handles are nearly impossible to use that method on. So we are forced to use the second method that OF shows. If you use this method, the important part is to make sure you twist the rope so that the knot looks like the first one. It always makes for an interesting time when someone shows up at a tournament with one of these handles and we have a less experienced dock starter/rope handler/boat judge changing out the handle. The other issue I have seen with the handle connection is when you are using a handle and rope that have a very large difference in rope diameter. Specifically I see this a lot with jump handles using the spectra line on a fatter jump line where the rope naturally pulls over itself to create a self tightening lark's head type knot. Normally jump handles and ropes don't get use quite as often so they don't get locked on but it is a pain sometimes. As far as the woggle take it off the rope immediately. If you do try and use it you are only going to break it and whoever is unlucky enough to have it break on them will not be a happy camper.

Brent, As a lifelong snowskier, snowboarder, telemark skier who just happens to water ski in the summer, yes I have seen plenty of alpine boards. Not once have I ever seen them with their bindings oriented so that their feet are both facing straight forward on the board. Only one of the boards on the site that you listed even has a width less than 19cm (18.8cm). The Skwal boards on the other hand are all between 11.2 - 12.5 cm with the exception of one wide board at 14.7cm. I doubt any of these boards would even accommadate the bindings turned from center without causing drag from the boots. While I'm sure they are probably using a hardboot binding and boot setup the board itself is quite a bit narrower than any alpine board I have every seen. More like a wide powder ski with more side cut than an alpine board.

Actually it's not just a hard boot snow board (alpine board). It is completely different and the boots are in a different orientation the same as on a slalom ski. Plus the board/ski itself is much narrower than even a standard alpine snowboard. http://www.skwal.org The site is in French or some other language but there are pictures that show the position of the boots etc.

Here is Ron's website: http://web.me.com/goodmanskis/Site_2/Home.html You can find more information from there. He made me a 45" Stubby that I have been riding on for a couple years and I love it. My brother is riding on the Slot and really likes his as well. Goodman trick skis are not new on the block they have been around for a while and like Deano said his jumpers and trick skis are totally bomber. If only he made slalom skis then I would probably ride only Goodman's.

I currently trick at 21mph, but I am currently 245 (down from 260) on a 45" ski. Since most of my falls are now slip out falls I am probably going to drop about .5-1 mph. I only trick about 900-1000 points. Even at 21mph I have never run out of lake on my passes, but, I can get pretty close to the end after 20 seconds. Luckily I usually fall before I get close to 20 seconds so it doesn't matter any way.

It appears to me to be just a back flip that is rotated in the opposite direction that a tricker would throw a back flip. It looks cool but I don't see any rotation of the ski in order to give a 360.

My brother has the E series and he just puts the liner on his foot and then puts the foot and liner in the boot. He leaves the cuff on the boot and he doesn't have any issues. I have the older FM binding on my trick ski and I put the liner on my foot and put it in. I have to make sure that I get the heel of the liner lined up properly with the two tabs in the back, once I have that I just shove it in. Many other hardshell owners I see leave the liner in their boot and they wear an old dress sock or similar which allows them to easily slide into the liner whether it is wet or not. You can go the sock route, but I think that after some time you will find that they are pretty easy to get into once you get used to them.

Also, if you go the rankings list and then click on the link at the end of your line that is called "View" it will take you to your personal qualifications screen. This shows what the COA was on July 16th, what your ranking average was on July 16th and will also show you any of the last chance qualifier information as well as whether you are currently qualified or not. This screen can also show regionals qualification information by selecting the appropriate year and region from the drop down box. Just click on View and all the qualification information you could need will be displayed.

Shane, When you say you can lift your heal if needed, do you mean that liner will lift out and allow your heal to move? Or does your heal just lift in the liner? I'm an overweight and slightly inflexible skier (I'm working on both of these slowly), and I know I put a lot of pressure on my rear binding during starts because my body just doesn't want to bend that way very well. In most of my bindings I find that I regularly have to tighten all the screws holding the binding to the plate or have to straighten out severely bent plates. The current bindings I am on, I have broken the rear binding twice due to this pressure on the rear binding. While I am skiing I can feel myself lifting my heal a little bit at times but I know most of the time the strongest forces are coming during my starts. I have been seriously considering hardshells and if the RS-1 can handle this pressure during the starts then I may be ordering some new bindings soon.

I just wanted to comment that raising the heel of the boot will not make you put more weight on your toes, instead it actually causes you to put more weight on your heels and you actually move back a bit. If you want to put more weight on your toes then you would need to actually raise your toes a bit. This is a phenomenon that is commonly experienced when canting and adjusting snow ski boots. As an example imagine standing on a hill looking straight up the hill. In order to just stand there you are forced to keep your weight on your toes (I challenge you to put all your weight on your heels and not fall backwards). In this position you are essentially raising the toes in relation to the heels. Next turn around and stand facing directly down the hill. You will now have to keep more weight on your heels. This is the same as raising your heel.  This concept explains why it is so important to have all your weight on your toes when you hit the jump while jumping.

Because toeside and heelside are terms from skate, wake or snow boarding in which the feet are aligned differently it becomes confusing when the feet are lined up in the same direction as the edges. So picture riding on a trick ski with your rear foot turned out. I am LFF, if I were making a turn around 1,3,5 the ski would be on the edge closest to my rear heel this would also be my goodside. When I make a turn around 2,4,6 I make the turn on the edge closest to my rear toes so this would be toeside but also my offside.

I just got a new 69" Sixam SS I was wondering where a good starting point for the bindings would be. Does anybody have any good numbers to start for the fin. Please bear in mind that the water temp I am currently skiing is only 50 degrees so I know I'm going to be moving that fin a bit over the next month or so.