This year marks the first full year I've had time, money, and equipment invested into snowboarding vs renting what resorts have. With that being said I have now moved to the point where I want to fine tune the equipment I have to make my boarding easier, or overall better.

When it comes to boarding one of the things I have been playing with is the degree angle of the bindings on the board. I've listened to what various people have said and experimented around with several combos. The last combo I used was the following:

Riding 'Normal'...

- The right foot had a 25* outward position
- The left foot had a 0* position.

When using that combo I found it harder to turn or manipulate my right side. Does anyone have any combinations that are optimal for me as a rider moving into the intermediate stage focused for better turning/stopping?

Brad

Brad,

Isn't it great to have your own equipment! :-)

You are just going to have to experiment with which positions work best for you. On a trip to Utah last month, I observed a wide variety of setup positions used by the advanced riders that varied not only by angles, but also by distance between feet. Some riders rode "duck", some had their leading foot angled slightly inwards, and some had a very wide stance.

I brought my new board which had a longer side cut and is stiffer than my previous board. The angles I used on my previous board did not work as well on the new board, so I spent the first day of my trip experimenting and finetuning the angles.

There is no one best way. It's all a matter of preference and comfort. As long as you can maintain proper balance between both feet and a good stance, you're OK.

IMHO- The gap of 25 between the angles may be too much. You may want to increase the angle of your left foot.

So, always bring your binding tool with you and don't be afraid to try different settings.

Have fun!

Brad,
I assume you are riding in a "goofy" stance. When I say "goofy" it means right foot up front with left foot in the tail.
I think you are saying 25 deg positive which means you set the binding 25 deg positive or away from the center. Any degree negative means toward the center or the area between both bindings.

Most of the time, I ride "regular" with 15+ deg, 0 deg, with 18" stance. I do change the binding setup depending on where I am riding. If I am going to ride deep powder out west, my setup would be something like 20+ 5-, with 18" stance. Unless I plan to hit the park for the day then my set up would be like 5+, 5+ with 20" stance.

Since I ride at places out here in WV, MD, and PA whereas I set up my binding different since there's no big mountains and no powder to deal with. When I ride the hills around here, my board setup would be a simple one like 15+, 0 with 19" stance.

Did you do the stance jump test method? I use the stance jump test method more than the shoulder stance method. Some snowboarders have their own way of measuring the stance according to their body size. You don't want to stand too wide and hurt your legs and your back. You don't want to have a very narrow stance to hurt your ability to turn and stop. What I do is have a friend help me with the measurement on the stance. I would place both feet on the floor as normal as you feel comfy standing up then take a jump as high as you can. When you land on the floor, have your friend take the measurement. Repeat that jump a few times until you see the same pattern of where your feet land as comfy as possible. When you land on the floor, do land in a different way like bend your knees a little more and less until you are comfy to do either way when landing. Normally you would not jump off the picnic table with your feet sticking out too wide to land on the ground, right? Same goes for not having your feet stick too close together for landing. I hope you get my drift by now. Jumping off the picnic table was just an example to give you an idea why you need to figure the stance measurement. My legs are short and I don't have narrow hip. Your body may be built different than mine. Anyway, once you know your stance measurement then hopefully you would feel more comfy and able to strengthen your legs in a healthy way instead of straining your muscle in a weird way when bending your knees.

The shoulder stance method didn't work for me as it was too wide for my legs and got tired of cramps in my legs.

Sorry for rambling on. Any questions.. let me know.

Being of the snowboarding variety, and helping out in random shops at random times I can provide you with the following suggestions:

1. For the best stance width, measure from the ground up to your knee... the middle of your knee if you're going to be riding park more, the bottom if you're going to freeride. Set this as the width between the centers of the bindings.

2. To determine binding placement, look down on your board, if its closer to a twin-tip design, meaning the sidecut length on the front and back is equal, then mount them an equidistant area from the tip of the nose and tail. If it is not, and the nose-end sidecut is longer, you'll want to mount them so there's a bit more space between the front binding and the nose in comparison to rear binding to the tail, in order to make the board maximize its response.

3. Binding angles are all preference. Good beginning degrees would be 15° in the front and 0° or maybe 3° in the back. If you're riding park or switch sometimes you'll probably enjoy a duck stance better, set it at like 15°, 18°, or 12° in the front and -3° or -6° in the back.

Right now I'm riding 15° front and -6° and a 20" stance. It works for me.

After reading all the great advice about binding setup something occurred to me. How tight should you tighten down the binding to the board after you have adjusted the angles? I do not want to over tighten them and mess something up.

Tighten them as tight as you can. Nothing's worse than losing a binding screw.

Oh, and check them everytime before you go riding, as well as the nuts on the strap bolts.

Just don't take the bindings off then put the screws in and tighten them.

Thanx for the info. i just wanted to make sure it was not something weird like, if the are to tight it can mess up the mounts.

Hey, what up all??

In response to Bawalker... to make the board more usable in both directions, try turning ur bindings so they both face outward. I am switching mine to a -15,15 stance. The salesman that helped me purchase my first board was from the X-games.. and he suggested a -15,0 stance for starters, and said that he was at a -15,6 (if i remember right). Correct me if im wrong about the -15,15

~AJ

SLIGHTLY off-topic -- clip in vs straps?

Ok sorry to invade -- a skier that it is just curious... Which is better straps or clip-ins for boarding?
I guess I am just surprised that straps seem to be holding their own in boarding. In fact, it seems, from the distance of a chair lift, that the system is winning...
This just surprises me... I ski, I cycle, in both cases I love the clip-in style connection to equipement... no fuss, no muss, fast, convenient, solid. I just can't imagine fiddling with all the strap stuff all time and seems hopelessly FLEXY.

Enlighten me!!!????

Muchos gracias...

No back to our regularly scheduled program...

It's no mystery... step-ins for the most part... SUCK!

They freeze-up, jam, and give pretty much no support. When you ride w/ step-ins, you're relying all on the boot for support, meaning the boots have to be pretty stiff and that makes them harder to ride in.

Straps aren't a big hassle, and they hold your foot in the binding much better IMO than a step-in system does. Plus, if a strap breaks or bends, all you have to do is send that part back, not try to fix the whole binding. Which reminds me, I have to go buy a new buckle-piece (w/ ridges) for my toe strap, it shattered in the arctic temperatures MLK Day.

AppleJuice- If you are just beginning, you're definately going to want to set your bindings to about 15 in the front and 0 in the back. Don't make your stance super-wide either. Maybe from the ground to the bottom of your kneecap (while standing). That should be the distance from the center of one baseplate to the other. Gradually increase this to maybe around 20 inches or so, and once you get comfortable with that, duck your stance out.

By duck stance, we in the industry mean put a negative angle on the rear binding. Try a -3 or -6 in the back and 15 or so in the front. Once you feel confident riding this way, widen your stance a bit more, 20.5-21.5 inches wide. It doesn't have to be superwide. And you can judge this by measuring from the ground up to between the middle and top of your kneecap (while standing).

Forward lean is a touchy issue. Some like it, others hate it. I favor it more on the back foot than the front, since it definately helps initiate toeside turns. This is really up to you. Go riding, and play with the settings until you like how it feels. Don't be afraid to try something different.

hey on the bindings for anyone that are sick of step ins and the old straps there is a new binding out they are called flow bindings they are very fast to get into <much faster then step ins.> and more durable. Also i was just wondering what you think af this binding setup +10 in the front and +30 in the back. i feel confortable but my dad thinks it is wrong let me know
thanks

I'd say that those angles are pretty crazy. I assume you're talking about -30 in the back, because +30 would be insane. Especially with only 10 in the front.

Generally we go by a 18-25° difference between binding angles. So if you have 15° in the front and -3 or -6 in the back, you're in good shape. That ensures to take pressure off of the knees.

I've never had good fortune with Flows. I know some people with them and have few complaints. The thing I like about strap-ins is that you can tighten them more or less depending on how your boots are performing and if they're loosening or not. I've seen Flows come in with torn cables and broken parts though, making me not rely on just 2 cables to hold a foot in a binding. Whereas, if you bust a binding on a strap-in, its generally fixable, as long as you have some shoelace and duct tape. More on that later.

I'm regular and ride +21/+9... I tried +21/+15 last time and I carved worked much better...

I agree with the other strap supporters! I've tried both, and although clip-ins are easy and quick, the difference that strap in makes is huge...rather than using the bottom of my boot to carve, I use the whole foot.

And yeah, ice gets stuck in the clip-ins, and even though you're all set and ready to go, you still gotta wait for your board buddies to strap-in anyways!

as for binding angles, they do make a difference. I started with 15 and 0, and changed to 21 and -3 which makes carving easier.

Hmmm, food for thought there. I've been riding 15 and 0 for years, I tried a little more front like 15, 5 and even 0,0. Might experiment a little with turning the rear binding back a few degrees.

As for Flow bindings, I got a set this year and so far so good. I remember talking to the service tech at a board shop and he told me Flow had one year where their bindings weren't so hot but that they've remedied this. So far I love my new bindings, the support and control of straps and the ease of step ins. I even find them pretty tight. If they're too loose just click them in one notch with your foot out of the binding and it makes all the difference. I had a set of Ride EX before and I really was not overly impressed. They felt flimsy and did eventually end up buckling at the base plate. I'm done with Ride bindings.

I just thought I would let everyone know I tried 15/3 binding setups and it worked much better than the 0/0 combo I had tried before. Along with adjusting the location of the bindings on the board to be 21" apart with the front binding having just a bit more room between it and the front tip than the rear binding and the rear tip. That seemed to allow me to dive right into carves. Or maybe it was the more than ankle deep powder at timberlines blue runs?

Hey Canaanman.. thanx for the advice.. i have been boarding for one year now, and have gone to a "real" resort about 5 times. I have been 15,0 for all of the last times i have gone.. and im begining to get a little more agressive. I was in my room, just skrewing around with the binding positions and all. I was/am looking for a stance thats more friendly to boarding both directions. Im used to left side forwars.. and want to get more comfortable going right side first.

Also, i got clicker bindings.. and I like them. Yes, i wish it was easier to strap up the boots firmly (so i just use large tub clamps around the top of the boot... lol), but i really like the ease of getting in and out of the bindings quickly.. and not having the straps dangling form the board. I have only had them jam up once (with ice), and it was about 30-35 degrese F out anyways. They both have their advantages and disavantages.. plus, i got mine cheap

I have a quick question. When you say 15, -3 or something like that...the -3 means what exactly? Does that mean the back binding is 3 degrees pointing inward(towards the middle of the board) or outward(towards the tail)? Im kind of confused, because someone said earlier that a negative number refers to any degree where your binding faces in towards the center. Yet, someone also said, about "ducking" out your stance over time by changing it to 15, -3 or 6...and doesnt ducking out your look sort of like " \ / ", and not " / / "? The slashes are your feet and bindings...

When we refer to negative angles, we're talking about taking the rear binding and pointing it towards the tail... like "/". Or if you're goofy, "\".

If you think of pointing the binding towards the nose, thats positive, and the opposite of positive, is negative.

A duck stance is a positive degree in the front and a negative in the back.

Thanks, I was just confused from Searide's quote "Any degree negative means toward the center or the area between both bindings." I assumed that the negative meant towards the tail of the board anyway, just kind of making sure.

I have problems initiating heel-side turn to toe-side turn when the snow is hard packed. Is there a biding setup that would help?

I currently have -3 at the back and +15 at the front. With a +15 your toes are pointing more towards the natural direction of a heel-side turn. Going from a toe-side turn to a heel-side turn, your toes are already pointing more towards the heel-side turn, which makes it easier to turn into?

Theoretically, would decreasing the angle on the front binding make it easier to initiate the toe-side turn?

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and to boarding in general. I currently have my bindings set at +21, 0. Would you consider this a good setup for a beginner? The shop where I got my board initially set me up with a +15, +3 setup and I had lots of trouble turning. Should my new setup help me out?

2 Comments. First darcarver. Make sure your foot is centered on the board. If your heels hang off the heeledge of your board too much it can be difficult to initiate heel to toeside turns. I had this problem with a rental board once. My toes were hanging over the edge too much and I kept catching them in steep turns, it also made it really tricky getting onto my heels. It wasn't a problem in powder because it's a little more forgiving.

npbassman, that sounds like a lot of front angle. Play with it a bit and see how you feel. I always like 0 15 and I tend to set up boards for my friends that way as a starting point. 21 degrees up front sounds kind of unbalanced.

Actually just a quick addition to my last post. Getting a stance just right is more than angle and width, though they are the bulk of it. The minutae such as high back lean, toe drag, heel drag, stiffness of your boots etc. etc. all add up to the perfect riding stance. Crack your own personal code and makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks Kennedy.I'll make sure I pull the left foot back to 15 to even it out.

I know a lot has been covered in this thread and it's been helpful but I have a couple of other questions for anyone reading this.

First - as a beginner, what are the pros or cons to having a 0 on the back foot as opposed to slightly positive, like a 3? Would linking turns be easier? I've also found that when I stand normally I have the 'duck' stance. Should I experiment with this setting or wait until I strengthen my fundamentals?

Lastly, what difference would I feel if I were to shorten my stance?

Thanks for being patient with my newbie questions everyone!

Mike

You should try a slight duck stance if thats how you feel comfortable. Next time you ride bring a screw driver. Set up a stance ride it a few times. Adjust it, see how that feels keep doing it until you get it right. I tried ridingwith both feet forward once. My back foot was only slightly forward but it messed up everything, I couldn't turn right, kept falling. I adjusted it back to 0 and I was flying again. Micro adjustments make a lot of difference. Personally I like riding a wide stance, just a touch wider than shoulder width. It feels far more stable, especially when landing. It also allows your back foot to work easier when braking. I would think riding a narrow stance screws up your center of gravity. As most people in this thread have said it's all a personal thing and it's all how you feel. There is no wrong stance, at least I don't really think there is. Play with your setings and learn what different components of your bindings do. Play with forward lean, stance angles, widths, screw around until you find your fit.

This is going to pull you guys WAY off thread, but...what kind of info would you most like to see in trip reports on visits to various resorts? I'm a skier and only snowboarded enough to know I'm goofy footed and too old a dog to learn a new trick. I do a lousy job of picking up on the kind of info boarders most want to know about when I visit ski areas. How could I do better? I assume you want details on terrain parks and half pipes, but what kind of details? Also, are you guys interested in the same info as skiers on the snow quality over entire resort terrain? Do you want to know about presence (or non-presence) of bumps on key trails? What other stuff (besides the opposite sex) attracts snowboarders to a particular resort? While I'm asking, which do you guys consider the best places for snowboarders in the mid-Atlantic and why? Thanks for any feedback. JimK

I guess in addition to the actually snow quality and crowds it'd be nice to know when the pipe has been recut, if ever. I have yet to ride a fresh pipe around here. Does anyone know how often they recut it?

Bumps, nice to know where they are so I can avoid them. Moguls on a board suck especially when your weapon of choice is a 168.

Condition of the terrain park, are the hits icy, soft, big, small, how many, rails etc.

Thanks kennedy for the tip. My feet are centred on the board.

I keep hearing "do what is right for you". But, what about the physics? What theoretically should a -3, +15 stance do for you as opposed to a +3, +21 stance?

This information has been a big help...thanks! I have a question in relation to the position from the nose and tail. If you don't have the bindings set equal distance from the nose and tail, what would be considered to big of a difference? Would 3" be too much (front 23" from the nose, rear 20")? Would it be better to have a 1-2" difference? Thanks.

Let me point out, sometimes its not good to center your feet on the board. A lot of boards have subtle sidecut lengths that differ from the nose to the middle and from the middle to the tail. You basically need to stand a few feet back from your board and check to see if the sidecut's longer towards the nose or if the two are equal. If it's longer towards the nose, then you should set your stance a little further towards the tail, to maximize the sidecut. If it's centered, just center the bindings on the board (same distance off front and rear contact points).

Forward lean is a touchy thing. I like it. Some hate it, but it does help initiate toeside turns. Once you're comfortable with your stance width, binding angles, etc. try playing with the forward lean. It can make a big difference between being on the trail or in the trees.

Hey everyone,

I tried the +15, 0 setup and it was like night and day! Much easier to learn.

I also found this article online.

http://www.cs.uu.nl/~daan/snow/stance.html

Just to be clear when I talk about centering your feet I mean between toe and heel edge o you don't have too much heel drag or toe drag. Too much toe means your toes dig in during toeside turns causing a nice faceplant, vice versa with your heels. Its also something to think about when buying a board. Make sure the board is wide enough for your feet. I always put my feet on the board then add a little either side for boots and bindings. If my foot is too wide I need to get a wider board. Right now I'm on a Burton Canyon 168. It's a pretty big board but pretty much perfect for my height, weight and shoe size. I can comfortably sit it into a carve with no fear of ever catching my foot. My previous board was a 156 and as I improved and cut deeper turns I would loose an edge because my toe or heel would dig into the snow.

i just bought my first board its alder and i figured no point in spending much money on it because i'm probly just gonna wreck it any way

the mounting holes for the bindings are not equidistant from the nose and tail of the board there is more room towars the nose then the tail 18 vs 19 inchs

i don't see any difference be tween the front and rear cut but there could be a little bit

will this effect the my ability to ride backwars at all

ii've currently got a setup or 15, -15 and a 19.5 inch stance

any other tips would be great

AJ
thx

What you have there is a directional board. If you wanted to ride switch, you should have gone for a twin tip. Don't sweat it though, if youre just starting out, learn how to ride well in one direction first and then focus on switch riding.

BTW, it's warm out! time to bring out those rusty golf clubs out again.