Establishing foot angle and offset
The foot is strong from heel to toe, and agile from side to side. You are looking for the optimal blend, to ensure intuitive balance and the ability to tilt and hold the board on edge. Initially, there is no need to exceed 25 degrees on the front foot. Offset the binding towards the toe edge of the board such that the heel of the foot and the ball of the foot are equidistant from their respective edges. This may entail a bit of toe overhang. Do not be alarmed. For most riders, the toe of the boot can overhang by at least one inch before drag becomes an issue. The reason for the offset is the relevance to the load bearing parts of the foot. The heel bone and the head of the first metatarsal bone take most of the load when a foot is weighted. If you locate these bones as close as possible to the edges of the board, it is easier to tilt the board to an edge, and then control the resultant flex. The more effective the use of the skeletal structure, the less muscle is used for basic maneuvering, and the less fatigue is incurred. When in doubt, offset more to the toe edge, simply because it is harder to apply pressure to the forefoot than the heel, and the highback will provide some leverage to the heel edge if necessary. If you are fortunate enough to own a set of CATEK freeride bindings or can be creative you can establish the cant of the front binding Binding Cant

Establishing foot angle and offset

The foot is strong from heel to toe, and agile from side to side. You are looking for the optimal blend, to ensure intuitive balance and the ability to tilt and hold the board on edge. Initially, there is no need to exceed 25 degrees on the front foot.

Offset the binding towards the toe edge of the board such that the heel of the foot and the ball of the foot are equidistant from their respective edges.

This may entail a bit of toe overhang. Do not be alarmed. For most riders, the toe of the boot can overhang by at least one inch before drag becomes an issue. The reason for the offset is the relevance to the load bearing parts of the foot. The heel bone and the head of the first metatarsal bone take most of the load when a foot is weighted. If you locate these bones as close as possible to the edges of the board, it is easier to tilt the board to an edge, and then control the resultant flex. The more effective the use of the skeletal structure, the less muscle is used for basic maneuvering, and the less fatigue is incurred. When in doubt, offset more to the toe edge, simply because it is harder to apply pressure to the forefoot than the heel, and the highback will provide some leverage to the heel edge if necessary.

If you are fortunate enough to own a set of CATEK freeride bindings or can be creative you can establish the cant of the front binding
Binding Cant

Previous or Binding Cant or Forward Lean

Last revised on Monday, 16-May-2005 20:50 EST