Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

t-$ wrote: (but seems like that is reinventing alpine gear??)

Not at all- Alpine bindings have a fixed heel.

just thinking that there has to be some way to marry a little bit more of the control of the 3p into the nnnbc platform.

Not sure if I understand what you are getting at here?

Are you saying that the 3-pin binding enables you to more easier pressure your rear/trailing ski?

like split that difference between the stiffness of 3p with the movement of nnnbc.

What stiffness do you speak of? Sole flex?

lowangle al wrote:I was only half serious with that suggestion, but I always thought it would be a good learning tool. If anyone would try it I think t$ is the guy. The purpose is not to create tip pressure like an active binding does. Rather it is to force you to change your stance by moving your hips back over your rear foot making it easier and more natural to weight the ball of the foot.

This is a cool idea.

I think an improvement to the system would be to add some type of hook to clip to the eyelet when not going downhill. A tour mode.

Not sure if you I follow you...Are you speaking of tethering the heel when downhill skiing, and then removing the tether when touring?

The only mod I think I would like (other than climbing wires) for NNNBC would be a "downhill" mode, where with the flick of the switch a second plate or bar would prevent you from lifting your ball-of-foot/metatarsus off the ski.

The XC power of NNN is the complete range of motion, coupled with kick power right through the stride motion, right out to your toes.

But- being on your toes is no way to weight and pressure the rear/trailing foot. A second bar that lock the BOF in place would work as a downhill-only mode...

Once my stiff-flexing NNNBC boots are broken in, I can weight and pressure my rear ski quite easily.

But- it is easier to keep your BOF on the trailing ski with 3-pin- ESPECIALLY with an elongated stance.

As Al points out- it is much easier to flex and weight that rear foot/ski when using a compact telemark stance- regardless of the type of Nordic binding.

lowangle al wrote:Try this out T$. Screw an eyelet into your skis behind the heelplate. Now tie some some para cord to it. Then tie the other end of the paracord around your ankle so you can only lift your heel 2 or three inches. Next, before consuming any cocktails go out and make some turns. Let us know what happens.

lowangle al wrote:I was only half serious with that suggestion, but I always thought it would be a good learning tool. If anyone would try it I think t$ is the guy. The purpose is not to create tip pressure like an active binding does. Rather it is to force you to change your stance by moving your hips back over your rear foot making it easier and more natural to weight the ball of the foot.

I think an improvement to the system would be to add some type of hook to clip to the eyelet when not going downhill. A tour mode.

Somewhere in my foggy memory, I recall a plate telemark binding back in the day that did what you are describing. Something like the Voile VP-II. I can't find any good photos or even very much info but I recall it had a bungie-type heel attachment to add resistance to the plate when striding or turning...I may be confusing it with a different binding...

I don't remember those, but ski jumping bindings are set up that way.

well i suppose it could also double as a leash! maybe a 1/4" ss cable with a fixed loop (rubber coated) that could sit right in the instep. there would have to be some way to keep the cable centered down the achilles though. provide enough for 3 inches of lift. sounds interesting.

i think your idea (which i do remember reading now) to have a second bar like the pilot binding...that would go a long way in helping to keep the whole bof engaged. and yeah it would be nice to have a double action binding (to be able to release that back bar independently).

looking closer at the boot while on the binding, there is an overhang of about 2cm or so at the outside, and maybe .5-1 cm on the inside at the ball of the foot. i know mfg costs to produce an assymetrical binding for nnnbc would be unreasonable, but there is a little more boot sole there to exploit for maximum coverage. just saying...