Wow, need tips for skiing with active bindings--so different!

[teleclub]

I was asking about NTN Freedom bindings recently and finally skied them yesterday. At resort on hard snow, Lo5 188, Garmont NTN boots. Using the blue box at the loosest #1 setting.

I'm used to neutral non-active bindings so when it was time to upgrade I chose the NTN Freedom because it was reviewed as the least active of the new generation of bindings. Usually reviewers were complaining it wasn't as active as they want so I worried it wouldn't be active enough.

Ha! I could barely get the rear leg back into the tele turn and really felt how I was fighting the springs. I had to relearn tele turns but it got better through the day.

If the NTN Freedom is less active than the Axles, etc., you guys are skiing I can only guess as how different active bindings ski.

what I've been used to:
My previous most active binding is a Superloop with pivot at front-most holes (least active) and with springs/cable set only tight enough to retain boot. Scarpa T2s, various older mid-fat skis, nothing wider than 90 underfoot.
Been skiing tele since early 80s and learned on skinny and low leather boots. Also skied alpine a lot back then, and have always enjoyed carving parallel turns on my 'loops and T2s, but have relied on tele turns for 90% of my turning and tele for all of the technical and difficult stuff. I've tended to
I guess I knew I preferred neutral bindings but the Superloops way back then were thought of as active bindings so I didn't realize how behind I was.
I would have thought I'd adapt quickly to a more active binding because I'm strong--5'11" former velodrome sprinter--but yesterday I discovered how wimpy I am. By the end of the day I was getting back a little of my familiar tele form and may have started to see a little of the advantage of having active spring feedback. But I'm still out to sea, and have no idea how I'd bend them in soft snow!?

(It wasn't the boot because these tall Garmonts bend easier at the toe than my old T2s since they have softer black rubber in the bellow and the T2s have regular pebax.)

[mainer]

Practice, practice, practice....

It might help to feel out the binding flex while not moving or going very slowly. Do some lead changes and get used to the force needed to flex the binding, and find your comfortable tele position. It might be different than what you were doing on superloops and t2s.

In soft snow, you'll probably need some speed to keep your skis up in a tele. But, those Lo5s have enough rocker in front to keep your tips up.

Also, might help the transition to put your boots in walk mode.
I personally find if I ski my boots (T1s with Axls/SwitchbackX2) in "ski mode" in powder, I eat it unless I'm doing mach 3. A super stiff boot just isn't needed in soft snow, even with fatter skis.

Cheers!

[dnt_upton]

I'm not a big NTN user but have tried a few (so really, I'm not an NTN user at all). IMO, 75mm activity and NTN activity are not the really comparable. I'm not even sure activity is the right term for NTN since I don't think the pivot position changes among the bindings and there's no cable that is directly resisting the rising of your heel.

Regardless, the best tips I've read/practiced are:

1. Drive the cuff was an early mantra. I think it applies to both 75mm and NTN, but probably more important with the latter. You can get away with squatting down on 75 mm gear, not so for NTN. Focus on driving through the cuffs of your boots, esp. in the rear leg.

2. Try initiating the turn with the rear leg moving back and see how that goes. It's related to the first and may help develop that driving the cuff sensation.

3. A more upright (rather than low) stance seems to work better. NTN bindings are powerful and stiff. If you like to ski low, you have to work hard to get there in NTN set ups.

Good luck and be patient.

[teleclub]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Turns out all it needed was a second day. At resort again today (on hard snow) and my tell turn is completely back. I'm getting an idea of why so many like an active binding--much easier to edge the rear ski from a taller stance. NTN still allows the low stance I learned but doesn't require it--on 'loops and neutral set up I relied on low stance quite a bit. NTN give me better options.

[teleclub]

And it turns out that active bindings don't make tips dive in deep snow, as a couple feet of powder today proved.
My third day of skiing NTN Freedom and active bindings seem completely normal to me now.

[TomH]

Good to hear you're adapting to it. Were the boots new? If so, you may have been dealing more with breaking in new boot bellows than with the binding itself.

And an 'active' binding, when defined by the pivot point, can cause some tip dive. Your freedoms aren't very active compared to many of the 75mm offerings, but the boot is held tighter than most 75mm bindings which is where you get the increased lateral control and a lot of the different feel.

Also, tip rocker in lots of the modern skis takes care of most tip dive problems.

[teleclub]

Good to hear you're adapting to it. Were the boots new? If so, you may have been dealing more with breaking in new boot bellows than with the binding itself...

Yes, they're new boots too, and I wondered about that. They're new old stock Garmont NTN boots with the black rubber bellows--same model the now Scott Voodoo. This black rubbery bellow feels more flexible than my old blue T2 bellows which is what I've been used to for a lot of years.
Mine may be more flexible still than the Scott Voodoo since I'm using a woman's boot, the Priestess instead of the Prophet which is probably the one the Voodoo is.

...And an 'active' binding, when defined by the pivot point, can cause some tip dive. Your freedoms aren't very active compared to many of the 75mm offerings, but the boot is held tighter than most 75mm bindings which is where you get the increased lateral control and a lot of the different feel...

I'm skiing them in the least active setting too, #1, so it still surprises me how active and different this feels compared to older neutral bindings like my 'loops. The increased lateral control you mention is really obvious and good. I had no complaints about the 'loops/T2s and thought I had loads of lateral control. But nothing at all compared to this NTN Freedom.

...Also, tip rocker in lots of the modern skis takes care of most tip dive problems.

I wondered whether the 125mm Lo5 tips with their pretty subtle early rise would be enough but there was no point where they seemed even close to diving. I also have some old school Atomics NTN mounted so I'm expecting some dive with those.