Shift Plates?

[voilenerd]

Anyone try B & D shift plates out or another brand of plates? I was thinking about getting set for my Voile Hardwire bindings to mess around with binding placement.

[joeatomictoad]

Nobody tried any shift plates? They seem rather simple, but those are usually the last words of the ignorant. Maybe y'all lobbying for us to infuse more money into the binding market to get better R&D?

(Inform @twopass of yet another conspiracy. )

[joeatomictoad]

This is the last time for this thread... I promise. Unless there's any message traffic on this thread besides myself

Recently procured another pair of skis. Need to decide if I want either:

• another set of bindings, OR

• two (2) sets of shift plates
  http://bndskigear.com/adapters.html

Scarpa T1, 75-mm boots; with 22D Vice traps. Intended for 100% "down". I am comparing value, performance, practicality, quiver creep sustainability, etc. If anyone has any experience, pros/cons, or any opinion on the matter, would appreciate your thoughts.

[lowangle al]

I just found out that they exist so I'm not that surprised by the lack of response. I'm curious too, it seem like they would be a good alternative to inserts with the additional benefit of being able to move your bindings.

[oggopoggo]

I've used the US, but not the European ones. Alignment is really easy with the long plate. Pick a middle position for the binding and you can adjust it later. With one pair of skis in a variety of conditions you can move it for powder or hardback performance.

[joeatomictoad]

I've used the US, but not the European ones. Alignment is really easy with the long plate. Pick a middle position for the binding and you can adjust it later. With one pair of skis in a variety of conditions you can move it for powder or hardback performance.

Thanks. So far seems rather straightforward.

[mikesee]

I used a pair this winter to figure out where I wanted my bindings to live before permanently mounting them.

Ideal for that.

[breckbaldwin]

I am a heavy user of B&D shift plates for three reasons
1) Swap bindings easily
2) Get some riser effects for carving skis, race skis
3) Mess about with binding position +-1 inch or so.

Inserts like Binding Freedom do 1) well and are preferred for fat skis since I don't want any riser, I have started using that system and actually have shift plates mounted on the inserts since shiftplates are expensive..

I have only used Hammer Heads. Axl and Outlaw X bindings.

Regarding 3) I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I am not very aware of mount point. I have put full forward on one slalom ski, full back on the other and can't feel a difference free skiing. I have tried this more than once with other sorts of skis, DPS Wailers could not have cared less. I didn't do the race ski evals on a course so I may have missed some stuff. My tele times are within 10-15% of college trained racers skiing alpine in my age in slalom so I don't totally suck.
The one time I leaned on adjustability of the shift plates was with DPS Lotus 120s mounted neutrally that I moved back to help with tip float in Hokkaido powder--super light fluffy stuff. No serious evaluation of whether it helped.

One downside to my shiftplates is that they are aluminium and have taken a permanent up bend from the flex of the ski.

So overall shift plates have worked for me as risers and to experiment, negatively for my insensate self, the impact of binding position with the economic benefits of keeping my binding count down.

Breck

[joeatomictoad]

Got a set. Mounted them up with 22D Vice bindings. Looking forward to trying this upcoming season.

One possible issue....
The width of the shift plates are substantially less than the width of the binding mount itself; the binding overhangs the shift plate several mm's on both sides.

In respect to Newtonian mechanics, physics, moments, and lever arms... I wonder if there's any penalty having less width contacting the ski. There probably is some reduction of moment from boot - to - ski, and I probably will never notice it as I am not a highly tuned racing machine. Then again, the increased height adds some moment. Maybe it's a wash.

On the bright side, trapped moisture underneath the binding has an easier time to evaporate. And, the plates can be mounted on some quite skinny skis.