Shoestring Bindings: Free the Toe?

[TallGrass]

Decided to do some uphill access skiing. Dropped off gear, parked a mile down the road in a lot versus on the highway shoulder next to the closed gate, and walked back.

Well, forgot to unload my 3pin boots and didn't want to walk back for them. I carry spare laces in my pack to lash broken snowshoe bindings, so why not try them on 3pin Rossi' fishscales?

Kind of fiddly, but I made my way up to the mid-station successfully.

Unfortunately, tying the black through the boots brown laces de-snugged by pulling the slack out. So, I re-did them running them thru the boot's eyelets, finished off with a bow tie.

I've been told trying to learn to telemark in 3pin leather boots on Nordic skis is "the hard way."
Not sure where trying to learn to telemark in non-3pin leather boots on Nordics ranks, but it IS 'interesting.'

Now time to go downhill...



Let's just say things were "loose" as in the skis felt attached to the boots like a shattered elbow hanging on to the forearm by neither skin nor muscle, but rather just a couple of tendons.

0:00 First attempt at downhill motion after getting skis lined up.
0:27 Gravity is a harsh mistress.
0:40 Lining up for Round 2 (note "clipping in" procedure).
1:45 Getting the hang of it...
2:15 Can we turn?
3:00 Oh... oh... OH!
3:26 "This" is what I'm working with.
4:22 "Safety step turn."
7:02 BRP: Binding Release Procedure



After fetching the car, I had the good fortune to run into @Erik H.
https://telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php? ... 314#p60314

Lessons Learned or Reinforced
1. It doesn't take much to have fun, especially when you embrace the ridiculous and absurd with laughter.
2. That little heel plate was worth it's weight in adamantium.
3. New respect for those who downhilled on wooden skis with just a strap over their forefoot centuries ago.
4. This binding is even more forgiving.
5. (fill in the blank with your comments below)

[lowangle al]

Theoretically you don't even need bindings. You can control your skis just by keeping weight on them. You can stay on your skis the same way a skateboarder, surfer or those guys on snowboards w/o bindings stay on their boards. The hard part is when and if you need to unweight.

You can get the feeling by leaving your boots totally loose, a soft alpine camber and decent sidecut are recommended.

[mca80]

Love it. So long as you're having fun that's the main thing.

[connyro]

This is a great post TG. It reminds me of being a kid and hacking stuff together to make it work when I didn't have the right gear. Sliding on snow is fun regardless of methods or gear and I think you prove that!

[Manney]

Sliding on snow is fun regardless of methods or gear and I think you prove that!

Stephen proved something by accident~3 weeks ago. Ask him how fun it was.

You can get the feeling by leaving your boots totally loose, a soft alpine camber and decent sidecut are recommended.

And the cycle of stupidity on the internet begins again…. Don’t confuse what a guy does in a pinch with a deliberate call to create conditions for a serious leg injury.

@Stephen … see what I mean? These guys aren’t your… anyone’s friends.

[lowangle al]

Why do you have to fuck up every thread Manney?

You should read more and write less.

[lowangle al]

Manney, you've only been on the other forum a couple weeks and you've already been called stupid. I've been conversing with those guys for almost 20 years and haven't been called stupid. Your ignorance is obvious to anyone that is a telemark skier, you're not fooling anybody. You even had to create two different accounts over there to have someone to agree with you.

[DG99]

The shoestring bindings would work better if you put your boot in walk mode to create more forward pressure on the ball of foot. Unfortunately then your bindings might not release, could cause injury.

JK!!!!

[TallGrass]

Don't worry folks, there's "more" to come...

(BTW, you don't hear it, but there was a LOT of laughter and giggling off camera, as in "HOLY S#!& this feels s-k-e-t-ch!)

You can stay on your skis the same way a skateboarder, surfer or those guys on snowboards w/o bindings stay on their boards. The hard part is when and if you need to unweight.

True enough, however for me it was like riding TWO surfboards or TWO (skinny) snowboards!

You can get the feeling by leaving your boots totally loose, a soft alpine camber and decent sidecut are recommended.

Already done that a couple times.

If there's slop in my 3pin leather boots, the lace can come unhooked and then a chain-reaction of unhooking happens*, but at least I still have my toes clamped in.
(* This just happened the other day uphilling at Breck with another member here.)

Love it. So long as you're having fun that's the main thing.

Yep! Laughing from the moment the idea came to me sitting near the base of the lift, until well after!

This is a great post TG. It reminds me of being a kid and hacking stuff together to make it work when I didn't have the right gear. Sliding on snow is fun regardless of methods or gear and I think you prove that!

Um, I think my ski paints' bottoms' patches prove that ( glissading).

And the cycle of stupidity on the internet begins again…. Don’t confuse what a guy does in a pinch with a deliberate call to create conditions for a serious leg injury.

Ah stupidity, comes in so many forms.
There's the stupidity that hurts.
Then there's the stupidity that let's some air out of our preconceptions of what we need and what it takes.
Given the conditions (weather, slope, snow, distance from US-160 [and the Colorado Highway Patrol van parked near the base], etc.), I knew I've been in more danger behind the wheel (or handlebars) on public roads.
Ya'll stay safe out there -- as Honda's ad once said, "Stupid hurts."

Also note at the first fall, I let my poles go so they're out of the way, and my hands were not in the wrist straps. Safety third!

The shoestring bindings would work better if you put your boot in walk mode to create more forward pressure on the ball of foot. Unfortunately then your bindings might not release, could cause injury.

JK!!!!

Awww, dag-nam-it! Walk mode! Why didn't I... Ok, folks, I'm going to start a new thread complete with Free Body diagrams of the component vectors of force along with a spreadsheet of the tensile strength of various shoelaces sorted by material (cotton, nylon, ...), diameter, color, brand, country of origin, ...

In terms of crashing, I actually felt safer in shoestring bindings because there's no way they'd ever be able to torque my ankle. See 0:40 and 3:26. SMH, LOL

And at 0:52, look at the tips of the skis to see when I rolled them upright. It was just easier to get up and in position with my heels in the snow and skis off sideways.

[fisheater]

^^^^^^^
Thanks @TallGrass i got a good laugh to end my night!