Serious weakness w H-boot & H-bindings ???

[boarderboy]

You'd need a 100% reliable way to ensure that both feet came out if one binding got enough load on it. The lawyers would have a field day on the maker of any binding that allowed one foot to release but not the other.

You can search my previous responses on this topic (I'm too lazy), but I used Miller's hardboot release bindings off and on for probably three seasons.

I didn't like em, but in all that time, I'm not sure I remember a one-boot release.

This issue will not go away. As the existing boarder population ages, as a (granted small) number of debilitating injuries continues to occur, and IF you want hardbooting to pick up a few of the growing retiree population, the equipment will have to become simpler and more comfortable to use. And injuries will have to be minimized.

It's that simple.

BB

[philfell]

The reason ski binding release, it to help prevent spiral fractures of the tibia. This is not an issue with snowboarding. No need to release from a snowboard, as far as I can see.

[heroshmero]

No need to release from a snowboard, as far as I can see.

+1 on that. My knees and ankles feel much safer attached to the same snowboard than they do when attached to two different skis. And the statistics back that up.

My sister used to be risk manager at Nortstar and used to give me all kinds of interesting stats. Skiing has more knee and ankle injuries than snowboarding. Snowboarding has more wrist and head injuries.

[SteveInOregon]

Snowboarding is a dangerous sport, you can limit and/or minimize the risk of injury, but you can not totally eliminate it. Sometimes injuries happen that can not have been avoidable.

It seems to me that you may be over thinking/looking for something to blame your injury on.

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MY REPLY: No not at all, it was "my bad", I blew it on many levels that day.

I take on & accept the risk when I ride motorcycle, road bike, mnt bike and alpine board.

I am just pondering the mechanics of simply lessening the risk on less than optimum pack with a more comprehensive shock absorbing system

[SteveInOregon]

+1 on that. My knees and ankles feel much safer attached to the same snowboard than they do when attached to two different skis. And the statistics back that up.

My sister used to be risk manager at Nortstar and used to give me all kinds of interesting stats. Skiing has more knee and ankle injuries than snowboarding. Snowboarding has more wrist and head injuries.

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MY REPLY: Yes, that was made clear to me too in 1987 when I tore my left ACL on ski's at Mammoth CA, that is the primary reason I switch to S-board and never looked back.

It's weird because since 88 I have fallen all sorts of ways and all manner of mishaps with no injuries on a typical all mountain board and now that I switched to hard alpine I break my freaking ankle in the 2nd month / 18th session, :o oh well, lol.

[SteveInOregon]

EA Miller made a releasable plate binding in the late 80's early 90's. It didn't really go anywhere.

The first releaseable ski bindings relied on a plate fitted to the boot similar to what a snowboard plate binding looks like.

I will mirror what others here are saying, it is unfortunate that you were injured in a crash, but snowboarding can be dangerous, that's life.

If you want to go through life with everything "bubble wrapped" for safety, that's your choice.

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MY REPLY: I agree "that's life".

I'm trying to strike a balance for my age and injury bracket so to speak.

I balance it out, I charge hard and "takes my chances", and on the other hand I wear a helmet and padded gear so I "can" charge hard and go to work the next day, lol.

Otherwise I would say F the helmet, and screw the jacket it's too hot on a blue bird run and just wear 3 things > surf trunks, sun glasses and a left hand glove to surf the snow and I use to do just that "until" I found out the packed groom is vicious on the skin at over 30+ mph , 2nd only to asphalt pavement and concrete, :flamethrolol.

[heroshmero]

I break my freaking ankle in the 2nd month / 18th session, :o oh well, lol.

I've found in making the switch that the ankles do take a lot of stress in alpine and I've learned to work my knees and ankles differently than in soft boots. I find you have to put a lot more into using your knees as shock absorbers.

Aside from all that... how are you now? Did you get it checked out? Is it really broken?

[SteveInOregon]

I think that when you go down this way, either you blow the boot out and break your ankle, or the boot'll hold and you'll break your leg. Solution: don't crash like that. Avoidance tactics: when the snow is dodgy, favour the back of the board. I don't think many will break their ankle the same way twice.

IIRC speed boarding bindings are mandated to be releasable (although it's not a formal FIS sport). I can't remember what the bindings look like or how they operate though.

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MY REPLY: Perfect answer > Don;t do that again, lol, Your dam right I'm not getting sloppy and lazy ridding that way again.

[terekhov]

after I sprained my ankle and my attention turned to it - I can surely say that definitive hardboot riding DO weaken ankle and foot muscles a lot: I have a very hard time adapting to softboots after some tens of days in hardboots. so my hypothesis is that hardbooters have weaker feet than softbooters.... I mean seasons of 100 days or so, not 10-20 days of course

but I love hardboots, so my solution is 100% vibram five fingers in the summer to rehab after winter ;) -- my only summer shoes is fivefingers (excl. bicycling)