Bindings may be one of the most misunderstood pieces of equipment in skiing. While their main goal is to keep you attached to your skis, there’s a whole lot of other functionality that they provide that’s actually really, really important to skiing, and is often completely overlooked. For example, release – in a twisting, tumbling fall, you’d rather have the weak point be the binding instead of your knee, right? Then there’s elastic travel – as you go downhill, a good binding will flex underneath your feet to help absorb impact, reduce chatter, and help you keep an edge in icier conditions, and there’s so much more than just that.
But don’t just take it from me, a 20-something surfer/skier whose entire season this year primarily consisted of cross country. Take it from Cody Townsend, because when you’re a pro skier pushing the limits of what you can do on skis, you know a whole freakin’ lot more ski bindings.
