 Poster: A snowHead
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I will start this by saying I know NOTHING about ski mounting. I just wondered why some skis seem to be mounted an equal distance from the tip and tail, whereas most are a bit further back (I think?), ie further from the tip and nearer to the tail.
I demoed some skis the other day and they seemed to be mounted very centrally and I didn't like them at all!!
I just wondered what the reason is for doing it, is it better for off-piste or park skis?
They were Nordica Hell's Belles.
Sorry if it's a dumb question 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@HoneyBunny, Typically it's for the park - helps for spinning and skiing backwards - though *some* free ride skis are moving towards a more 'new school' centred mount too (though not properly centremounted yet).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Better for park, riding switch, turning quickly, women specific for the centre of gravity... I know that I prefer mine a little forward. But for big deep powder blasting the rearwards position may be better. Even on my slalom skis I prefer to sacrifice some high speed stability and move the binding to the forward position for quicker turn initiation.
Some good comments here...
http://www.snowheads.co.uk/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=611
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@clarky999, @Scarpa, Ahh thanks very interesting! I should have searched for binding, not mounting, sorry!
I guessed it must have been a balance thing but couldn't figure out how it might help, other than maybe on rails.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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More centred mounts and more upright stances seem to be the thing these days, at least in more 'freeridey' skis, even if they're quite directional and not intended for switch landings, etc.
Couldn't tell you whether its a good thing, or whether it is even likely to be an on-going change in design as opposed to just another fad, mind you  Some of the sponsored athletes seem to like it, so maybe you can just blame them?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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As already stated a mount in the middle of the ski is obviously optimal for doing spins or if you ski switch. There is no explicit forwards or backwards in such situations.
The interesting question is why can performance be better (in a forwards direction) if the bindings are set further back?
Well the first issue is that park oriented twin tips tend to be symmetrical (which is reasonable id they can go forwards or backwards). This is not the case for many other skis. The geometry and stiffness profile assumes that the ski is travelling forwards.
To cut a long story short, piste skis are more or less symmetrical if you cut the tip (plus maybe a bit more) off. The remainder is what you ski on actually in the turn. The bit up front is softer to give a better turn initiation and to soak up minor bumps, the tail tends to be a bit stiffer to give you "pop" as you exit the turn.
A park twin tip can't be softer up front because what is the front at one moment is the back at another moment. You can still carve such a ski but ut takes some adjustment of technique.
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OK, but the Hell's Belles aren't twin tips, so maybe wouldn't be the first choice for the park - they're 90 underfoot and marketed as an all-mountain ski.
I presume therefore it's meant to make them turn more easily, but to me it just felt wrong!
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@HoneyBunny, Sometimes it just takes a couple of days on them to readjust. And it may have been the ski rather than the binding position that you didn't get on with. When I moved mine forward I also found that bumps and tree skiing were a little easier.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Mmmm good point, a few runs in a fridge probably wasn't a fair test.
I still loved the Blizzard Black Pearls though!!
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Centre mounting is usually used for park skis so that you are more balanced on rails and whilst spinning. Powder skis are cantered further back to allow the tips to float up more am I right?
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