h.harb wrote:The best interim method for canting is to raise (by backing out the screws and sliding material under the binding) one side of the heel piece of the binding and place credit card strips, between the binding and the ski).
If your canting needs are the thickness of two or less credit cards thick (stacked one top of the other) . This comes to about 1 to 1 ½ degrees of canting. Cut to size with scissors, credit card type plastic strips ½ inch wide, 2 inches long, . The screws in most bindings are long enough for this installation. You can get longer screws from us, if you send us an identical screw to what you have presently in every binding hole. The longer screws need only be placed on the side you are raising. If you know the model of binding and year, we can probably figure out the right length and send them to you.
We do not recommend this as a permanent canting solution, as it requires more expertise than most skiers have and you have the risk of not unscrewing and re-screwing the bindings properly. It should be done toe and heel and this process gets complicated. The bindings afterward have to be checked for release values by an authorized and accredited ski shop.
Stacking Duct tape is a very dangerous way to experiment, as it’s sticky and it affects binding releases. It is also horribly inaccurate, as it changes thickness with compression and it’s hard to correlate to angles. You can for better experimenting temporarily place an alignment shim between the heel of boot and the heel piece of the binding, right at the spot where the heel of the boot strikes the binding plate. We do this to test alignment. We do it in a safe environment with supervision of the coach. We have never had a problem with release or binding malfunction, but I don’t recommend it if you are not knowledgeable about your canting.
A wrong placed shim or duct tape can negatively influence movement. If you have a problem with movement, balance or getting the ski on edge, due to or with the temporary set up, you may not be able to control your turns. We know the limitations and we know how to control the situation, if you don’t, you could cause yourself an accident.
We do our canting with permanently installed, angled, boot sole plates (see our web site or thread on this forum) these plates are professionally installed on boots and with them in place, you can still make fine tuning adjustments.
Many skiers get themselves into a real quandary about their skiing when experimenting with their own canting. The reason for this is that any change may feel good initially, even incorrect changes often feel good.
Some well meaning (even feeling good), but improperly placed canting changes may actually have a detriment overall affect on skiing performance. There are many factors and reasons for this. Some degrees of canting work and feel good on certain types of snow but are bad on other snow conditions. A change on one side may feel great at first, but has a negative affect on the other side.
Over aggressive canting, to get more edge, always feels good, as it gives the impression of more edge grip, but makes it harder to tip “farther” (it may reduce your tipping ability on the stance ski, big toe side). Raising the big toe side may make it easier to tip to the little toe, but it also creates more resistance for tipping toward the big toe edge; therefore tipping becomes more difficult.
Basically, it’s not a good idea to experiment on your own. The benefits more than ever, are outweighed by the percentage frustration realized.