# Binding Angles and Foot Size Correlation...???



## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Been thinking a lot about binding angles and foot sizes lately. 

I used to think...Binding angles are 'purely' subjective and is a matter of preference based on rider ability, rider physical stats and rider's terrain/riding style preference. 

But after reading some forums and browsing videos and images...now I am thinking...

1. Binding angles are a 'direct correlation' to how big/small your feet are.

Meaning...the bigger your feet are, the more aggressive/larger your angles should be...vice versa...the smaller your feet are, the smaller/less aggressive your angles should be...Right...?

Because...From my own experiences playing around with binding angles in a Duck Stance...I have found that...

Larger angles for my 7.0-7.5 feet (+/- 15)...Do not feel comfortable at all and actually hinder my progression. 

Whereas smaller angles of (+/- 12) (+/- 9)...are a lot more comfortable on my ankles, knees and thighs/waist. Therefore making riding a lot more enjoyable and progression a lot faster and better. 

Can anyone concur...? 

Or am I wrong and binding angles are purely preference and you need to find what angles work for you, depending on your ability, gear, physical stats and riding style/terrain preference...?


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Reason I ask is...

I have been riding +15 front, -15 back duck stance for the longest...And I am just now starting to realize that I have been riding my angles too large/aggressively...for far too long.

Therefore...is the reason why I haven't been progressing as fast as I would have liked and also why I am not finding it comfortable being on my board no matter what I do...be it different board styles, sizes and brands.

I am afraid that if I am correct about how my my angles should of been smaller all along...Well than...I would have not spent so much money in the past (3-4 seasons) on different board styles, brands and sizes....

When its obviously apparent...I should of just changed my angles to make them smaller. Than I would have solved a lot of comfort, gear and ability issues a lot more efficiently and effectively.

Therefore...I could have saved a TON more money in the long run...!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Here are my stats...

Male _ 5'5-5'6 _ 165-170lbs
7.0-7.5 Boot Size
Somewhat stocky and thick body build. (Big Bone)
50% Groomers (Morning)
50% Park (Afternoon) 
Riding Ability: Just transitioning into intermediate
Riding Style: "mildly" aggressive sometimes...but mostly mellow / laidback. 

Based on this alone...What should be the 'optimum' binding angle(s) I should use...for what I ride and how I like to ride...?


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

I'd argue stance angles has much more to do with hip anatomy and height than boot size. Personally I like to keep 30 degrees of total turn out with my hips, park I ride 15,-15, all mountain 18,-12, powder or charging 21,-9. Some people will use angles to help make up for their boot size, i.e low angles for small boots on a wide board, or high angles for a big boot on a small board. I used to work with a guy who rode 30,-30 looked fucking ridiculous but he said it was comfortable for him and he had old bulky boots on a fairly narrow board. I'd also bet someone who's slightly pigeon toed would hate riding with say a 15,-15 stance, it would feel completely unnatural to them. 

You answered your own question saying you feel more comfortable with angles around 12 or 9, so keep riding those for a while and see if that helps you progress more. You'll also be able to get slightly more leverage over the boards edges as a bonus.


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## jae (Nov 27, 2015)

fuck with your stance width too. too wide/narrow can hurt. changing the angles of your bindings can also effect how low you can go on your board if you keep the same stance width.


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Should I be changing my angles accordingly to fit the size of the board...?

That is...

Bigger board = larger/more aggressive angles

Smaller board = smaller/less aggressive angles

Correct...?


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## Phedder (Sep 13, 2014)

Faded_Butters said:


> Should I be changing my angles accordingly to fit the size of the board...?
> 
> That is...
> 
> ...






Phedder said:


> *I'd argue stance angles has much more to do with hip anatomy and height than boot size.*


Forget the size of the board. Ride what is comfortable to you, and for that style of riding. If you have to consider the size of the board, I'd say you've got it backwards above. A bigger board is likely to be wider, so if you also go with a larger binding angle that's going to move your feet even further away from the boards edges. Wider board + large angles = massively reduced leverage. That is bad. 

Stop overthinking. You said you're comfortable at 12,-9 so go fucking ride at 12, -9, and then play around with other angles and figure it out yourself.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

Yes your way overthinking it. It is pretty much all about comfort and personal preference unless it's an extreme case of you are a ghetto child and have your dad's size 12 boots with your sisters small women's board, then you might want a ghetto solution like extreme angles. 

Most people who put some time and research into a setup will know if the board will accommodate the boots. Even if a shitty salesman sells you something you know nothing abiut chances are you will not need extreme angles. 

I'm comfortable at 15 -12 and my binding literally hangs off my board a little bit 25.5ish waist with L/XL bindings and size 11 boots. But I prefer that than riding a wide board and I have no issues carving unless I'm really really going Euro style. I have never even thought about more angle to accomodate my large boots actually.


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

Faded_Butters said:


> Been thinking a lot about binding angles and foot sizes lately.
> 
> I used to think...Binding angles are 'purely' subjective and is a matter of preference based on rider ability, rider physical stats and rider's terrain/riding style preference.
> 
> ...


I've been changing my thoughts about angles. I used to think I had a set of angles that I'd move from board to board. No more. Now it's totally board dependent. My current thinking has me setting angles to put toes and heels right up to the rails on whatever board I'm on. I'm looking for leverage on the edges so I think it makes sense to get right up to the edges without going over --because I don't wanna boot out. So basically my angles reflect my boot size as well as the width of the board at the place where I put the bindings. I ride + front and back but I suppose you could employ the same philosophy if you want to do duck stance.


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