# Rotating your highbacks?



## zakk

It really does help and is really easy to do.


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## Guest

I guess I just never noticed this on the slopes. Well my bindings do have a adjustments for this but its not very precise. It will be sorta close to parallel. Union Force Bindings FYI


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## Guest

Definitely try it out. Lot more responsive on the heelside.


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## Bizzman

would you rotate your highbacks with only 6 degree angle...they basicly look parallel


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## Guest

My angle is much more severe. I tend to be pretty duck-footed in my stance.


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## NYinfamous2k2

at 6 dgr I would prob leave them the way they are, its not a exact science , just look straight down over the binding and if they are close then leave it, they are not hard to do either , its just two screws at base of the highback so you could always test it and move it back if its TOO much when you switch it. but I would move them on any angle over 9 if it looks like it need it.


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## Guest

Yep, I rotated my high backs on my +12/-12 stance. I'm pretty sure most people (at least my friends) don't bother too much with this so it's not make or break especially if you're starting out. However once you do it, you don't have to mess with it again. And in my mind I'm getting the best performance from my bindings. Theoretically it helps, but does being 6 degrees off from parallel really make that much of a difference prob not.


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## Guest

I, too, never knew it made a difference, but alway wondered why the bindings were like that. I did it, though, based on the video and while I haven't actually tried em out yet, they did feel like they make a difference when I was fit testing in my living room.


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## rjattack19

i never even thought about rotating them. i just rotated mine so ill see how it works out


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## Deviant

All my life I rotated them, a quick way to get things as close as possible is use a ruler or something straight across the inside top of the highback, compare it to the angle of the board edge and that's how I get mine as close as possible.

With more extreme stance degrees you may not be able to get in perfectly parallel but it certainly helps after doing it.


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## rjattack19

my bindings only have 3 holes for 3 possible highback positions but its pretty close to even with my edge. i can def feel the difference already just from strapping in on my carpet


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## Triple8Sol

I've played with it on my Union, Rome, and Flux bindings. When I rotated the backs, they ended up at a bit of a strange angle, both vertically and within the heelcup. In the end, I've always ended up leaving them as is without rotating them.


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## NYinfamous2k2

when you rotate them they will be alittle off when folding them down and even like ^ said within the heelcup it might be tighter on one side then the other, if its reallly off then your doing something wrong you might have went one hole foward on the left and 2 back on the right for example but if they are just a bit off in the heelcup or rather where the bottom of the highback meets the back of the base plate thats normal and the benefit of having your highbacks parallel is worth it.


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## Triple8Sol

Like I said, I've tried multiple settings on multiple bindings. I always spend an hour or two playing with all the settings when I get a new set. Another factor in me leaving it is that my boots are usually at the upper size limits of bindings, so with such a tight fit in the heelcup as it is, there isn't much room to spare when the highback is tweaked.


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## Guest

ya im not too sure what you guys mean....where is this you tube video?


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## extra0

gotta agree, I tried rotating them and hated it...but I rotated them all the way parallel to the sidecut. I might try to rotate them just slightly this time and see if that's any improvement


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## crazyface

i think rotation makes a huge difference, especially on heel edge.


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## rjattack19

tried em out yesterday and i absolutely hated it. switched it back after 3 runs (which was a pain in the ass btw) it felt like it was making me go toeside. especially when i was carving hard on my toeside, twice it made my toeside dig in suuuper deep and i would wash out, never before has that happened like it did. also made jumping difficult. and when i would ollie i couldnt land straight, i kept landing sorta sideways on my toes.


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## phile00

Interesting replies. It's supposed to give you better response. I rotated the high backs to just about parallel with the heel edge and my major gripes were not performance, but the fact that I couldn't close my high backs any longer. Once you rotate them at that angle, you have to push the heel cup back. The K2 autos were adjustable enough to pull this off well.

I have 0 rotation on my Flows and I carve just fine. It does make a difference however. I didn't have any rotation on the Nitranes either. The one thing I haven't been able to determine, is wether or not it affected my foot problems.


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## redlude97

rjattack19 said:


> tried em out yesterday and i absolutely hated it. switched it back after 3 runs (which was a pain in the ass btw) it felt like it was making me go toeside. especially when i was carving hard on my toeside, twice it made my toeside dig in suuuper deep and i would wash out, never before has that happened like it did. also made jumping difficult. and when i would ollie i couldnt land straight, i kept landing sorta sideways on my toes.


This doesn't make any sense, how does the highback affect your toeside turning? The highback shouldn't even be engaged during a toeside turn :dunno:


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## seant46

redlude97 said:


> This doesn't make any sense, how does the highback affect your toeside turning? The highback shouldn't even be engaged during a toeside turn :dunno:


Lol he doesn't know what he's talking about don't listen to him. You have to give set ups more than 3 runs to tell if you like it or not.


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## rjattack19

um... i do know what im talking about. but hey thanks for your concern. idk it sorta felt like it pushed my heels forward so toeside felt real heavy as opposed to heelside.:dunno: i didnt think it would have that effect either but it did. even when i was just skating to the lift. it almost felt like it was turning my feet inward. every binding is different though, but for now ill keep the stock set up. i like it much better.


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## phile00

rjattack19 said:


> um... i do know what im talking about. but hey thanks for your concern. idk it sorta felt like it pushed my heels forward so toeside felt real heavy as opposed to heelside.:dunno: i didnt think it would have that effect either but it did. even when i was just skating to the lift. it almost felt like it was turning my feet inward. every binding is different though, but for now ill keep the stock set up. i like it much better.


Are you confusing high back rotation with forward lean? To be honest your comment kind of confused me as well. Are you riding a duck stance? If so, I'm not sure how high back rotation could make your feet feel like they were turning inward...


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## briangig

If he didnt adjust his forward lean after he rotated his high backs I can see it causing a problem, depending on his binding.


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## rjattack19

nope, def talking about rotating my high backs. it really dosnt make sense to me either. but it seemed as though my heel could not sit as far back as usual. i have big feet, size 13's on a wide board so if they are pushing my feet forward it would cause toe drag which may have been the reason for why i was washing out toeside. but as soon as i switched em back it was fine and i was able to throw down tight hard carves both heel and toeside with no issues :dunno:


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## phile00

rjattack19 said:


> nope, def talking about rotating my high backs. it really dosnt make sense to me either. but it seemed as though my heel could not sit as far back as usual. i have big feet, size 13's on a wide board so if they are pushing my feet forward it would cause toe drag which may have been the reason for why i was washing out toeside. but as soon as i switched em back it was fine and i was able to throw down tight hard carves both heel and toeside with no issues :dunno:


rotating the high backs can take the high back away form the heel cup if you don't do it right. Regardless of the angle of rotation, the high back should be flush with the heel cup. If it wasn't maybe that was your problem. Other than that, color me confused.


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## rjattack19

its very possible that thats what happened. although i dont think it was user error because i put the screws in the designated spots and tightened properly... i like my bindings just fine but this really just didnt work for me:dunno:


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## yusoweird

rjattack19 said:


> its very possible that thats what happened. although i dont think it was user error because i put the screws in the designated spots and tightened properly... i like my bindings just fine but this really just didnt work for me:dunno:


What bindings do you have?


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## Ianxcom

I always rotate my highbacks. Makes it more playful and easier to control the board. Much more comfortable imo too, especially when you have a wider stance.


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## rjattack19

i have drake czars


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## Guest

I do it with all of my bindings. In the long-run it's more comfortable and responsive. You get a lot more power transfer this way because your leaning directly into the edge of your board.


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## extra0

finally rotated my highbacks a little (4 deg) and rode them a couple of days. Can't say it really feels much different than regular...nor was there much of a performance boost. 

Good thing is it doesn't feel weird at all, like when I had them parallel to the sidecut (8 deg), so it's a keeper.


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## phile00

extra0 said:


> finally rotated my highbacks a little (4 deg) and rode them a couple of days. Can't say it really feels much different than regular...nor was there much of a performance boost.
> 
> Good thing is it doesn't feel weird at all, like when I had them parallel to the sidecut (8 deg), so it's a keeper.


When I did it with my k2 autos, it seemed to make a noticeable difference. Not huge, but definitely noticeable. Try laying some super deep carves with the new rotation, and maybe put it back to 0 and do the same thing. Then you might notice a difference.


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## LTManiac

I have the Union forces and my front foot is at 15 and my backfoot is at -9. The highback in the back is fine, the front.. the highback is unadjusted and at an angle. I tried adjusting the highback, but couldn't get the 2 inserts out of the binding (where the strap bolts screw into). Any suggestions?

But even by looking at the way my binding is set up, it looks really uncomfortable for my foot if I were to adjust the highback to be parallel with the board.. :dunno:I also have Vans Matlocks, so they have the Boa dial on the left side. I'm thinking the highback might be in the way.


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## Jim

I rotated mine on my k2 mach, but I did it before ever riding it, so I have nothing to compare it too. It seems good how it is.


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## LTManiac

YouTube - Union Force Binding Clinic

Pretty interesting.. at about 3:05 he says that due to the flex of the highback, "the days of having to rotate your highback to get it level with the board edge are gone, because you don't have a highback that bites into you"

Any thoughts on the Union Forces? I have them, just haven't ridden them yet. Hopefully this weekend.


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## fatboyj711

LTManiac said:


> YouTube - Union Force Binding Clinic
> 
> Pretty interesting.. at about 3:05 he says that due to the flex of the highback, "the days of having to rotate your highback to get it level with the board edge are gone, because you don't have a highback that bites into you"
> 
> Any thoughts on the Union Forces? I have them, just haven't ridden them yet. Hopefully this weekend.


I own a pair of Forces and Vans Focus Boa boots (with the dial on the side) and duck my front foot out at 15 degrees so I understand where you're coming from. Instead of trying to rotate my highback to be completely parallel with the sidecut, I just rotated mine as much as I could while keeping the highback flush to the heel cup (with the forward lean already set). I basically only rotated the highback 1 notch/hole on 1 side from the default setting since the highback rotation feature of the Forces is pretty limited. Even though it seems like small adjustment, I definitely prefer it over the default setting, having tried both.

In regards to your issue removing the inserts/bosses for the ankle strap/ladder, just use your screw driver you push them out once you remove the screws.


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## LTManiac

fatboyj711 said:


> post


Cool, thanks for the advice :thumbsup: I'll try that when I get home.


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## Guest

I'm running two different setups right now. One of my decks has drake bindings with non-rotated highbacks, and the other deck has forces with rotated highbacks. Granted they are completely different setups, the one with the rotated backs allows for a much more comfortable stance allowing your legs to feel a lot more comfortable.:thumbsup:


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## phile00

LTManiac said:


> YouTube - Union Force Binding Clinic
> 
> Pretty interesting.. at about 3:05 he says that due to the flex of the highback, "the days of having to rotate your highback to get it level with the board edge are gone, because you don't have a highback that bites into you"
> 
> Any thoughts on the Union Forces? I have them, just haven't ridden them yet. Hopefully this weekend.


The high backs on my Flux Feedbacks have the same flex profile, but I have mine rotated. Given that many high backs are designed like that nowadays, I'm wondering if rotating the high backs still has a positive effect. I'm guessing yes, just not as noticeable with high backs with a similar flex profile.

With respect to carving, I'm going to say that it has a positive affect for slower turns/carves, especially for lightweight riders. Only when you're really on edge hard/or are a heavier person, can I see an unrotated high back flexing significantly parallel with the board edge.


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## UncleRico

I rotated my highbacks before and while rushing to get out riding in a fit of stupidity, I went out riding with the bindings swapped (left on right and right on left). So the ratchets were all in the middle and the highbacks were rotated incorrectly. That day I went out and threw down my first FS360 and riding wasn't all that much worse.

So I guess I'll vote that they don't make much of a difference and I'm an idiot.


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## Luc

Deviant said:


> All my life I rotated them, a quick way to get things as close as possible is use a ruler or something straight across the inside top of the highback, compare it to the angle of the board edge and that's how I get mine as close as possible.
> 
> With more extreme stance degrees you may not be able to get in perfectly parallel but it certainly helps after doing it.





Deviant said:


> All my life I rotated them, a quick way to get things as close as possible is use a ruler or something straight across the inside top of the highback, compare it to the angle of the board edge and that's how I get mine as close as possible.
> 
> With more extreme stance degrees you may not be able to get in perfectly parallel but it certainly helps after doing it.


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