# To Rotate or Not Rotate High Back...???



## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Should you or should you not rotate your high back so that its parallel/straight with your side cut radius...?

I find that rotating my high backs really does nothing beneficial for my heel side riding ability, stance, comfort and/or progression. If anything, rotating my high backs actually negatively affects my comfort and riding. Creating pressure/pinch points around my calves on the outside. 

When I don't rotate the high backs and leave them straight/normal...My calves feel a whole lot more comfortable and I do not get pinch/pressure points. I am +12/-12 duck. I am currently using Union Contact. 

Where or What is the benefit of rotating the high backs if it causes pain/discomfort...? 

Wrong size binding maybe...? Maybe try a different brand of binding that has a more comfortable (i.e. Flat) high back that does not cause pinch points...?


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## Fielding (Feb 15, 2015)

Union Contacts are soft. I don't understand how rotating them to get the backs parallel to your edges in a 12-12 duck stance would cause pinch points. Are you wearing snowboard boots or just a pair of wellies? With stiff boots and bindings I find that rotating the backs makes for better heel rail control.


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

Well...It would seem that I am getting 'calf bite' of some sort. 

Any ideas as to what's causing the calf bite...?

Any one have remedies or solutions for calf bite...?

The problem is...I have a big bone/thick body type for my relatively short height. Because of this...my calves are pretty big/meaty. For a frame of reference...you could say I have 'soccer player' sized calves. 

I am using 32 Lashed and I would assume they are a proper fit for my feet. 32 lashed seems to be the most comfortable for me and my foot, ankle and calves at the moment compared to other brands I have tried. (Burton, DC, Salomon etc.) 

I am thinking its mostly a binding high back issue that I am having and that I probably need to switch to a different brand/model that has a 'flatter' profile high back that will not create a 'pinch point' around my big calves when I rotate the high back. 

Been looking at bindings all over the internet and Ride Bindings (Rodeo, Revolt) look like they have a pretty flat high back compared to most other brands on the market that have a more rounded/pointy high back. I might give Ride Bindings a try and see if that will help with my calf bite issue.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

How much fwd lean are you using? Reduction of lean didn't help to reduce the pinch? Ur sure it's the highback and not the rim of the boot?

How tall ar you? Boot size? Maybe swapping to a different highback, shorter one, will help. If you have low set calve muscles, maybe try even a women's model highback.

I get calve bite from many men's boots n bindings, cos the boot leg or highback is too high; others work well. It's trial and error. (I'm tall but have low attached girls calves; could imagine that guys with short legs can run into similar pinch problems with certain boots/bindings).


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## Faded_Butters (Jan 22, 2017)

neni said:


> How much fwd lean are you using? Reduction of lean didn't help to reduce the pinch? Ur sure it's the highback and not the rim of the boot?
> 
> How tall ar you? Boot size? Maybe swapping to a different highback, shorter one, will help. If you have low set calve muscles, maybe try even a women's model highback.
> 
> I get calve bite from many men's boots n bindings, cos the boot leg or highback is too high; others work well. It's trial and error. (I'm tall but have low attached girls calves; could imagine that guys with short legs can run into similar pinch problems with certain boots/bindings).


I am 5'5"-5'6" and around 165lbs. I wear a size 7.5 boot. I always have NO FORWARD LEAN. 

Its definitely not the boots. Although...I do have pretty low set calves with not much height between my knees and the ground. Because my calves are pretty big/meaty and set kind of low...I am now thinking about switching to a shorter height boot. 

32 makes a boot called the Maven that is mainly geared for park/urban/street use. It only has 2 eyelets instead of the usual 3 for the upper part of the boot. Therefore...its a pretty low height boot that will not get in the way of my calves.

I think this boot might help/alleviate some of the calf bite. But I won't know for sure until I try them out. 

I have tried Flux bindings with a soft urethane high back and short height. This did seem to help out a lot on minimizing calf bite. The only problem was it wasn't that stable and good for carving on groomers. My heel side turns didn't feel as strong and controlled. Therefore...I decided to ditch them in favor of Union since their high backs are a little stiffer and taller. 

I love the stiffness and height of the Union high backs and they definitely help out on heel side carves. I just wish they had a flatter profile so that they wouldn't cause a pinch point and lead to calf bite.


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