# Are break-away bindings like safer?



## ATOTony76 (May 26, 2009)

board541 said:


> how come almost everyone uses the permenantly attached bindings when break-away ones seem safer? I'm new to SB and am gonna get a cheap used board prolly a click-in type.


In actuality, if you have break away bindings and you crash you probably would have more of a chance of hurting yourself. With a leash you have the possibility of the board rebounding back at you, without the leash your board goes flying down the hill potentially hitting someone else. We don't have brakes like skiis. Plus with strap bindings you get more control and they are more comfortable.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

IMO, the only situation where they are definitely safer is in the backcountry. I eventually want to pick up a pair for backcountry use. If you get caught in an avy, it would be very advantageous to get rid of that board. All it's going to do is drag you down.


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## legallyillegal (Oct 6, 2008)




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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

I've had a drake corsa binding brake off while blasting...apparenty flexed the board too much at the rear binding that the baseplate popped...screws still firmly in the board...though probably saved the board from snapping. I was the only thing that went flying...one footy...not fun...and luckily not hurt but easily could have with the board flopping around on one leg. I would always rather have my board on than half-off or off completely.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2009)

board541 said:


> how come almost everyone uses the permenantly attached bindings when break-away ones seem safer? I'm new to SB and am gonna get a cheap used board prolly a click-in type.


why do click in bindings seem safer? there's been a big move away from step-in to straps because most people agree straps are simply better from a performance point of view. with strap bindings, more of your body movement is tranlated into board performance.

there used to be an argument that step-in were more convenient but even that position is questioned these days. i work at a ski school in a large tahoe resort and all of our sowboards - kid and adults - are straps now. maybe it does take 15 seconds longer to get each foot in but the performance gain is more than worth it.

alasdair


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

I think if anything a strap in binding is safer. Many times have I seen snowboards flying down the hill because the user hasn't been informed of what the purpose of a leash is for. We've had a couple instructors go home with broken fingers and such trying to catch a runaway board...not pretty. Not to mention, lessons are way more productive as well when you're not spending half the lesson scraping ice out of the clicker type bindings.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2009)

linvillegorge said:


> IMO, the only situation where they are definitely safer is in the backcountry. I eventually want to pick up a pair for backcountry use. *If you get caught in an avy, it would be very advantageous to get rid of that board.* All it's going to do is drag you down.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2009)

I might just get a cheap used version of both and re-sell the one I don't want. I went once with a click-in rental and couldn't carve in the harder of the 2 directions, so maybe the better controll of the strap-down will let me. I used to skae a bit like drop in quarter pipe, 180 flips, 10 foot 5-0 grinds and i guess i have a fobia of being perma-connected to the board if i falls.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2009)

these days, perhaps 1 out of every 200 riders* is using step-in. there's a reason they are so rare...

alasdair

* this is a guess. an informed guess, but a guess nonetheless.


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## roremc (Oct 25, 2009)

Pretty sure they would increase the chance of death! Imagine one footing it down a double black! This is one of the reasons i dont like skiing anymore.


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## MunkySpunk (Jan 7, 2009)

Having both feet attached to the same board dramatically reduces the chance of torquing your knee around and ruining both your season and the rest of your calendar year.


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## Glade Ripper (Nov 12, 2008)

"Are break-away bindings like safer?"

Like no :thumbsdown:


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## return2heaven (Jan 28, 2009)

Go with flows over step in types like clickers etc... they'll be way more comfortable and you won't need to buy new boots when you're ready for traditional strap bindings


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## Tarzanman (Dec 20, 2008)

board541 said:


> how come almost everyone uses the permenantly attached bindings when break-away ones seem safer? I'm new to SB and am gonna get a cheap used board prolly a click-in type.


There are a couple of reasons.

The first reason is that there isn't nearly as much of a reason to split yourself from your snowboard if you bust as with skis. Rookies jack up skiing in new and inventive ways.... their legs go in one direction, feet go in another direction while their skis are pointed in a third direction! (The poles are usually long gone by this point)

In a skiing wreck, it is very easy for one of those planks to catch, which can distribute all that torque/energy to a SINGLE ankle or a knee.... this is why beginner skiers have bindings set to come loose so easily... its pretty easy to twist an ankle attached to a 3 foot plank going in an opposite direction than you are.

With a snowboard, your feet are locked into a set position at a set angle. Any torque from the tip of a board catching during a tumble has to go through both legs and your torso before it can twist anything out of place. You can still tweak a knee while snowboarding, but unless you snap your board you are extremely unlikely to twist an ankle. You're much more likely to sprain it from compressive forces that push or pull the board away from your foot than twist it.... and even that is hard to do because the board is attached to your other foot! This means that something usually has to go *seriously* wrong for a snowboard, your body, and your foot to insist on going in their own separate directions.

The last reason (IMO) that non-release bindings are better for snowboarding is because of the manner in which most snowboarders fall. When I bust, I usually bend at the waist and ball up slightly. On an intermediate slope, this usually gives me plenty of opportunity to roll a bit and stand right back up onto the board by using the uphill portion of the slope to bounce off of. It would be harder to do this if my snowboard kept flying off of my feet at the first sign of trouble!


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