| Stance Balancing -
In Detail Stance
Balancing... Is it science or magic? We joke with our
customers that it's part luck, part magic, part skill and part knowledge. To
build a good foot bed you you have to be a little bit carpenter and a little
bit artist. Technically, stance balancing or stance alignment is the
art and science of setting up the ski system - the foot bed, the ski boot,
the ski and the binding to provide the skier with optimal balance. The
key is to promote sound biomechanics in the three planes of movement; front
plane or edging, lateral plane or fore-aft pressure control, and the
transversal plane or steering. WOW, but what does that mean to the
skier? Simply easier and way more fun skiing! When the objective
is met the transmission of energy from the skier to the ski edge becomes
quick and effortless.
Any level of skier can benefit from
Stance Balancing, but it is the "Terminal Intermediate" who will reap the
most rewards from the process. Chances are this skier can't seem to
get better no matter how many lessons they take or how much new equipment
they buy. This skier probably is not biomechanically capable of riding
a flat ski.
OK, so how is this accomplished...
- Proper Boot Fit
- Solve Boot Problems
- Custom Foot Beds
- Upper Cuff Alignment
- Fore/Aft Blance
- Canting
Stance Balancing - The Major Steps to a
Solution
You should expect to spend 2-3 hours in this process.
For the next year we're partners in this investment towards better skiing.
(P.S. Don't say anything about the gray hair to Jim, he hasn't seen
these pictures yet.)
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- A series of measurements are
taken to recommend the best possible boot.
- The boot should fit like a
firm handshake.
- Your toes should touch or
brush the front of the boot when standing.
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- We take preadjustment
measurements to gauge improvement during the process.
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- Our HDVAC machine provides
the ability to custom build a foot bed for each foot.
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- We grind the foot beds to
your individual needs
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- Putting the finishing
touches on your custom foot beds.
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- Checking the foot bed to
make sure it's making the corrections that we set out to do.
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- Comparing the preadjustment
measurements and post foot bed installation for improvements.
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- Setting the upper cuff
alignment - aligning the cuff of the boot to the angle of your leg.
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- Checking static fore/aft
balance.
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- Checking dynamic fore/aft
balance.
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- Checking the need for cants
on the same device used on the US Ski Team.
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- Final visual check - How
does it feel?
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