Boots like the Obrien Prodigy, Radar Strada, and FM E-Series have made front-lace rubber boots obsolete. That's my opinion, some still swear by them, I can't.

I skied on animals for years, then went to the approaches.  the Animals were more comfortable, but I like the way the approach bindings make you bend your knee slightly due to the built in forward cant.  As mentioned above, you will not come out of the binding if it is cinched tight and the strap is tight.  If you just snug it up, you should come out in a hard fall.  My feet cramp up after 5 or six passes in the approach and I plan to switch to the Strada/RS-1 boot next year for comfort reasons.

danbirch wrote:

[...]
You may want to check out the results of a survey taken.  The Animals were significantly higher in skiing injuries than any other brand (by a 2:1 margin), Approaches were very high on the list as well.  It appears that the lack of release in bad falls causes sprains or breaks.  The results can be seen at http://www.danbirch.com/2010_water_ski_ … urvey.html

Bearing in mind that this "survey" was an opt-in format offered to a small target audience bearing all the inherent flaws associated with such internet attempts.  Universally, statistical analysts consider the results from such efforts to be just about worthless.  For many reasons the results should be considered advisory (at best).

That said, the only binding injury (minor) I ever had was in a pair of HO approaches - a non-release issue.

TW

Thomas Wayne wrote:

danbirch wrote:

[...]
You may want to check out the results of a survey taken.  The Animals were significantly higher in skiing injuries than any other brand (by a 2:1 margin), Approaches were very high on the list as well.  It appears that the lack of release in bad falls causes sprains or breaks.  The results can be seen at http://www.danbirch.com/2010_water_ski_ … urvey.html

Bearing in mind that this "survey" was an opt-in format offered to a small target audience bearing all the inherent flaws associated with such internet attempts.  Universally, statistical analysts consider the results from such efforts to be just about worthless.  For many reasons the results should be considered advisory (at best).

That said, the only binding injury (minor) I ever had was in a pair of HO approaches - a non-release issue.

TW

That's interesting, Thomas, that your own experience was consistant with the "worthless" survey.  Maybe bindings that RELEASE are safer than those that don't release.

jamisonsbrodie wrote:

I skied on animals for years, then went to the approaches.  the Animals were more comfortable, but I like the way the approach bindings make you bend your knee slightly due to the built in forward cant.  As mentioned above, you will not come out of the binding if it is cinched tight and the strap is tight.  If you just snug it up, you should come out in a hard fall.  My feet cramp up after 5 or six passes in the approach and I plan to switch to the Strada/RS-1 boot next year for comfort reasons.

Jamisonsbrodie - fyi   both me and my ski partner have approach bindings and when i first got them they were killing my front foot to the point of getting numb.  so we both relaced them and left the first like three loops unlaced completely.  this helped my comfort a ton and now i ski as many passes as i want without foot discomfort

Thomas, of course it's not going to be a perfect survey.  If you have a better way to conduct one, do it.  You would be doing a great thing for the sport.  Your survey consisted of 3, this one surveyed many, of which, about 90 reported injuries.  Feel free to gather anything you want from it, or, nothing from it.  That is ok.

danbirch wrote:

Thomas, of course it's not going to be a perfect survey.  If you have a better way to conduct one, do it.  You would be doing a great thing for the sport.  Your survey consisted of 3, this one surveyed many, of which, about 90 reported injuries.  Feel free to gather anything you want from it, or, nothing from it.  That is ok.

The mathematical difference between a targeted sample of 3 and a targeted sample of 86 is irrelevant when the group being sampled has millions of total participants.  At some point the sample is simply too small to draw ANY reasonable conclusions, and in waterskiing that validity point is way, way greater than ~90.

Is there a better way to conduct such an injury-related survey?  I don't know, but what I DO know is that boating and skiing injuries are tracked annually by a number of government agencies, both state and federal.  Granted, it's a lot more work to do some of that kind of research (than just set up something on Survey Monkey)...

TW

Kyle - to get back to your question, I have skied both. Could not get comfortable with the forward cant of the approach bindings so have gone back to animals. Have tried, at one time or another, most out there from Stradas to FM and still prefer my animals. I don't tighten the laces at all, I prefer the lose feeling. I come out just fine this way when I do have a yard sale which thankfully, is not too often. Boots are nothing more than a personal preference, to each their own but I have not had an injury with animals in 8+ yrs.

We (FM) take safety very seriously. We introduced the Quattro step-in/split plate release system;  heat moldable EVA liners; self-test methods to ensure safe release from the ski; and the E-Series release cuff and cord system.  Our boots are more robust and can handle higher forces all aimed at protecting the skier. We also improved the stability of the Silvretta-based system with a new toe connection and more stable heel. All these developments were done with safety in mind while maintaining pro-level performance!

Temperature, newness and foot size have a lot to do with how the expansion type bindings perform.  We get many emails and calls with respect to skier injuries - hundreds over the years. When I tested cinch-up rubber bindings my ankles were toast just getting into them. They really scared me skiing them. I know there have been quite a few skiers hurt on the stiffer/higher cinch boots - especially for colder conditions. In fact the Approaches aren't offered anymore.

one more thing - When I skied rubber boots I used a Seal Saver silicone as a lube. This made it easier for my feet to exit as well. I found that using soap just grabbed my foot way too much.

Last edited by Shark (Fri, Aug 13, 2010 5:50 AM)

Wow,

hey guys don't forget the animal bindings are probably the most skied bindings on the water....so there will be more accidents with them. No bindings are safe period ! Shit happens!. Exo have failure, reflex have failure etc...I have skied for 6 years in animal and never got the slight injury to my ankles ( plenty off otf and yard sales) but i did 2 things: make sure you are in the right size, don't overtight the laces. I also kept the rubber overlap even with the newer boots ( i think the faux leather overlap did not have enough elasticity to release properly and was very uncorfortable) HO made a mistake to change that in my opinion.

That binding poll was a good intention but was bound to be unreliable by its design. You have to do a lot of stats analysis on the results and properly weight everything taking into account all variables to come to any fair conclusion. Like i said the intention was good but the results cannot be taken for any ranking for safety.

To answer the original post, i made the switch to radar strada and i think those kind of boots are safe, reliable and a step foward in skiing equipment. The animal bindings are good bindings... my son skies with my old animal and love them....but next year i am bying strada for him too. Again you have to follow the rules, get the right size, follow the instruction on lace tension to make sure the y will release in case of a fall.

The biggest reason people get injured is poor technique and bad equipment set up. Get coaching ( i did and i haven't got injured since). The video coaching from this site is very good ( i had a session with Wade that made me even more solid on my ski) it is a smart investment !!! Build a strong position and basic fondation to grow on....there is no shortcut it takes time and patience....i talk with experience 2 rib fractures in 2 years and a lot of lost time on the water because i wanted to go to fast to quickly !! I started back from stratch 4 years ago and now i ski in control and safely !!! I still have all the thrills but i have a drink after my runs not advil !

Last edited by jerrysnow (Fri, Aug 13, 2010 2:34 PM)

I just bought a brand new 2008 Monza which had been sitting in a shop for awhile.  Such a great price with binding and toe plate, so didn't really care about what binding it has. 

It has a Rekless binding for Wake ski's on it.  The shop won't do a swap for another boot due to the price, like 2/3 off retail!!!

Is it worth changing the binding to an Animal, or will the Rekless be ok?