Stance setup and boots, Pain, and KNEE Injuries
Hey guys so i took my new gear out yesterday finally and I’m extremely happy with it, got the new Custom with Malavita Bindings its a sweet setup only thing that im doubting are my boots i have a pair of Jeremy Jones series from last year but I feel like that might be too soft feel it at high speed im thinking about getting the Ion boot by Burton stiffer and come recommended any thoughts or suggestions?
also i know there has been a lot of talk about stance setup and all but I’m trying to figure out the pros and cons of different setups, because yesterday i was out for a good 12 hours and i made minor tweaks to my starting setup which was 21inch width, -5 on rear and 20+ on the front and i was going well few things I noticed was during mod to high speed carving I had a bit of tough time kicking out my back foot when carving from heel to toe side plus I was feeling a lot of muscle burn on my rear leg (Quadriceps) I mean pain! compared to my front foot that was fine, so I adjusted to 5+ on the rare because I heard that going + on the rear helps stability and during high speed carving which it did i suppose but going straight and fast felt a little unstable basically my toe edge kept wanting to engage (scared the hell out of me a few times) and still felt the pain in the rear leg quads. So I ended up putting my rear binding to a 0 degree and use that for the remaining couple of hours and I felt like I lost a little in the carving but gained some stability in the straight high speed section. Any thoughts on what might be wrong with my setup ? or tips on what to try?
also about the stance thing what in the main reason for adjusting the high-back forwards (meaning forwards from the heel edge side? what does that do? I know about adjusting to have the high-back be parallel with the board’s edge but the forward lean im lost about.
Last thing the KNEE INJURY part, this happen towards the end of the day, after I was done putting my rear leg into the binding after the chairlift I had my board sideways so i got up, popped up and twist my body+board 90 degrees to start riding and I heard a click/pop in my rear (left) knee it felt like a minor discomfort but no pain. (reminded me of a similar pain during marathon training) but this was caused by a twisting motion so i don’t know but I was on the 5+ rear and 20+ on front setup during the time so I don’t know maybe that played a part, I did some reading about joint injuries in general and squats because I feel like thats a common motion in snowboarding ontop of the twisting and it said that to reduce stress on the joint you should always use the toes out knees out method. I feel like the +5 might have done more harm them good but who knows, Im going on monday to get my knee checked out but im wondering if anyone else felt anything similar or has any input on this.
I know i covered alot of areas any info would be greatly appreciated.
also about the stance thing what in the main reason for adjusting the high-back forwards (meaning forwards from the heel edge side? what does that do? I know about adjusting to have the high-back be parallel with the board’s edge but the forward lean im lost about.
My understanding of forward lean settings on bindings is to reduce the gap between the highback and the back of your boots. This allows an immediate response on your heel edge as there is no delay in the boot making contact with the highback.
It also forces you to ride in a more “athletic” stance keeping a slight bend in your knees which matches the alignment of the boot/highback.
Can’t really help you on the rear leg pain but can say I ran into some cramping problems of my vastus medialis on my rear leg as well as a bit of knee joint pain but I’d put it down to a new sport using different muscles and a couple of stacks which twisted the knee. Setup was +12,-12 with about 22” width
Hey Lester,
I’ll reply in more detail once I get to Whistler, however here is an old thread on forward lean. There’s some good information in there and should help you understand it a bit better.
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/236/
Quick question, how tall are you?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Hey Lester, I’ve got a few tips for u regarding boots and also stance.
*First off, Burton Ions (I’m told) are a good boot but I’m also told they aren’t worth the cash. So if money isn’t an object then go for it. Otherwise if burtons are the boots that fit u best (like me) then there are other boots like the Ruler which is quite cheap but good for stiffness but not too stiff in the park. Also have a look at Forum Kickers (made by Burton) they are a quite stiff aggressive boot that still allow freestyle.
*Stance - DO NOT USE -0 for your back foot. It has been a rental shop standard for a long time but it can cause SERIOUS knee damage.
Because when u ride your board moves for and aft (forwards and backwards) and can move a long way either direction when u stack with u having no control over it. You need your feet and knees at either positive or negative angles. Zero is not an option. If you have your foot at zero then when your board moves for or aft there is no knee flex that goes with it. It’s all sideways force against your knee which can cause pain from riding but imagine what it could do if u stack and fall forwards or backwards 
Snap, MCL, ouch, no snowboarding for you for a few years.
-5 is fine and +rear foot angles are fine too although I don’t recommend them unless you are riding an alpine board in hard boots. Just cause it doesn’t work very well.
Hope that helps you mate, the -0 rear foot may or may not be the cause of your knee pain but I thought I better tell u to prevent future injuries and keep u shredding 
*Stance - DO NOT USE -0 for your back foot. It has been a rental shop standard for a long time but it can cause SERIOUS knee damage.
Hm didn’t know that. I’ve been riding with both feet +ve for some years. Lately I’ve realised I need to go negative on the back foot to progress so I’ve started creeping it back and am currently riding 0 on the back. I’ll change that to -6 or so now. Thanks for the tip!
Hey Lester,
I’ll reply in more detail once I get to Whistler, however here is an old thread on forward lean. There’s some good information in there and should help you understand it a bit better.
https://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/236/
Quick question, how tall are you?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for the link it’s very informative and I’m definitely convinced I had a bit too much forward lean, right off the start of the season, will bring it back a few notches next time I go out wish will prolly be the weekend coming up, will definitely post what I come up with, also you where asking me about how tall I am, I’m 5’7” and about 165lbs and I ride a 158cm board
Hey Lester, I’ve got a few tips for u regarding boots and also stance.
*First off, Burton Ions (I’m told) are a good boot but I’m also told they aren’t worth the cash. So if money isn’t an object then go for it. Otherwise if burtons are the boots that fit u best (like me) then there are other boots like the Ruler which is quite cheap but good for stiffness but not too stiff in the park. Also have a look at Forum Kickers (made by Burton) they are a quite stiff aggressive boot that still allow freestyle.*Stance - DO NOT USE -0 for your back foot. It has been a rental shop standard for a long time but it can cause SERIOUS knee damage.
Because when u ride your board moves for and aft (forwards and backwards) and can move a long way either direction when u stack with u having no control over it. You need your feet and knees at either positive or negative angles. Zero is not an option. If you have your foot at zero then when your board moves for or aft there is no knee flex that goes with it. It’s all sideways force against your knee which can cause pain from riding but imagine what it could do if u stack and fall forwards or backwards
-5 is fine and +rear foot angles are fine too although I don’t recommend them unless you are riding an alpine board in hard boots. Just cause it doesn’t work very well.Hope that helps you mate, the -0 rear foot may or may not be the cause of your knee pain but I thought I better tell u to prevent future injuries and keep u shredding
Thank you for the info it is was very informative and I will be definitely changing my rear stance to a -5 to -10 as for the boots I’m not
liking the idea of shelling out all that money for the ion boots but chances are I will.
I’d be buyin the boots that fit ya the best, Lester!!!!!
These might very well not be Burton!!!!! It sounds like ya after a stiffer boot, and with the type of ridin that ya have been mentionin in these threads, a stiffer boot is what ya need!!!!!
Spend the most time that ya have ever spent when lookin for the right boots, and ya will definitely feel the benefits from doin so!!!!!
Thanx Mizu Kuma definitely will do, I do like the way Burton boots fit but I will browse around