Quote:
Well, today I spent a LOT of time fiddling and adjusting the bindings, and I'm not sure if I was doing the right things or not. I couldn't get everything quite comfortable. I kept trying different angles and stances and NOTHING felt right to me.

Quote:
On the rental boards with the step-in boots, there were times when I could just relax my stance and not exert any muscle pressure in any direction and I would just cruise straight. When I did that today, that relaxation made my board catch and turn and mess up and such. I wanted to get my weight onto my front foot so I could relax a bit, but I ended up having to pull and twist my front foot's position so much, so hard, for so long, just to go straight, that my legs just ache after each run.

What are you going straight for, anyway?
Rentals are sloppy messes. You've got a nice board with a good human->board interface and edges that are actually sharp. This will cause you to have problems trying to "rest" while crusing straight. I usually keep a slight edge one way or the other on the flats.

Quote:
So I'm still trying to decide what to do about my stance. Simple question, but perhaps a not so simple answer: Which is better, stance forward on the board, or stance backward on the board? i.e., center of gravity mostly forward or mostly backward?

Quote:
I had the pain and tiredness in my feet, ankles, and calves, but I'm pretty sure it was my need to find a good stance adjustment, and not the boots. The way my legs/feet felt would change with each stance adjustment I made.

Quote:
Since the back doesn't fold back perfectly flat, you could theoretically run into trouble if your chairlift is very low to the ground. As you're getting onto the lift, your back binding is underneath the chair. The backs of these bindings could get literally snapped off if the chairlift is all the way to the ground.

Quote:
The next thing is, I was hoping that I could just step into the binding (leaving it open but stepping into it loosely) as I got off the chair lift. Thus giving me more control when I got off the lift and less likely to fall. (I hate using the stomp pad, I have zero control over the board when my back foot is there.)

Quote:
The lift operators get mad when I do it. I don't know why. You'd think they'd want me to be less likely to fall and block the lift exit. I think that when they see me do it, they see it from a distance, so they think I'm latched in with both feet when I'm not really.

Quote:
The whole idea was that the ratcheted toe and instep straps would be a "set it and forget it" affair. I'd set them once at the beginning of the day and then wouldn't have to undo them again for the rest of the day.