'Snow fun if you're injured....

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The last ten years have seen the virtual monopoly of alpine skiing first broken by the advent of snowboarding, followed by the rising popularity of telemark skiing on piste. In the last three years, skiboarding (snowblading) has emerged and also established itself as a separate snow sport.

The precursor to the modern skiboard was the BigFoot – manufactured by Kneissl Dachstein. First introduced in 1991 and measuring 63cm in length, the original BigFoot featured a foam core, p-tex base and trademark 'toes' on the tip. Users wore standard ski boots secured to the boards with non-release clip bindings attaching to the heel and toe of the boot.

Since 1993 several companies including Klimax, GrooveUSA and Line have produced skiboards However, the popularity of the sport only really began to take off in 1997 when Salomon, a major ski manufacturer, entered the market specifically using the term “snowblade”. Following on from this success, most of the major ski companies now manufacture skiboard products.

Modern skiboards are best described as mini skis, usually measuring less than one metre from tip to tail. This shorter length allows the skiboarder a greater degree of manoeuvrability than that offered by a conventional alpine ski and specifically the ability to travel backwards and perform small radius turns with greater ease. 180o and 360o (or more) turns are also relatively easy (he says...) and this has lead to a rapid rise in their popularity, particularly amongst the younger population. More and more skiboarders are turning up in fun parks performing tricks in half pipes and on rails. Innovations such as the Soul grind plate (which attaches to the binding plate under the ski boot) allow skiboarders to do this. They also have a big appeal for established alpine skiers who want to try something a bit different but can't be fagged going all the way back to being a total beginner.

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The Original BigFoot

Salomon SnowBlade Buzz 9.0

Salomon SnowBlade Grom

Soul Grind Plate

A rare breed...blader with poles

So what of the potential for injuries on skiboards? As with all such winter sports, the answer lies jointly in the design and use of the equipment and those who use them. Because skiboards are, by definition, "mini-skis" the injury pattern associated with their use is best compared to that of alpine skiing. The major difference between the two sports is that virtually all current skiboards are fitted with non-release bindings. This system simply attaches the boot to the board by way of heel and toe clips. In addition, most skiboarders do not use ski poles, preferring to use their arms to both maintain balance and to generate the upper body twisting forces required to perform turns. The ability to dispense with ski poles and the use of a very simple binding adds to the appeal of skiboards by allowing a set of equipment to be relatively inexpensive, lightweight and easily portable.

In the event that a skiboard does catch an edge or get caught, the absence of a release binding system means that any rotational forces generated have to be absorbed by the lower leg (ankle, tibia and fibula) and/or the knee. The lack of poles suggests that when a skiboarder does fall, they may end up 'doing a snowboarder' and fall onto an outstretched hand - thus placing the upper limb (wrist and shoulder in particular) at increased risk of injury.

Epidemiology studies to date demonstrate significant differences between a typical skiboarder and skier. Skiboarders are on average 5 years younger than skiers and about ¾ are male (compared to a 50:50 split amongst skiers). Previous studies have demonstrated that children as a group are more likely to sustain lower leg injuries - so what happens when you put a young person on a set of kit with no release function? Also, given that the majority of skiboarders are male, the gender more likely to take risks and push the limits of their ability, is this reflected in the injury statistics? . Read on.....

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So, if the presence of non-release bindings is the likely cause of all these lower limb injuries, why not stick a standard alpine release binding onto skiboards? Although this might seem like a simple solution, unfortunately there is a snag. Work done by Veit Senner and colleagues and presented at the last ISSS meeting in New Zealand demonstrated using computer modelling that the same alpine binding responds differently on a ski to a skiboard. Whilst the toe release of the binding should still function, unfortunately the shorter length of a skiboard means differing flex characteristics along the board's length. The upshot is that the heel release may not release in time in the event of (for example) running into soft snow.

One product that did come out recently was the Headliner® - a skiboard fitted with the Tyrolia Sympro 4 alpine rental binding. It is available in one size, 94cms with a 4m turn radius and a sidecut of 129/90/114. It has a wood core and last year was retailing for about £180. One site selling the product online is here. If you use this product, it is recommended that you reduce the heel binding setting by 60% to ensure that it will release. For example,  if your normal DIN setting is 7 then set the heel binding for 0.4 x 7 = 3. The toe setting should remain unchanged. I received a lot of feedback from folk who had followed this advice when using Headliners and they all felt that it worked well.

The other problems with attaching alpine bindings onto skiboards are

a) it puts the price up and

b) it puts the weight up!

Both these factors negate against the benefits of skiboards (i.e. they are cheap and can be carried in a rucsac up a hill)

Other manufacturers are looking at the production of a lightweight, reasonably priced binding specifically for skiboards. Line are developing such a binding and the pictures on the right are of the prototype. It seems this season they are releasing the Reactor 12 binding for alpine skis - which looks very similar to this prototype - but not a specific skiboard binding....yet. Perhaps with a season's experience of the Reactor and a bit more lab work we will see a skiboard release binding on the market for 2003/04. Let me know if you have any insider information!

An alternative is the generic Miller release system - more details on their website - click here.                                             

Finally, if all else fails then the alternative is to consider a short ski (strictly speaking above the 1m cut off for skiboards but still offering tremendous manoeuvrability). There are plenty of these on the market and great fun they are too. Look for a length around 120cm.

The Headliner

Line's prototype binding

Another development is that of a "release binding platform" - the setup uses standard release bindings mounted exactly as they would be on long skis. Not all bindings work as some are either too heavy or too long to be fitted to skiboards. The platform is made of a poplar wood core encapsulated in epoxy (the red part in the picture) with an aluminium top sheet that is epoxy bonded to the wood base. This makes sure that the binding screws don't pull out. The wood base sits on a cast urethane pad that contacts the skiboard over a length of 9 1/2" or about the same contact length as a stock non-release skiboard binding like a Line or Groove. The platform is very stiff so the distance between the toe and heel binding pieces remain constant under all conditions. Since most 4X4 skiboards are too wide for brakes, this setup uses leashes which seem to work fine since skiboards are so short (no walking back up the hill, either). The platform has been tested with bindings from Look, Salomon and Rossignol and all are reported to work well. Generally, they have been skied with very low heel settings. For example, 6'4" tall weight 220 pounds  - heel set at DIN 2 1/2 (as low as they will go) without getting any false releases. As yet, they have not been tested during aerials so one thing that still needs to be tested is whether these things hold up under hard impact.

More details on this product once more substantial testing has been carried out.

(Thanks to designer Jeff Singer for keeping me up to date on this one!)

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One very important fact to bear in mind is that standard skiboards should not be used by children under 1.5 metres (4ft 10") in height - this equates to the average size of a 12 year old child. This is because it is believed this age group are at an increased risk of lower leg injuries (and fractures in particular) in the event of a twisting accident on a skiboard. Children below the age of 12 should consider a mini-skiboard such as Salomon's Grom (see left) or the Alpina Mini Board XF.

Information on skiboards changes more rapidly than most other areas in this field. Please feel free to get in touch with me to let me know your experiences on skiboards and/or short skis - contact me here.

If last season is anything to go by, this page will receive the largest number of updates as more information comes flooding in - so keep checking back as the season progresses!