Skiing: Canting angle

[Chris71]

No sniggers at the back.....

Is there a rule of thumb as to what cant angle you should set on your boots?

I skied for the first time in a while last weekend (sadly only the snowdome), but as well as a substantial ammount of time since I last did it, I also have some new skis. Same boots though...

Somehow, it felt like I could never get my weight far enough forward. I know this is probably me and my technique, but it felt like my leg was too vertical (as opposed to lent forward) even when I put a lot of pressure on the front of the boot. They're set fairly soft, so I wondered if it would help to adjust the cant angle.

[Trooper2]

Easy method: with a helper, put on your boots in a warm room, on a hard surface and buckle to skiing tightness. Loosen the cuff adjuster so it can move freely and flex your knees toward your toes 10 times in moderately rapid succession, then stand in your normal skiing stance. Have the helper tighten the cuff adjusters and you should be pretty close.

Alternative method: remove the liners from the boots, set everything up as above, stand in the shells with your heels against the back of the heel pocket with an equal gap between the boot shell and your shin and calf. Have the helper move the liners right or left until you get an equal gap side to side like you have front to back then tighten down the adjusters. This second method is a little harder to do but is also a little more accurate.

P.S.- The footbeds that come in ski boots are usually junk, I always recommend getting aftermarket footbeds. The quality ones that are trimmed to fit and just slip in are good, the cork ones that actually get molded to your feet are even better and worth every penny. It's amazing how many pain and skiing issues can be cured by having quality footbeds in your boots.

Edited by Trooper2 on Monday 28th January 13:27

[Chris71]

The cuff adjusters being the clips that clamp the top part of the boot around your leg?

Not the first time I've been caught out on jargon today.... Spot the deliberate mistake in my first post. Turns out the canting adjustment works laterally (ie onto either edge) not front-to-back. You can tell how foten I've adjusted my boots!

[Aprisa]

I think there is some confusion here between sideways and forward Canting?

I think chris wants to be thrown further forward to improve the carving at the front of the ski? This is not really that dependant on the boot but more a case of stance.

Sideways cant is adjustable to enable the skis to ride flat when you may be bow legged or knock-kneed.

HTH
Nick

[Trooper2]

Yes, the cuff or cant adjusters usually take the place of the outboard hinge rivet(outboard ankle bone area). Allot of folks call them cant adjusters, but true canting is done at the sole of the boot to correct for pigeon toed or knock-kneed skiers.

[Fallen Angel]

I normally adjust my cant (whether forwards or sideways ) to as tight as possible...

Have a couple of runs and then tighten again.

Whoever said about ensuring your boots are warm then this is the key for me.... I never leave them out and try to bring them into my room to keep warm. If logistics don't allow for that (ie. a bl00dy long trog to the slopes then pick a ski store lockery thing that has the facility for boot warmers - plug ins ). Oh and one next to a bar - that helps also

Carving - absolutely not a problem... Stopping - pah - overrated

[Trooper2]

Aprisa said:

I think there is some confusion here between sideways and forward Canting?

I think chris wants to be thrown further forward to improve the carving at the front of the ski? This is not really that dependant on the boot but more a case of stance.

Sideways cant is adjustable to enable the skis to ride flat when you may be bow legged or knock-kneed.

HTH
Nick

I guess I should read the entire post, even this early in the morning!

Chris, if you feel you need more forward lean and your boots have no way of making this adjustment it can be done with a heel lift pad, also catch the last part of my first reply regarding aftermarket footbeds as they usually provide some extra lift at the heel and really stabilize the foot which helps lessen other problems all the way to your spine.

Sorry for leading you down the wrong path, it's early here and I'm only halfway through my first cup of coffee.

[Chris71]

Fallen Angel said:

Carving - absolutely not a problem... Stopping - pah - overrated

Well, these skis felt fantastic carving relatively shallow turns at a decent speed, but I found them very difficult to turn more sharply. I'm told I need to unweight more aggresively.

Back to the boots (Nordica Beast 12s) I only have two adjustments - stiffness and cant angle. Is it safe to assume the cant angle is side to side? (in which case that's not really what I'm looking for). Like Nick said, I want to be leant further forward essentially.

[Trooper2]

Chris71 said:

Fallen Angel said:

Carving - absolutely not a problem... Stopping - pah - overrated

Well, these skis felt fantastic carving relatively shallow turns at a decent speed, but I found them very difficult to turn more sharply. I'm told I need to unweight more aggresively.

Back to the boots (Nordica Beast 12s) I only have two adjustments - stiffness and cant angle. Is it safe to assume the cant angle is side to side? (in which case that's not really what I'm looking for). Like Nick said, I want to be leant further forward essentially.

Cant angle= side to side usually done between the ski and binding with wedge shaped plastic plates.

Cuff adjustment= side to side adjustment of the boot cuff to get it to conform better to the shape and angle of your lower leg.

Forward lean adjustment= forward or upright adjustment of the bot cuff usually done with wedges between the lower boot shell and cuff or some kind of screw adjustment at the back of the boot.


I believe that the Nordica Beast is riveted at the back - cuff to lower shell so to get more forward lean it will have to be done inside the boot with a footbed or heel lift pad.

[Mattygooner]

Fallen Angel said:

I normally adjust my cant (whether forwards or sideways ) to as tight as possible...

nobody likes a baggy cant.........

[Fallen Angel]

Trooper2 said:

Chris71 said:

Fallen Angel said:

Carving - absolutely not a problem... Stopping - pah - overrated

Well, these skis felt fantastic carving relatively shallow turns at a decent speed, but I found them very difficult to turn more sharply. I'm told I need to unweight more aggresively.

Back to the boots (Nordica Beast 12s) I only have two adjustments - stiffness and cant angle. Is it safe to assume the cant angle is side to side? (in which case that's not really what I'm looking for). Like Nick said, I want to be leant further forward essentially.

Cant angle= side to side usually done between the ski and binding with wedge shaped plastic plates.

Cuff adjustment= side to side adjustment of the boot cuff to get it to conform better to the shape and angle of your lower leg.

Forward lean adjustment= forward or upright adjustment of the bot cuff usually done with wedges between the lower boot shell and cuff or some kind of screw adjustment at the back of the boot.


I believe that the Nordica Beast is riveted at the back - cuff to lower shell so to get more forward lean it will have to be done inside the boot with a footbed or heel lift pad.

Hmmmm... I was told the "cant" angle is the angle between the lower leg/knee and the ski when it is flat to the surface.

You say you have a cant adjuster on your boot... I would suggest that you go to your nearest ski shop, take your skis and boots and have them measure your cant angle then adjust accordingly to your type of skiing. They should (hopefully) show and explain to you how to do this and what the adjustments would mean to your ski stylie