Best Stance Angles - Snowboarding 101 - Proper Binding Set Up

[@malcolmmoore]

This is a question I get all the time and I will now reference this video as the answer. I saw it pop up and to be honest I expected it to be a bit of a snooze fest, I've just watched the whole thing and found it all very well put together, entertaining, and informative - not that you need my validation at all, you guys clearly have way more experience than me! Good work with the channel I look forward to following it and seeing what comes next!

[@tributeboardshop]

Appreciate that Malcolm!

[@j.c.316]

Malcolm! Your content is solid bro. Nice comment drop on this video 👌🏼

[@nathanratermann9204]

You have great content as well. I watch walk the time

[@Nick_Logan]

Radiology tech here. FYI, ducking your feet allows better mobility in hips for getting low and doing grabs easier. More zero angles will limits hip flexion. Since I just turned 40, I’m ducking my feet out more to compensate for loss of mobility

[@coolbathroom]

I've been riding duck forever because...20 something year-old me made that decision and I stuck with it. It's been a couple decades since then and you guys inspired me to try out some posi posi this week and it was great. Just felt right. Turns felt noticeably stronger and it brought a smile to my face. Thanks for the video.

[@johnsprague1678]

Same

[@1Flyingfist]

Mind your knees though. Especially if you fall. It's an anatomically unnatural position. I went in the other direction. Regular and positive on both feet, to Regular and positive with zero on my back foot... ....to goofy with the same angles. Then finally goofy +15 / -15. Haven't looked back since.

[@craigbosko2229]

Duck stance is VERY HARD ON THE KNEE'S.Turning left (regular stance) is easy but turning right is very hard,it can be a nightmare.

[@Daz555Daz]

​@@1Flyingfistnothing unnatural about posi posi at all.

[@timsawchuk8441]

Same story. Went with the setup that they suggested in the shop when I bought new gear last season, hard to overstate how much of an improvement it was. These videos are awesome, I’m so grateful that they are taking the time to make such comprehensive videos. Thanks so much guys!!

[@KurtAndersen-cr4up]

Great stuff, always positive and kind and yet with substance, and without better-knowing although you do know better than most of us! In the summer it is great to watch these videos while waiting for the winter ❤

[@tributeboardshop]

Thanks for the Support!

[@gauntlet09]

Great video guys. I would love to see a similar video about the positioning of the hole patterns on different boards, and mounting options of the bindings on them: ie reference stance, setback, stance width, typical measurements, etc. for different types of boards/conditions/riding styles. Keep up the good work!

[@tributeboardshop]

Great suggestion!

[@phishing623]

I second that

[@adamgrenley9434]

This would be nice

[@Badgers_beard]

I've been +15 -15 for as long as I can remember, I don't ride switch much on my Solomon sickstick, so thought I'd try something different. This evening I tried +21 +6 at Seymour, game changer. Thank you guys

[@Rolling2Quarters]

Local Mt. Hood boarder who has been riding every season since 1987. Just found your channel and absolutely love it. Thanks for taking the time and putting in the fine details. Keep it up. Love, New Subscriber.

[@scfussen166]

Would love to hear Mark's thoughts on cants and boot choices in the formula of stance set up.

[@markfield8168]

Fawcett’s face when Korua video is mentioned 😂

[@Daz555Daz]

Any negative back foot angle causes me knee pain and has for years. These days I stick with +30 +12. Sucks for riding switch of course but looking after my knees is the higher priority. Posi posi with a directional all mountain board is still a riot and I'm happy with my setup.

[@GC16199]

I am definitely going to try it as well, been riding for years +18 - 6 and a always struggle to get a good heel carve. And also knee pain at the end of a long day.

[@haydenmurakami3614]

I work at a snowboard shop up in Washington, and man have I learned a lot from you guys, thanks for spreading the knowledge!!

[@mankybrains]

Dang, this was a gold nugget for binding setup! Never saw anyone do this for the highback. Explained very well and advising to have those high back adjusted in alignment with the board. I didnt even think about it because as an beginner youd figure it would automatically work as it should out of the box for those high backs. Now time to really dial in my bindings.

[@jasondavies9667]

Spectacular video guys. Love the deep dives from guys that have lived this since the beginning!

[@ayadal]

Thanks for posting this. I've been riding +15 and -15 for the past two years learning switch and freestyle. My knees have been hurting after riding recently. I'm going to try +12 and -12 and experiment with other angles to see if it helps.

[@BobJackson-zv1fh]

I had same issue. Went to 12 -12 and it seems to be better. 22.25 stance width Light forward lean. Union Atlas Pro's 155 & 157 T Rice Pro board. 5' 11" 210 lb 12 -9 & 9 -9 are other stances i need to try. I like to ride switch.

[@j.p.6228]

How did it go? I ride +15 and -15 and haven’t noticed any issues, but I’m always up for improvement. Definitely going to experiment a bit this year. I ride a lot of small hills in my area (Ontario/Quebec) so pozzy pozzy doesn’t quite appeal to me out here as much

[@ayadal]

@ the +12 -12 stance does feel more natural, and I can ride switch just as easily. Give it a shot and see how you like it.

[@absher2241]

I switched to posi posi this year and it made a huge difference in my carving. +25 / +5. Can’t believe it took me 30 years to figure that out. Haha

[@timrross]

Great video. Very thorough. I have always thought about binding angles from a biomechanical perspective. When I do a squat, I want my knees to point over my toes. If they don't, it puts a lot of stress on my knee joints. Whether my knees point over my toes depends on my natural turn-out, and how wide my stance is. You can try it for yourself: put your feet 12 inches apart, pointing at 0 degrees and do a squat. your knees will point straight forward. Now, rotate your feet out to +20 -20, and do another squat. Your knees probably still want to go straight forward, but it feels much more uncomfortable on the inside on your knee joint. Now, get your feet wide at 24 inches apart and try the same thing. With your feet pointing at 0, your knees will point outwards and stress the outside of your knee joint, but with your feet at +20 -20, your knees will point over your toes, and it will feel natural. Obviously, this is an extreme example, but it illustrates the point. So, for every individual, there will be different angles that feel perfect, depending on how wide you have your feet. You can use those angles to work out the "difference", and, like you said in the video, that should be used to workout what your back binding is at for a given front angle (posi/posi, duck stance etc). Everyone is different, so experimenting with stance is the best thing to do to get it dialed in. I had a friend that rode +12 on the front, -18 on the back, because he broke his ankle once, and the back foot healed crooked!

[@stolimano3723]

This is really interesting. Gonna use this. I’ve been running too wide a stance and it puts too much stress on the inside of my knees. Thanks

[@finboyYYC]

25 minute tribute video? I’m here for it. Would love to hear more on stance width for each condition (powder vs groomers vs all mountain etc.)

[@snowboardguru6794]

Right. So much blah blah blah and so much of what they say is not correct at all.

[@sethmolano2150]

Mark for the gold! I helped shaping up the lbs course. Way to hold it down. 👊

[@neverforgettr2276]

Thanks very much. After all these years, learning new stuff about my snowboard is still super fun. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@powdertrax9742]

First off congrats on your Banked Slalom win this weekend Mark, as a past competitor of the LBS I know how much fun and challenging it can be. My buddies and I started riding Baker in ‘85 and some of us are still going strong today as recent retirees in our mid 50’s, keep up the good work representing us old rippers. My stance for the last 39 years has pretty much stayed at 18° - 0° (the Baker stance as you referenced), but I’m thinking of switching it up a little to 21° - 6°, as you stated our “freestyle” days are over as well, but I still love carving groomers and of course fresh powder bowls or tree runs. I’ve also recently due to knee injuries added more lean to my highbacks which felt like it relieved the pain in my knees and made me use more quad muscles. We are expecting a storm Tuesday night so we’re all heading up Wednesday, I’ll log back on later in the week and post my finds on the new angles. Congrats again and enjoy that duct tape trophy there aren’t many of those out there.

[@powdertrax9742]

Well the predicted storm came dropping 17” mid 20’s temp and bluebird (rarity in Washington State) so I was eager to try out my new stance. As I’d mentioned I moved them to 21° and - 6°, I also rotated my highbacks more to put them inline with the heel edge. The stance difference felt fine (small changes) but twisting the highbacks more to run parallel to the heel edge made a big difference, more comfortable and better heel edge turn initiation and pressure. Thanks for the tips, see you can teach an old dog (56) new tricks

[@markfawcett8142]

@@powdertrax9742 Stoked some of our tricks worled well for you !! And thanks !! Always an honour to race the Banked Slalom at Mt Baker

[@cedricsportes3928]

Guys, I have been watching hours and days of videos and read articles on this exact subject and this vidéo you just made is the most outstanding, learning and genuine analysis I have seen. Very objective and also rich in options and ways to improve. Thank you very much 🙏🤟

[@sherpa6071]

INCREDIBLY useful video lads. Thanks for all of the info. I'm a CASI level 1 and learning new stuff every day. Take care and happy shreddin'!

[@wannagoforarip3131]

Noice. I keep telling my kids, simply having a Dad(or mom, or buddy) that can set up your bindings correctly early on makes all the difference in the world i the beginning, and even as you progress. The mysterious art of binding setups. The Well done, dudes.

[@hudgypudgy2960]

Been snowboarding once or twice every year since 2014... Wish I had someone who knew all this stuff! You're awesome

[@hamie811]

Kevin jones one The greats in my books. Something like +15 front - 21back. And was sick too. Just watch any of his part’s 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼

[@markfawcett8142]

Kevin is amazing !!! Ahead of his time. I work with an adaptive athlete who has a heavily rotated Tib Fib on her back leg. She runs front 24, rear -45 !!!! Different strokes for different folks.

[@jimmin4483]

One of the best things about snowboarding is there are so many ways to enjoy it. The only governing bodies are fun and stoke. Great job in covering different styles with equal enthusiasm. Been doing this since the Sims yellow banana days and it’s still fresh, thanks to open minds like yours.

[@snowboardguru6794]

I wish. The governing body of snowboarding in the USA psiaaasi has become a low level cult. Teachers now can’t even conceive of how to do synch turns or figure eights and the training is so poor that they can barely ride difficult terrain or bumps. 🤦‍♀️

[@theleedoism]

One of the best discussions on the topic I have seen. Thanks!!

[@lukedesaulniers5943]

Your videos get better and better! Loving the nerd wisdom of you fellas. Spittin truths in the lounge. P.S. I’m anywhere from 21/-6 for freestyle to 30/12 for carving. Stance gets progressively narrower too, and I custom select my stance every day based on board, conditions, and mood. ❤

[@tributeboardshop]

Much appreciated Luke!

[@DenisEneotescu]

You go narrower the more "carvier" you go, right?

[@lukedesaulniers5943]

@@DenisEneotescu yes that’s common practice. 👍

[@lukedesaulniers5943]

@Suz All opinions are welcome! And I'm curious to hear your input on stances. I'm just reporting what I've used and what I've seen in my many years shredding.

[@lukedesaulniers5943]

@Suz It comes down to comfort and range of motion for me. My duck stance allows me to have a slightly wider stance but as I move my back foot more and more positive, I'm forced to narrow the stance to keep the same level of comfort and range of motion. Why are you so adamantly against a narrower stance for carving?

[@TheMallepietje01]

best one I have seen on stance ever...

[@corran-soul]

I’m an old racer gone snow surfer, and like Mark, I move my stance around a lot. Different boards respond better to more or less stance angle, and different conditions also require that. Generally I vary from +45/15 on my directional groomer carver, to about +35/10 for open powder bowls, and closer to about +25/5 for trees and steep terrain. I also like a super flex boot, and very flexible binding almost always so I can have ankle rock and roll on the board like a surfer. Even my stance width will vary from between 20.5” to 20” depending on boot angles. But even on the same board, I might start the day with more angle, and as conditions deteriorate during the day, I might relax the angles in the lift line to handle more challenging terrain. I only ever ride duck in park on a true twin.

[@chrissladden4593]

Just tried your Kung fu posi posi googy style, +30 +9 I've been heading that way for some time, needed the extra push to go past +21. Really worked well until lunchtime when it all went to slush, found I was to nose heavy. Defo gonna experiment with this more next season. Thanks guys

[@curt7174]

Nice work on this vid. When I’m asked to help new riders I always start by having folks think about and play with binding angles and width. This is a great resource.

[@Indarow]

I run +13, -13 and I actually enjoy it even for carving, which is my primary riding style. I’ve tried setting up positive positive, positive zero, but the posi negative just feels right for me.

[@petehelme7714]

Great discussion. Doesn't Terje Håkonsen often use 24/9? Which for a freestyler was considered crazy.

[@tributeboardshop]

Share was referring to 90's Terje ! Yes he was using less angles later in his career but usually posi back foot!

[@zakaroonetwork777]

I was Pro in the 90's Riding 18-18 Duck foot. Big Cliffs and Deep Pow Pow. When you got to lean way back in the Deep you want your knees pointing over your toes.

[@MarcosPolos-w4j]

Hi guys, was nice to listen to you.

[@scottmauricio8301]

Can’t even put into words how bad ass you two are!!!! Thank you!!!

[@warrens4808]

This has got to be one of the most credible and highly engaging video on stances out there. Much appreciated! Over the years I've had 15-18 in the front and +3 to +6 in the back, and typically 18/+6. More recently I've been riding 18/-6 in the back to open up my "squat" (call it age-related). It has not overly affected my carving. I have 21/-6 and maybe 21/0 on the list. The only things I would have liked to hear more about is your thoughts on width. It was there when you talked about boarder-cross, but I'd love to hear more. (PS My second board, which I still own is that same tattoo Kelly 161.)

[@warrens4808]

FWIW... I rode 21/-3 this weekend and also narrowed my stance to ~21" and had a blast. This is a slight change from 18/-6 at 22" (and 21.5"). I am not sure if it was the rear-foot angle or the slight narrowing of my stance, but my hops were much better. Then again, it might have just been the pump from making the change... 🙂

[@crowe9385]

So, I’ve been laying trenches since the 80’s (first real board was a gnu antigravity black n green). I’ve always been a 21/+6ish. About 10 years ago I went duck to 20/-8? Carving didn’t suffer at all. I think the biggest thing is having a board that is stiff and likes to turn. I did the rocker thing for a bunch of years. I could carve, but you really have to adjust your weight to get it locked in. I ended up back on a Jamie lynn with all the camber still riding duck, but I think I’m going to go back to a fwd stance for a bit. Bring a screwdriver and play with your angles. You learn a lot about what comfortable is. Holy ramble. Sorry lol

[@warrens4808]

I am re-watching this for the many-th time and I'll ask again for your musings on stance width. Mark, did you say you ** reduce ** your stance to 22 3/4" for boarder cross? I think you're 5' 9" (my height), and that stance seems very wide. I remember trying out 23" back in the day and it came with a chain wallet... For me it is max 22", otherwise I start to lose leverage when I ollie.

[@jconwaypr]

Glad Burton combined the channel disk and 4x4 disk to one re:flex disk. Centering the binding on a 4x4 board is easy but can be challenging on a channel board because the adjustment option on a re:flex disk is around 1/4” increment for channel while 4x4 is a much better 1/8” increment. I had to drill 2 channel holes on the older re:flex 4x4 disk to center large step on binding’s (boot size 11) on a Burton Skeleton Key XX.

[@markfawcett8142]

Ive been looking atr doing something similar with my step-ons !! ( for a different reason )

[@livefreeandshred9818]

This is a very interesting video. I have been riding 15/-15 forever from just riding a ton of park when i was younger. Having taken like 8-10 seasons of just going 1-2 timea thats just what i went to by default. But now im getting an all new setup (directional all mountain board) i think im goijng to change it up and test some different stance angles out

[@tributeboardshop]

Lets us know how it goes!

[@CASIACMS]

Such good and valuable info here! Thanks! 👊🏻👊🏻

[@moromoro538]

Miss y'all videos 📹 taking summer breaks buds.

[@MilatheCat01]

Moved to +15 -3 for Zermatt tomorrow a lot more positive than I’m used to so stocked to give it a go

[@tributeboardshop]

Awesome ! Have fun with it!

[@checker_boarder]

Love your stance on stances! Riding my first boardercross this weekend, usually I run +15/-6 for freeriding, but will be running +30/+9 for better turning and (hopefully) speed!

[@surflasal]

@Suz You could not be more wrong.

[@Aaron83W]

Excellent video guys! This helped me a lot.

[@keithrice3165]

I went pos/pos on my antigravity and thought for sure I would hate it. That board rips now.

[@jayeye4798]

Wow! I've been riding since mid '80s. I never knew about adjusting the high back to be parallel to the board! I've always noticed the adjustment on my Cartels, but never thought anything of it. I will be making that change! Great video!

[@FilmsbyRob]

The CASI "+15 / -15 stance was a baseline for beginners. A beginner could do the early stages of the lesson like straight running, "falling leaf" and traverse to a turn very easily. Even if they thought they would ride with one foot forward over the other, then realize at a point during the lesson that they were better off with the opposite foot forward, they were ready for that. If this rider ever went past a beginner lesson, they would be encouraged to try other stances, based on the type of riding they wanted to do. Much like this video, a rider could only discover this idea of varying angles to stance IF they went past the initial stage of a basic beginner outing and progressed on to wanting to learn more. As the presenters say, these angles are very close to what most top park riders run at single-digit, equal angle, centre-stance, + front, - rear setups. That said and like the presenters, after almost 40 years of riding, I have less than 30 degrees of splay and have pretty much settled on +28 / 0. A big factor in being able to stay with a flatter back foot (which will always be better for any non-carved turn) while ALSO being able to carve like a demon is to own a WIDE board. The industry is certainly catching on, but boards minimally above 27 cm waist widths are an absolute necessity for any rider with a boot size above a US 9. Builders like Stranda, Donek and Yes (with the Optimistic) make wide board that also have decent effective edge. Most wide boards by main stream manufacturers are also short... This loss of effective edge means less support in a carved turn. They are easy to flick around, but if you are heavier and taller, a longer board is better for carving. To maintain manouverability boards with shorter tails and bigger noses are the ideal. The short tail gets out of the way for a quick turn, while the longer nose holds you up in powder and at the start of a powerful turn.

[@markfawcett8142]

I could tell it was you (R.S.) within the first two sentences. Love your insight !!! Keep it coming !

[@Ras77Pmo]

For wide and long boards, made for carving and freestyle carving, japanese market 👍🏼👍🏼 My 148cm Rice28 has the same effective edge than my burton 152, and 1cm wider for full tilt carving. They just have so many options

[@SlayBoredom]

I remember at some point, I probably was still a teen, they said „we now ride duck-stance (negativ-positive) and I just went with it. Got into surfing a few years ago and always wondered about this stance on my snowboard, but never changed it!!! I think this stance is big part of the reason I lost my love for snowboarding (going like 4-5 days a season max. and I live in the middle of Switzerland, so I would have paradise). Rode posi-posi last weekend while testing a new board and it felt like… like falling in love all over again after 10 rough years

[@davemitchell3998]

What angles did you go with?

[@SlayBoredom]

@@davemitchell3998 I went with +9 (backfoot) /+21 (front) first, now +9/+24. I go snowboarding today testing it, but I think my backfoot is too aggressive. how do you ride?

[@davemitchell3998]

Last trip was +21 / -9 and before that 15/-15… Mostly ride resort so next time out will try posi/posi ( say +27/+3 ) and see how it feels

[@SlayBoredom]

@@davemitchell3998 yea, sometimes we forget to challenge the settings we have set years ago and test new/other stuff.

[@joeldavis3152]

Great info 👍

[@easternsierrahikeandfly]

This is video is what boarders need to see! Really well done explanation styles of stances and how it works for different aspects of snowboarding. I’d like to hear more about the high back critiques for carving, upper body motion and edge engagement from the body to board with different mods of a high back and maybe binding riser pads or canted binding foot beds. Recently I cut my front high back in half and I usually run a 0 to +20ish and so far its allowing for me to sit back while in a heel side carve but I’ve yet to try no rear high back but seems like a good option for pow?? Anyhow it seems that subject could also have some light shown onto.

[@pondsk8er851]

Love the vid guys I come from a same background as you with stance being from the UK so riding in Europe most of my early days then went to lake louise in 99 for the 12 week Casi course and changed my stance amd riding style totally 😀 😊

[@johnfrank9060]

This was a big help. Moved my bindings around angle, front to back and the high back for my super pig. Made a big difference! Thank you for a great video

[@hazza788]

I'm on a war pig running +15/ -6 What have you found works for you on the super pig?

[@JohnnyBalazo]

Damn it, wish I found this video during my season in Australia. I've been running -12 +15 since the beginning but now I'm wanting to practice carving properly. I'll need to try posiposi next time!!

[@OftenMissing]

Great video, I love Apex Mountain I grew up on it when the old Gun Barrel was there. Now rocking Mt Cain

[@SonUvSolarus69]

I learned alot from this, stokalation

[@noptimized]

I’ve been putting the Burton no-back on my rear binding on my powder boards for years. Love that slashy, surfy ankle mobility.

[@TheDerekHyde]

Congrats on the win!

[@markfawcett8142]

Thank you !

[@zweitao5257]

This is so inspiring, gonna adjust my bindings now and find out the difference tomorrow. Great content!

[@tributeboardshop]

Awesome! Thanks for the support!

[@matthewallen4366]

This is what i have been waiting for! well done guys 🙌🙌

[@homealone5087]

In regards to that toe and heel adjustment, i was centered with mounting forever so I always juat put them in the center disc hole. One day I looked down and I was way heel heavy. With boots shrinking over the years I slowly got further on the heels. Now I slam them all the way toe side to stay centered. If boots get any smaller I'm gonna be screwed.

[@pollystyrene99]

This is the best vid I've found to discuss angles, thank you. I'm mostly hardpack riding and trying to learn switch, and I'm currently set up with +12 & -6 but I might start playing around given all this new knowledge. Next, I'm off to look for content about women's all mountain boards. I'm wondering if the new feelgoods differ much from the old ones.

[@markfawcett9654]

With respect to Feelgoods, depends how far you go back. Night and day difference between a 2010 and a current one. a 2-3 year old one will have a lot of the same tech as current. The core profiling and camber lines being the major difference maker, making then board hold better on firm snow, flex more evenly, and rises-up better in powder. If you put a lot of miles on boards, burton is likely one of your best bets for boards with longevity.

[@dpj9421]

FINALLY!!! BEST VIDEO!

[@shea4615]

Best video for this newbie about angles. I'm definitely one of those people that just put +15 -15. Excited to try your suggestions. Thanks guys.

[@ClosestNearUtopia]

I agree on a duck stance throwing off the stability for ollies, it also gives lotsof strain on the back knee I feel. Due to this I now ride +16-6, will probably go for +13-6 to see how it will feel, +13 0 is not my way to go.

[@AL_KING777]

I’ve read somewhere that Terje did his angles posi was due to his size 10.5 boots to avoid boot out, especially hard heel up a pipe wall. I guess we can only assume since he’s not watching this or commenting on the video. 😂

[@maximilianomas8747]

Awesome video guys. Just bought my first board NITRO TEAM True Camber after renting for 10 years. I guess rental set up is always duck. I mostly like carving hard so I will defenetelly try posi posi maube +21 / +6, plus I will rotate the high backs. Cheers from Argentina ;)

[@martinbailly573]

I did looked at the Korua video and I can assure you that Mark Fawcett has a much better technique that the Korua guys. Please Mark, make a video on how to properly carve on a free ride board ! Thanks for these very interesting videos !

[@markfawcett8142]

Thanks Martin... .I'm on it !!!

[@martinbailly573]

@@markfawcett8142 Fantastic……looking forward to seeing it and learning from the master !

[@martinbailly573]

Mark, I was just watching this video again , why don’t you hook up with Lars at @justaride to make your video and discuss technique !

[@CheeseOnEverything]

I find that -12 / 12 is the best. I ride in both goofy and switch so directional binding setups don't work for me, and I'm sure thats why most ppl prefer that stance.

[@cristian-gabrielgaldamezbr3810]

18° on the front and -3° on the back just like Cannon Cummins. Perfect for all mountain and a little freestyle.

[@drummerAVA]

Just bought a new DOA 158, and I have 10.5 boot… typically rock around a 15-5 stance… 😬 a little concerned about heel/toe drag. Hopefully no issues when I get out there!

[@p.VAZ.]

Most definitely appreciate this detailed content👍👍

[@jrwaghd1]

I ride a 12/-6 and I'm switching tomorrow for the groomers to lay down some carves!!!!! Thanks so much!!! Love the channel and glad I found it!!!

[@tributeboardshop]

thank for the support!

[@markkeaveney4604]

great vid, surprised you don't have bigger following, could turn that mounting segment into its on vid, great explanation

[@TheTacokid09]

Great video. Appreciate the free information!

[@Bloodysugar]

Just some personal 2 cents... I'm convinced positive stance is the best way to learn snowboarding by ourself. I started snowboarding mid 90's so there wasn't any good snowboard school and I had to learn by my own. Also I'm European so hardboot + asymmetric slalom was a common option and that's what I chose. I had a narrow Nidecker Concept and large feet forcing me to go for extreme positive stance, so much so the experience was more like skwal than snowboard. With such a rig you don't need any instructor to make you understand how important it is to push your back knee behind your front's one, which is highly recommended in order to carve strong (now people call it eurocarve, for us it was just what Serge Vitelli inspired us to do), or just have a great control. All the other benefits mentioned here are also true, but this knee placement is such an important trick that everyone can benefit from having a rig screaming for it and leaving no other option than do it properly. Even with less extreme angles and soft boots, positive stance forces to learn pretty well how to turn and carve, which is the very first basic any beginner should focus on. To me freestyle has to come after this mastering : 1- Learn how to turn, stop and control your speed. 2- Learn serious carving. 3- Learn jumps and landings. 4- Then and only then, go for duck stance and learn how to do it switch, butter etc. To me positive stance is not just one of the possibilities we can pick, but the starting point any beginner should go for.

[@boriscima8134]

Completly disagree that's limiting yourself from the begining on an unilateral way

[@Bloodysugar]

@@boriscima8134 There's no sport where avoiding to have a clean progress on the basics is a limitation. Some of my friends were coming to snowboard from skate, and they were pretty good duck stance right away, for complete beginners. But despite having good reflexes thanks to skateboard, thing is snowboard isn't skateboard and when things started to heat up (strong slope, ice, black bumps, pow etc) they were spending way more time on their butts than I did. It took them way more time to ride good carves than it took me to transpose it fakie because they started trying to run before having learned to walk.

[@matthewpontifes7534]

Thank you for breaking the norm because every time big channels would recommend angles its was always +15/-15 and Ive always felt scared to change but I also find I am not confident on popping and being in the air and feeling stacked when I land. SO THANK YOU! Also how do you have positive stance and able to not get kicked off balanced? Just getting used to it? Any recommendations on someone riding the Transition finder? I ride +12/-12 and I feel like going from my heels to toes my tail feels like it nicks a little bit? Almost a catchy feeling? Not sure... and Id love to pop more and stomp landings better but I always feel weird... of course probably me as a rider but any thoughts are appreciated!!

[@tributeboardshop]

Cheers Mathew! WE recommend trying 0degrees on you back foot with the T.Finder , have your front at 15degrees and see how that carves!!

[@markfawcett8142]

Hi Matthew. Also, try sliding your stance aft a set of holes. Catchy tails are often an effect of being too far forward on the board, yeilding a long tail.

[@hackendan1921]

Couldn't like this video enough! Super informative! Thanks guys! Subbed

[@tributeboardshop]

Thanks for the Support!

[@Sminnn]

this has to be one of the best videos explaining stances and everything binding related. thanks guys!

[@TRAGICbliss]

This video is really well done.

[@SnowBoardB]

I've been riding +18 and -18 forever 15+yrs probably and I ride switch just as much as goofy and it works for me... 10.5 boot...

[@KywPT]

This video is a life saver. OMG. Thank you!

[@newrenaissance]

This is the best stance angle guide out there to date, and I can safely say I've seen them all. Edit: That said nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever been able to explain why youw would even do hiback rotation 23:24 at all. sure, your bindings are rotated and so is your highback, but your knees still bend only forward and backward. Unless you want to get leverage with only the side of your shin, which may or may not make sense for certain riding style, speed and purpose, AND more for one highback rather than the other, there is no reason to twist the highbacks. ESPECIALLY if you are going to put some forward lean on that binding.

[@neilgendzwill3260]

He explains it pretty well in the video. Your legs have more range of motion than you think. But think about even a standard freestyle stance of +15/-15. Your knees are pointed in opposite directions. When you do a heelside turn you will be pressuring each binding at that 15 degree angle, there’s no way to push in direct line with your knee joint. With a double posi stance I suppose you could but that would mean you are moving your weight back along the board as you turn instead of keeping it centred. So yes, you do push against the binding at an angle.

[@markfawcett8142]

@@neilgendzwill3260 Thanks Neil !

[@jonbrown9490]

Great Video! More like this would be awesome. I would love to hear your thoughts on CASI and/or PSIA-AASI more or less controlling snowboard instruction. I taught a little after a lifetime of riding and couldn't help but think that the way they want you to teach snowboarding just didn't feel right.

[@myfukinarmhurts]

yesssssssssss

[@JoeSmith-ru9xu]

Copy that Mr Brown. I instruct at a very high profile Mtn in the Tetons known for its Natural Selection terrain. The AASI cert process and the robot style of riding they promote is soul sucking.

[@markfawcett8142]

In the CASI / PSIA's defence, its WAY easier to set a general strandard than to give beginners a zillion options that they will not understand until they become "snowboarders". That said, I wish they would focus a bit more on assiting their instructors to discover their personal stance thru self disection.

[@MrSmith-rk4jq]

great info. been riding +15/-6 my whole life and it def works great for all conditions. just getting into more carving on groomer days so ill have to try a posi posi one of these days

[@chewbaccassecretlover12444]

Yes best AM for life.

[@slawekzalewski2695]

Fantastic video. I ride +18 +3 but going to check more aggressive forward stance. And I thought I knew everything about mounting bindings! Almost didn't watch that part lol. It didn't cross my mind to rotate the front highback to make it more parallel with the edge. Greta video. Btw, where would you say Union Force bindings sit in terms of smashing groomers in resorts? Just bombing down the slopes, no park. I have been riding them for a while but never really had a chance to try something else.

[@markfawcett8142]

Union Forces are excellent all mountain bindings, grommers included. Some of the super stiff bindings are actually too responsive while riding higher speeds on groomers. Some of our CND national SBX team athletes ride forces in their races.

[@benbarber1863]

Great Vid guys! Love a nice geek out on board set up

[@dilligaf2403]

love your shows thank you

[@oneitalia]

Great Topic Well reviewed and super informative - Thanks for the info

[@ericfamily7155]

Great video. All mountain rider. Prefer the trees for powder. Front foot is 14 back foot is 0. Perhaps I should experiment with different snow. I do have the Orion RP roberts bundings. They do have the top strap that you can change.

[@Jagi125]

I do have a lot of problems on my heel edge and I ride 9°, -9°. I didn't know that it could be due to that negative back foot. I made it a point to always switch the direction each ride/trick/etc. and I'm still keeping it this way. But it's cool to at least know that it could be the reason why it's so difficult.

[@neilgendzwill3260]

The more forward you go the less splay you need/want, or at least that’s what I find. Hardbooters are typically 5 or 10 degrees. I run 55/50 with hard boots and 27/12 in softies.

[@ToddSnow]

55/50? Tf??

[@sqd849]

What do you mean by splay?

[@colbert6122]

@@sqd849 difference between front and back foot angles

[@neilgendzwill3260]

@@ToddSnow 55/50 is a pretty common stance with hard boots. Some go even steeper. You can’t practically go that steep in soft boots. But if you look at the carving videos coming out of Korea and Japan you can see some really aggressive forward stances in soft boots. Some of those guys are running 40 degrees or more on the front foot. ETA by hard boots I mean plastic shelled boots with plate bindings like the racers use. My setup looks similar but is not as stiff as racers use. And yes, splay means the difference in angles between front and back foot.

[@T1LowAltitudeFlight]

Great video, one of the best I've watched explained binding setup. I'm a fellow Posi/Posi rider @ 23/15 riding almost exclusively freeride/swallow tail boards. I'm thinking I might try a little less on my back foot for tree riding.👍 Also never thought a bout the highback rotation, I broke my leading one just as you'd describe. I run hard boots splitboarding now.

[@russbritt4100]

60° front binding canted up on the toe and canted in toward center of board around 8° of canted both directions........45° rear binding canted up on the heel and canted towards center of board with again about 8°of canting but I make deep ruts

[@thomasgebhard3332]

Excellent video, super informativ! Extrem good explained!

[@epicbucketlist]

Excellent tips, gentlemen. I am +15/-15 and never got my carving to the level I want, so I will try +/+ and see how I perform.

[@epicbucketlist]

@Suz Thank you for the tip. I will adjust to +12,-9 to start. I have a Burton Step-On bindings, so my highback is flushed to the max. 🤔😳

[@epicbucketlist]

@Suz Noted. I will be riding next weekend and will be playing with the adjustments. Will keep you posted. :)

[@epicbucketlist]

@Suz Sweet! Looking forward to putting all these tips into practice.

[@epicbucketlist]

@Suz Hey, thanks for following up. It went great. I followed your advice on adjusting my bindings to +12/-9, and it worked very well. In fact, going back again this Sunday for more practice. However, I would like to try +12/0 this time around. What do you think?

[@epicbucketlist]

@Suz You are right; I have been reading about +/0, which makes little sense. One thing I did not take into account was the high back angles. In this video, I noticed the adjustment you need to make, not forward-leaning, but sideways to match the position of your bindings. That is something I will be adjusting and testing. As you said, minor adjustments first, test and see how it performs, and then decide what to use for future rides. I will keep you posted! Have a great day or night, depending on what side of the world you are in. :)

[@ТуранМусабаев]

Overall great video guys! It is what it is, a great video!❤

[@lindslay4405]

Killer video! ScrApex for life.

[@brianp9268]

Love this stuff. More of it please!

[@hx20303]

I dont want to change angles based on conditions, and often you’ll go through a wide range of conditions in a single run. My goal is to find a best compromise setting for everything. Sure a +30 +12 will be great on fast hardpack going fast but then you’re committed to just that condition. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t hear you talk about riding fakie which sucks with higher posi posi.

[@Daz555Daz]

Posi posi works in all snow conditions and all types of terrain. Riding switch sucks with a lot of rear posi of course and that can't be fixed. In fact it really transitions into riding backwards if you see what I mean. Personally for me and my needs it's worth the compromise most of the time. I will occasionally change my rear stance but typically only if I'm spending time in the park which I do rarely as its not really that interesting to me.

[@rolandczechowski9812]

0 in the back and +18 in the front is, in my 35 years of riding, the perfect all rounder

[@Nico12402]

Thanks a lot for the great video! I'm riding quite a bit and fairly steep technical stuff here in the alps.. mosty +21-15 / -0/9 Yet I farily often mess up my outer calf tendons next to the achilles (Fibularis Longus & brevis) Maybe someone had some similar issues and found a fix along the way Otherwise it's more testing testing testing Once more, Thanks a lot for the video!

[@jollygiant3450]

Learnt some stuff, cheers!