Quest for Perfect Stance - Ep2 - Brent Amsbury

Brent Amsbury, owner of Park City Ski Boot and Board Certified Pedorthist, discusses skier stance and how he evaluates and corrects stance problems in his shop.
01:02 Brent's background
03:38 The ideal skier stance
05:00 What is 'flat' and what's 'inside'?
06:28 Giving to inside is stealing from outside
07:10 Adjusting stance width to adjust sole angle
08:00 Stance evaluation on hard vs soft surface
08:49 Brent's evaluation method
10:19 % of people who need stance correction
12:15 When to mill the toe and heel?
13:48 When to consider canting?
16:23 Brent's approach to alignment services
18:33 Is stance evolving?
20:40 The public should be proactive
22:41 Canting within the boot?
25:27 Brent's clientele
26:44 Closing thoughts
Website: www.parkcityski...

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

Absolutely great series for ski shop employees. I been fitting boots for many years and love to keep learning. One of the simplest issues that was mentioned was boots that were a size to large. If we got a dollar for every time that happens we could buy a lot of beer. Great interview and will stop in his shop next time I am in Park City.

[@CantologyLLC]

Glad you like them!

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

Great interview. I been fitting boots for many years and love to keep learning. Loved it when Brent talked about boots being a size to large. So many customers come in with old boots and that is one of the first issues we find.

[@CantologyLLC]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@daver7013]

I loved this videos. I’m heading to Killington VT next week for a few days. I plan on starting at the Basin ski shop. They are listed on the cantology website. I don’t think I have a neutral stance. And it may be causing me edging issues. I also skied 205s and 210s many years ago. And I didn’t have a problem, or so I thought. Skis are shaped so differently today. I’m skiing on a 180s with less control. I hope it’s my alignment. I don’t think it’s because I’m 67. Thanks for your videos, what an education.

[@CantologyLLC]

Thanks for commenting. Good luck with your own quest for perfect stance!

[@petershumsky9989]

As a skier who has been using cants (thick side in) since 1971 I enjoyed both part one and part two. Prior to using cants I could not ski parallel and even then it was difficult to get an edge. The very first time I skied, with the cant plates added, skiing parallel came easily. I require 5 degrees on one leg and 5.5 degrees on the other leg to get the center of my knees about 1/4 of an inch inside the mold line. Because of the amount of canting I need I have not been able to use Cantology as I understand 3 degrees is the most you can do on the boot. Is there any benefit to doing some cant correction on the boot and some under the binding? Also as a ski instructor I often have opportunities to recommend that students have their alignment checked at a ski shop. Could you recommend several shops in the Lake Tahoe and Sacramento areas that you feel do a good job assessing and correcting alignment issues. I know Start Haus in Truckee is one. One of the take always from your video was the idea that beginners, who ski more upright, might need to be aligned over the mold line while more experienced skiers, who get their skis further out from under their midline would do better aligned more inside the mold line. (Similar reasoning to why beginner skiers need longer ski poles than more experienced skiers.)

[@CantologyLLC]

Thanks for your comments. My story is much like yours, but I get by with only 2.5 and 3.0 degrees of correction. The only advantage of a combination of canting under the binding + within the boot sole would be that it would expand your boot choices to include multi-part sole models. But you'd be stuck with dedicated right and left skis, and would have to take skis with you when you flew anywhere. I have to pass on recommending particular shops that I don't have personal experience with. There are plenty of folks out there skiing on 5 degrees of cant and more, but it takes a top boot fitter to get you there if you just cant the boot sole. So, call around. And there are online forums like SkiTalk that may be able to give you good localized advice. As for alignment for different types of skiers, that is a topic that this series will be tackling from several directions. Right now, I'm talking with boot fitters. Next up will be instructors. Then coaches and boot manufactures. This is going to go for awhile!

[@grizzkid795]

Because of meniscus damage, I am way off on one leg. I had my soles ground at Start Haus and they were amazed at how much cant I needed, but they managed to do it. It depends on the boot and how much plastic they can grind off. Problem with under the binding cants is you have to have them on every ski you use, so if you have several pair, demo skis, etc, it is a pain.

[@MrDogonjon]

My Rossi race boot come with warning placards on the sole to make sure the toe and heel lugs are planned to match the bevel of the boot sole. If you need greater than 3 degrees planing the boot sole gives you a better alignment than cant plates can. Less between you and the ski more intimate feel for the snow compressions you manipulate while turning.