No matter the brand, type, or style of your bindings, or even your experience snowboarding, it’s good practice to know how to put bindings on a snowboard. And we are going to give you the knowledge with these few simple steps.
How to Mount / Install Snowboard Bindings
1. Know your stance
If you don’t know if you ride left foot forward (Regular) or right foot forward (Goofy), the easiest way to figure it out is to slide across the floor in your socks.
The foot that you lead with will most likely be the same foot you lead within your stance on the snowboard.
Note that your stance has nothing to do with your dominant kicking leg or writing hand. It’s all about how you feel comfortable moving in a sliding movement.
2. Know the difference between your right and left bindings
It is imperative that you know the difference between the right and left bindings.
Riding with your feet in the wrong bindings won’t just damage the snowboard, it can also severely hurt you.
To figure out which binding is for which foot, look at your straps and fasteners. The “buckle” or fasteners will be on the outside of your feet, closest to the front and tail of your board.
If you find that your buckles are in between your feet when you’re standing on the board, then you have them backwards.
3. Measure your stance
Ensuring the proper width in your stance will give you the flexibility, mobility, and comfort that you need for a stable ride.
To get your measurement numbers, measure from the heel of your lead foot, which you found in step 1, to the knee of the corresponding leg. This distance will be close to the same measurement if you stand shoulder-width apart.
4. Find the front
Place your snowboard on a table or working surface, and find your center screw holes for your front binding.
To know the front of your snowboard, you will be able to read any words on your board while standing on it.
(The bottom of the letters will face towards the middle of the snowboard.)
From these center screw holes, you want to take your stance measurement and find the center of your back leg binding.
Remember to adjust the front or back so that you have equal distance to the front and tail of the board.
Mark these holes, because we will use and refer to these as “Base” holes.
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5. Place the screws
Place the correct binding on the front of your board with the binding centered on your “Base” marking.
Gently screw in the first few screws, enough to hold the binding on the snowboard. But not tightened all the way down, so that we can make adjustments.
For the back binding, repeat the same steps for centering the binding on your “Base” marker, and place the screws so the binding is gently on the board.
6. Proper binding angles
For beginner boarders, we recommend for your front binding to be set at 15° outwards. This allows easier mobility with the snowboard and causing less stress on your hips and knees while you learn the flow of your snowboard.
For your back foot, we recommend your binding be adjusted between a full 0° (perpendicular to the board) to a minus 6° outward (kind of a duck stance) to aide with easier turning, edging, and balance.
In the center of your binding, there is a circular disc or “plate”. Between the plate and the base of the biding, there are rivets to make adjustments for your desired foot setting, making it easy for you to know how many “clicks” to get your setting. Standard bindings are 3° per rivet.
7. Tighten the screws
Once you have your bindings positioned to your desired settings, tighten down all the screws just enough that the bindings don’t slide around.
But be very careful that you don’t over tighten the screws causing them to strip and making it very difficult to perform maintenance.
And don’t over-torque the screws, because you risk breaking the screw and even pushing it through the bottom of the board, which will completely destroy it.
8. Test the position of the bindings
Set the board on the ground, and step into the bindings with your snowboard boots.
Ensure your feet width feels comfortable and that your angles aren’t putting too much stress on your knees or hips.
If your stance is uncomfortable, gently unscrew the bindings and make your changes (refer to step 6).
You will also want to try to slightly swing your back leg around behind you, pivoting on your front foot to make sure the bindings are properly attached, as well as ensure you aren’t putting more unnecessary strain on your hips and knees as you take a turn.
Any discomfort, you should adjust your bindings to a slightly narrower stance (refer to step 5).
9. Prepare the board and test it
With your bindings firmly attached to the board, when you’re comfortable with the positioning of your stance, it’s finally time to get your board waxed and head out to the mountains for that first ride in your new bindings.
Don’t forget to bring a multi-tool with you so that you can make any adjustments while you are on the slopes.
Checking your bindings after each day of riding will ensure that your bindings and board don’t slip or wiggle. Even if there is slight movement in the binding during any ride, it can ruin your board as well as ruin your run. And we would hate to have you have a bad run!
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Final Thoughts
Now that you know how to put bindings on a snowboard, you can comfortably make any adjustments, make simple repairs when a screw comes loose, and even set up a borrowed board to a setting you can be comfortable shredding with.
Don’t forget all the time and money we saved from not turning the board into a repair shop.