I figure most people won't make it through this writeup. I think I fell asleep once or twice through it myself. I'm sure it wasn't the drugs;) With the hardshell questions/discussions surfacing, I thought I would add my .02 from my past experiences.
FWIW(very long and on lots of percocets), I'm switching to Reflex front and probably Reflex 1/2 boot rear. I am currently in cast due to the Strada boots not releasing going from 3 to 4 at 38off (LFF). The back boot released fine with the liner, but front one didn't. My front foot eventually came out with the liner still in the boot, but not until a medial tibular plateaux freacture (inside top of tibiea in pieces). The PCL may need surgery too but I have to wait on the results of the MRI that was done post surgery to find out. I thought I was in a safe setup with the Strada's. I don't recall ever releasing with a double Strada setup but I'm not sure I've taken any falls where they should have either until now. I did an out the side type fall past the second wake and rolled to my back and skidded head first on my back until the ski caught. It should have been a non-event/standard release I would have thought.
I've skied several other boot and boot combinations over the years. Most of my skiing was on the original black Fogmans and Diablo red fogmans. No real injuries other than occasional sprained rear ankles. The down side from my perspective is:
- The plate can damage skies when you release and it is usually the bottom edge.
- I've had them release a couple of times in the turn when they should not have.
- The release units are expensive for what you get and the pins can develop a wobble.
- You have to make adaptor plates to try other skies while hoping they don't release and hit the ski with the aluminum plate.
- They are heavy, but I'm not sure that is a downside but it can definitely defeat the purpose of the ski companies to go lighter.
- I am one of those skiers that makes sure the crease in the boot is centered on the ski. For some reason, the rear crease of the front boot had a tendency to shift away from this centered position. It had a favorite position that it shifted to that wasn't much off (1/32 or 1/16 at most). More aggravating than performance sapping.
Overall, I've had good success with Fogmans over the years and feel totally safe in them. Will switch back to them if I can't get the Reflex working ski performance-wise.
I used FM's in 2005(year?) I skied my practice PB several times with this setup. The boots were huge and would catch the water in turns. I would have been running 39 with those boots if they wouldn't catch. I've come into 4 ball several times early at the buoy and not skiing away from it due to the boot catching. Very frustrating. These boots look like they were put together in someones garage and I felt like I was paying to be part of the R&D effort. I can't complain about the performance I was getting though. I don't think anyone could get a major injury from these boots unless you believe in the death-by-1000-cuts. I have scars on my shins from using these boots. The plastic under the boot kept breaking. The replacement never felt the same as it was custom made. Also, I had some pretty nasty pre-releases in the edge change/preturn when you are not expecting it. They require a lot of maintenance. In the end, I gave up on them and switched back to Fogmans.
For a while, I even made some modified FM releases to use on the Fogman plate. Still can destroy the ski when you release though. I have to say the odds of hitting the ski after release are slim. I did it though. I messed a perfectly good Strada up that way that I can't really sell now.
Lately, I've been on Strada boots (2012 Front, 2011 Rear). Very comfortable and light weight boots. Can't damage skis if/when they release. I do not trust the centering marks on the boots. I feel like the boots are rotated towards the big toes when they are centered. I actually took out the centering screws and rotated the front of the boot more open as far as it would go leaving the rear of the boot alone. It looked much more centered on the ski and skied better (in my opinion). The 10s felt like a good fit and the 11's would have been too big. If they had a 10.5, I would have went for that to give myself a margin of error. I was just starting to get comfortable on these bindings. I wasted about a year and a half trying to convert to a rear toe plate. I don't trust the front boot releasing on all types of falls.
I have a Reflex front boot that I've tried with a toe plate as well as a RS1 rear. I have to say that the Reflex boot was the hardest boot to get used to. I really thought this was a boot that you could just bolt on the ski and everything would be straight and centered. I couldn't even screw it to the ski that any other HO plate fits fine on. I called Miami Ski Nautique and they seemed to think my plate was OK. The holes were about 1/4 screw diameter off if the other side of the binding had screws in it. It appeared to be a stamped G10 plate where all the plates made with that stamp would be the same I'm guessing. I ended up reaming the holes slightly wider on each side of the plate to be able to mount it to the ski. Of coarse there was no joy afterwards when I checked if the binding seams were centered on the ski. Short of making a new plate, I'm not sure I could get them centered. From what I remember, the heel was the most difficult. It has the side adjusting screws to center it. With the release catch higher up on the boot, I don't think simply screwing the boot to one side is really centering it. When I can ski in hopefully about 2 moths, I'll have my work cut out for me making the reflex's work given the problems I've had with it. I need something safe, so it will be worth the effort.
If you are still with me at this point, I'm impressed. I hope this helps someone. I'm still not convinced that we have the safest bindings developed yet, but my current vote would be the Reflex's. I just wished they were more of a refined product that you could just take it out of the box and know that it is centered without having to waste time on them. Good luck.