Technical look at the Go Faster system

Tue, Apr  15, 2008 - By Mike Muha

The Go Faster boot and binding system is sufficiently different from traditional systems that I thought you might be interested in a technical overview.

The binding

The binding comes as a ski mounting plate that is connected to a boot-binding plate by a heavy metal spring. A large axle connects the front of the boot plate to the mounting plate (Photo 1).

The plate into which the boot goes is very stiff - I could not bend or twist it with my hands. Instead of relying entirely on the boot sole for stiffness, this system depends upon the binding.

The large axle minimizes any twist at the intersection of the two binding plates.

1. Main binding unit: base plate connected to boot plate by large spring

The binding is attached to the ski with six big screws (Photo 2). There is also a front piece (see photo 5) that keeps snow out of the pivot area. This front cover is secured with a seventh screw. This binding is never going to pull out from the ski!

2. Six large screws hold the binding to the ski

Each binding is structured to fit a range of 3 boot sizes. The range is printed on top of the binding. The binding in the picture is designed to fit boot sizes 42 through 44.

The Boot / binding connection

The bottom of the boot has two tabs, one in front and one in back (photos 3 and 4). The front tab fits into a groove in the front of the binding (photo 5). You then press the rear of the boot into the read of the binding. A spring-loaded tab in the rear of the binding holds the boot in place.

3. Front tab on boot fits into front of binding	4. Rear boot tab pushes down into the rear of the binding

5. Notice the groove in the front of the binding, designed to hold the tab on the front of the boot. In the rear is a spring-loaded tab that pushes out of the way when you press the boot into it, only to lock the rear of the boot in place.

The tension on the back spring is adjustable using two screws under the heal (photo 6). Too loose and you pop out of the binding when you don't really want to. To tight and you can't release when you want to. Lighter skiers will want lower tension while heavier or more aggressive skiers might want to crank down on the screws a bit (photo 7).

6. Screws under the heal allow for tension adjustment.

7. Use a normal Philips head screwdriver to adjust tension.

To release the binding, push down on the top of the binding behind the foot (photo 8).

8. Releasing the binding

The boots

The boots are light. A pair of size 44 boot weighs in at two pounds, or about 454 grams each (photo 9). A pair of size 41 boots weighs 1.85 pounds or 420 grams each.

9. A pair of size 44 boots weigh in at 454 grams per boot.

 

The boot has a normal tongue and speed lacing setup. A cover zips up the outside of the boot to hid the laces (photo 10). With a thin layer oThinsulate, the boots look like they might be warmer than some other top-of-the line race boots.

10. Tongue, speed laces, zippered lace cover.

A strap wraps nearly the entire ankle, from the outside ankle bone, around the back, the inside ankle bone, and around the front of the until it goes though the outside ankle bone buckle (photo 10). A lever on the buckle pulls the strap tight (photos 7 and 8).

11. Ankle strap goes entirely around the foot.

Although the binding is already stiff, the boot sole is also very stiff. There was little twisting evident in the boot, and no forward/aft flex. All the forward flex happens in the binding are the front axle.

Snow time

I only had about 30 minutes of snow time with the boots and bindings, on unfamiliar skis at the very end of the season. The boots felt wider than my Salomon Carbon Pros. I felt a very solid connection with the ski.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to ski this innovative more when the snow flies again.