ACL-FRIENDLY. ANTI-PRE-RELEASE. PROVEN.
Revolution. Evolution.
The revolution in Howell SkiBindings is ACL-friendly skiing.
This bold claim is proven, biomechanically, through peer-reviewed and approved research-presentations by Rick Howell at high-level orthopedic-research, sports-performance, and skiing-safety conferences, around the world, during the past 19 years (1). The research is bona fide because Rick is re-invited to present at these high-level venues again and again — with no objections to the content of his research.
How do Howell SkiBindings provide revolutionary ACL-friendly skiing?
By Evolution. ACL-friendly Howell SkiBindings feature additional, non-pre-releasing, lateral-heel release, uniquely bundled with other long-proven ski-binding technologies such as off-center pivots, part-minimization, functional-decoupling, proven materials, and biomechanically-based settings — an evolutionary approach — to deliver revolutionary ACL-friendly skiing with durability, reliability, lightness and utility-patented low stand-height. The evolutionary approach behind Howell SkiBindings delivers revolutionary ACL-friendly skiing.
Anti-pre-release. Durability. Reliability. Proven through testing.
Howell SkiBindings arise from 5 decades of ski-binding experience by Rick Howell — co-developing worldwide #1-selling alpine ski-bindings for a major French company while in high school, high-level regional ski-racing, an engineering thesis on ski-bindings at MIT (2), co-authoring the DIN-System, working 8-years as a senior product manager at a major German ski-binding company — and developing 5 worldwide #1 sports products including the leading high-tech snowshoes and the 1st hands-off clipless bicycle pedals. All of these experiences are parlayed into the evolutionary-development of revolutionary, ACL-friendly, Howell SkiBindings.
Howell SkiBindings provide the premium experience of ACL-friendly skiing.
Staying in the game is part of the deal. Howell SkiBindings aim to provide the sustained joy of pure alpine skiing, year after year.
Howell SkiBindings are planned to ship October, 2023. Pre-order deposits placed now fuel critical start-up manufacturing. The best compliment you can provide is a pre-order deposit. In return for an US$80 deposit placed now, Howell SkiBindings offers 30%-off full-price when the net balance ($480, Mars & Venus models) is payable upon FREE shipment, October, 2023. Pre-order deposits placed now gain excellent pricing.
Howell SkiBindings uniquely include a precision metal mounting jig, DIN drill-bit, DIN tap, on-line mounting certification, 2-widths of ski-brakes, 2-sets of replacement Teflon AFD’s, FREE shipping — and the pure joy of healthy, happy, ACL-friendly skiing.
Ordinary binding companies will soon imitate. Only Howell SkiBindings are based on 5 decades of successful, relevant, know-how — including 20-years of testing ACL-friendly skiing (without pre-release).
Pre-order now by clicking a model-image, above or by clicking a model-link, below.
All deposits are fully-refundable at any time.
Howell SkiBindings models:
Howell Venus DIN 2.5–8 Extra ACL, MCL, meniscus, and tibia-plateau friendly for light and average-weight women. Light. Easy step-in. Low standheight to scale for smaller women: utility-patented.
Howell Mars DIN 4–13 Decisively ACL friendly and anti-pre-release. Cantilevered, super-wide toe-cup, heel-cup, toe-AFD & heel-pad — provide powerful edge-control. Durable, stainless-steel internal mechanisms. Low standheight to minimize cumulative stress on meniscus: utility-patented.
Howell Planet-B DIN 8–22 Super durable ti6Al4v titanium housings. Super high strength, compact, F1 valve-springs. Cantilevered, super-wide toe-cup, heel-cup, toe-AFD & heel-pad — provide powerful edge-control. Low standheight allows nearly any race-plate while still complying with FIS standheight regulations: utility-patented. Limited production. PLANET-B MODEL: CAUTION: FOR EXTREME SKIERS & RACERS ONLY.
All Howell SkiBindings feature a lifetime limited warranty.
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Footnotes:
(1) Proven, biomechanically—not epidemiologically—through scientific peer-reviewed and approved research conducted and presented by Rick Howell at:
IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury in Sport, Monaco, 2017 and 2021;
ICSS (International Conference on Science in Skiing) Voukatti, Finland, 2019;
SITEMSH (International Society for Snowsports Medicine) Flachu, Austria, 2015; Barcelona, Spain, 2016; Inawashiro, Japan, 2017; Serre-Chevalier, France, 2022;
ESSKA (European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy) Barcelona, Spain, 2016; and Virtual-Madrid, Spain, 2021.
ISSS (International Society for Skiing Safety) Pontresina, Switzerland, 2003 (research promulgated by Rick Howell; performed and presented by University of Montréal researchers, Nancy St-Onge, PhD and Jacques DeGuise, PhD).
ISSS — research conducted and presented by Rick Howell at — Niigata, Japan, 2005; Aviemore, Scotland, 2007; Bariloche, Argentina, 2013; Cortina, Italy, 2015; Innsbruck, Austria 2017; Squaw Valley, California, USA, 2019; Serre-Chevalier, France, 2022.
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Biomechanical Proof.
The biomechanics behind ACL-Friendly Howell SkiBindings and Howell-specified lateral-heel settings is actually quite simple.
During ‘Slip-Catch’ or ‘Phantom Foot’ events with shaped-skis, large abduction-moments are generated when the center of the forces that act between the snow and the ski, enter the ski, laterally, close-behind the projected-axis of the tibia.
Shaped-skis do not typically slip at one end — thus, rotation of the ski about the tibia-axis is minimal while lateral-loading is maximal. During this lateral action, the center of the abduction-forces that enters a shaped-ski is not sensed by ordinary 2-mode alpine ski bindings because the center-of-effort is located close to the tibia-axis and near the center of an ordinary binding’s axis of rotation: there is no effective lever-arm within an ordinary 2-mode binding to produce ordinary 2-mode release. With ordinary 2-mode alpine ski-bindings, there’s no possibility of release before ACL-rupture when abduction-loads enter a ski close-behind the tibia-axis, irrespectively of an ordinary 2-mode binding’s settings: a child’s setting could still block necessary release before ACL-rupture during these special Slip-Catch and Phantom-Foot loading conditions.
This phenomena occurs because the same centrally-located abduction-force that enters the ski at the ski/snow interface, acts over the length of the lower-leg (the ‘abduction-lever-arm’) to produce a large ‘abduction-moment’ across the ACL …
... unless a special 3-mode binding with additional lateral-heel release — also with special settings for the lateral-heel release mechanism — reads and reacts to abduction-loads generated by shaped-skis during highly-loaded Slip-Catch or Phantom-Foot events. Lateral-heel release stands directly in the kinematic path between a shaped-ski’s center-of-effort and the ACL. That special binding together with special lateral-heel settings is ACL-Friendly Howell SkiBindings.
The thin black line represents the unique ‘release envelope’ of ACL-friendly Howell SkiBindings. It operates in the white-space between the integrity-thresholds of both the tibia and ACL — and the pre-release lower-limit.
TWO IMPORTANT HOWEVER’S.
a— Special bindings with additional lateral-heel release MUST NOT pre-release. Pre-release can be worse than non-release (‘and settings are only a small part of how a good binding addresses anti-pre-release). —> Only Howell SkiBindings uniquely provide key know-how and advanced technology to block dangerous pre-release without high settings in all 3-modes of release.
Anti-pre-release is provided by ‘decoupling’ each of the 3-modes of release from each other — AND by decoupling each mode of release from innocuous skiing-control actions, such as edging.
Each mode in Howell SkiBindings is a separate system. 3 separate springs. 3 separate cams. 3 separate release mechanisms. Each mode has independently adjustable settings. Each mode operates without influencing the other modes. ‘And all 3 modes deploy off-center-pivots that filter-out compressive forces caused by ski-flex — which filtering critically blocks pre-release.
Howell SkiBindings block pre-release without high-settings.
Other bindings do not provide all of these combined features, benefits and advantages because Howell know-how has refined them during 50 evolutionary years of testing, including 20-years of focus purely on testing ACL-friendly skiing. No other binding provides you with this level of evolutionary revolution.
The secret sauce is that Howell SkiBindings accomplish these functions, simply. Simple equals durable and reliable.
b— No ski-binding, including Howell SkiBindings, can ‘prevent’ all skiing injuries. Injury can occur by simply falling down or by impact with an object. However, Howell SkiBindings aim to mitigate injury to the tibia, ACL, MCL and meniscus by mitigating episodic non-release and by mitigating large cumulative loads that may be associated with chronic injury to those musculoskeletal elements — and Howell SkiBindings aim to mitigate injury to these and other human-systems by mitigating inadvertent pre-release.
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Footnote (2):
Rick Howell was never a student at MIT. However, Rick was invited to perform his “dream research” at MIT at the bequest of and sponsorship by MIT Professor Lawrence R. Young, Sc.D., who at the time was the chairman of the interdisciplinary Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Department involving man-machine interaction. The research performed by Rick at MIT was: ‘How ski-bindings effect ski performance’. Rick is a graduate of New England College with a double undergraduate major in business and civil engineering.
To pre-order, click a binding model image or a model-link, above.
It was inevitable.
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PO Box 1274 • Stowe, Vermont 05672 USA
1.802.793.4849 • rick.howell@howellskibindings.com
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Copyright © by Rick Howell and Howell SkiBindings, 2022. All rights reserved. U.S. Patent 9,463,370. Other patents-pending. Content subject to change without notice.
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* 'ACL-Friendly', ‘ACL-friendly’, 'Anti-Pre-Release', 'It was inevitable.', 'Howell SkiBindings', ’Howell SkiBinding’, ’Howell Ski Bindings’, ’Howell Bindings’, 'Howell Venus', 'Howell Mars', 'Howell PlanetB', and Howell Planet-B’, ‘Functional Decoupling’ — are (sm) Service Marks of Howell SkiBindings, Inc.