Howell Venus DIN 3-8
PRE-ORDER DEPOSIT: $400 (to reveal deposit option, activate drag-down, above)
EXTRA ACL-INTEGRITY FOR WOMEN.
3 - 8 DIN $1200
Pre-order deposit: $400
Deposits placed now receive 30% off full price when net amount is due August, 2029: net balance = $440
First shipments — August, 2029
FREE SHIPPING* in North America on $400 deposits placed now.
Pre-order deposits are fully-refundable any time.
Extra ACL-integrity for women.
1st gender-specific ski binding.
Females have a 3-time higher incidence of sustaining an ACL-injury in alpine skiing compared with men (7-times higher in womens’ basketball). This gender difference in ACL injuries is believed by top orthopedic researchers to be due to the following 5 biomechanical factors:
1— ‘Steeper, reverse-angled, tibial-plateau increases anterior-drawer loading on the ACL during downward-weighting;
2— ‘Sharper notch where the ACL resides in the femoral-condyle, which can cut the ACL during combined tibia-torsion / abduction-moment loading;
3— ‘Lower ratio of ACL-strength-to-skier-weight;
4— ‘Reduced ACL elastic-limit during peak estrogen cycles;
5— ‘Increased ACL-pre-loading due to greater valgus hip-posture.
Those five factors — added together — point toward the need for alpine ski bindings with enhanced ACL-integrity for women.
Howell Venus is the first truly gender-specific alpine ski binding — uniquely providing extra ACL integrity for women — with these unique features:
• Additional vertical-toe release.
Howell Venus uniquely provides full vertical toe release — with mitigated pre-release and intentionally cross-linked lateral-toe release — to address the adverse effects of high anterior-drawer loading that’s uniquely adverse to females. See point 1 above, regarding steeper reverse tibial-plateau slope.
• Slightly lower lateral-heel release-settings — that do not pre-release.
Howell Venus uniquely provides extraordinary, patented, robust, anti-pre-release characteristics to allow slightly lower lateral-heel release-settings for women — without pre-release. See points 2, 3, and 4, above. See special step-4 for ‘gender-correction’ in Recommended Release Setting Chart, above.
• 1-degree valgus canting.
1-degree valgus canting (thick-side inside) is standard with the Howell Venus — to de-pre-load the MCL, ACL, lateral meniscus, and lateral tibial-plateau — which valgus pre-loading is otherwise present due to female hip anatomy. Some women with narrower hips may prefer no canting: cants can be removed. Long mounting screws are pre-mounted on the thick-side of the cants. Shorter mounting screws are provided, standard for optional removal. See point 5, above.
Howell Venus ski bindings uniquely provide easy, hands-off, step-in / step-out — even in deep powder — and even with small boot sizes.
Additional details:
Lite (weight).
Double-set, precision-ground springs assure precise release. 100% individually tested and calibrated.
Patented, low, 21.5 mm stand-height reduces cumulative stress on the meniscus, MCL, ACL and tibial plateau.
0°-ramp angle provides balanced athletic stance, independently of boot sole length.
GripWalk or ‘standard alpine sole’ compatible (both options included). We do not recommend GripWalk — to enhance tibial-plateau integrity.
Extra Toe-AFD’s (anti-friction devices) and Low-Friction Heel-Pads come standard. ‘Replaceable with simple re-mounting of toe or heel.
Anticipated compliance with all DIN/ISO international alpine ski-binding safety standards, including ISO 9462, ISO 9465 and ISO 11087 — as well as ‘standard industry practice’ for anti-pre-release and durability.
Housings made of super-tough, eco-friendly, plant-based, Nylon-11.
5 Year Limited Warranty;
2 brake holders for ski-tuning.
2 ski-brake widths: 70-80mm; 80-90mm**;
Precision metal mounting jig; one 4.1mm-Ø x 9.0mm length DIN-standard drill bit; one 4.0mm-Ø DIN-standard tap;
On-line 24/7 AI service.

To pre-order with a $400 deposit, click button at top of page.
To order or pre-order other Howell Ski Bindings:
Howell Mars DIN 4-10 For strong, smooth recreational skiers. ACL, MCL, meniscus, tibia - integrity. Anti-pre-release. Powerful edge-control. Low stand-height. Decisive balance of release and anti-pre-release.
Howell Planet-B DIN 8-22 Only for strong adult racers and extreme skiers. High strength aluminum alloy housings. Super-wide 8-point boot-contact for ultra max edge control. Wide off-center release-pivots provide max anti-pre-release. Low 21.5mm standheight allows race-plates conforming to FIS standheight regulations (race plates not included). Floating Mounting System mitigates binding pull-out’s from skis. 1, 2, 3 - degree cant kit, including longer mounting screws for the cants. Adjustable toe-height for solid boot interface. CAUTION: PLANET-B IS FOR EXTREME SKIERS & RACERS ONLY.
Howell Ski Bindings (sm)
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 Ski Bindings, 2025. All rights reserved. U.S. Patent 9,463,370. Content subject to change without notice.
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'ACL-integrity', 'Anti-Pre-Release', 'It was inevitable.', 'Howell Ski Bindings', 'Howell Venus', 'Howell Mars', 'Howell PlanetB’, Howell Planet-B’ — are Service Marks (sm) of the company, Howell Ski Bindings .
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** Howell Ski Bindings company is against (a) ski waist widths greater than 90mm AND (b) all 'pin-bindings' (except Trab TR2 and Shift, though do not fall in the touring mode and neither are ACL-friendly in the alpine-mode) — due to their association with severe, high-energy, tibia-plateau fractures. This type of skiing injury matches the growth of fat-skis and pin-bindings. The high-energy nature of this type of skiing fracture involves multiple-fragments, difficult surgical reconstruction, and 10 to 15-months of aggressive rehabilitation. Fat skis on firm snow are a serious problem for the sustainability of our beautiful sport. ‘And ‘pin-bindings’ are hardly “tech”.
References: (1) Dominik Heim, MD; SITEMSH-Japan, 2016. (2) Zorko; Nemec; Matjacic; Olensek; Alpine Skiing Simulations Prove Ski Waist-Width Influences Knee Joint Kinematics; ISSS-Innsbruck, Austria, 2017. (3) Stenroos; Pakarinen; Jalkanen; Mälkiä; Handolin; Tibial Fractures in Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding in Finland: A Retrospective Study on Fracture Types and Injury Mechanisms in 363 patients; Scand J Surg Off Organ Finn Surg Soc Scand Surg Soc., Sept 2015, doi:10.1177/1457496915607410. (4) Improved Short Term Outcomes in Tibial Plateau Fractures of Snow Sports Injuries Treated with Immediate Open Reduction Internal Fixation; Janes, MD; Leonard, MSPH; Phillips, PA-C; Salottolo, MPH; Abbott, MD, Bar-Or, MD; ISSS-Innsbruck, Austria, 2017.