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Is the boot center mark on the 181 cm Head Monster 95 OB ski correctly placed???

#1
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10/7/09 at 7:57pm
  • Joined: October 2009
  • Post Count: 17
 I cannot seem to find any where to go to get an answer to my question. 

I am looking for some technical assistance on mounting a pair of Head Monster 95 OB 181 cm with Dynafit TLT bindings.  When I look at the boot center mark on the 95 OB ski it seems to me to be way too far forward.  When I lay the ski down beside a 186 cm Head Monster 85 IM and line up the boot center marks of the two skis the tail of the 95 OB is 3.17 cm further back that the 85 even though the ski is 5 cm shorter.  If I set the skis so that they line up with the 181 95 OB centered on the 186 85 IM using the points where the base contact a flat surface the center point as marked on the 95 OB is a full 4.5 cm further forward that the 85 IM center.  That is allot and it seems to me that it will be a problem both for skiing the ski as well as for climbing when you want the tip to stay in the track.  Is this an error in the ski marking or is there some weighting issue with the 95 OB's that is not apparent.  Does anyone know who I can speak to about this or where I can go to get an answer.  Has anyone else noticed this or had problems with binding placement on these skis?  Thanks for any help you can give me.
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#2
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10/8/09 at 7:29am
  • Joined: December 2001
  • Location: Maine
  • Post Count: 167
 My 2 cents.  Mounting a binding is a bit of a personal decision.  

Here is what makes sense to me. Find the midpoint of your skis as measured form tip to tail of floor contact points when the ski is flattened on the floor.  Mark this point on your skis.  Find the middle of where the ball of your foot depresses you boot sole and mark it on the outside of the boot.  Mount the skis so the ball of the foot is over the midpoint of the contact of the skis.  With wide skis there is not as much need to mount back. I did move my bindings back from this mount point on a pair of Volant FB because I wanted to encourage them to keep their tips up in powder, but these are a very heavy ski. 
See how this method matches up with your 85 IM.  How far back were they mounted?  How strongly do you feel you wish to mimic this mount for your skiing and touring in the back country?  You may decide you wish to mount further back than the method I describe, but I would encourage you not to go as far back as the 85 IM.

Thanks to Jonathan Shefftz for his helping me.
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#3
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10/8/09 at 11:17am
  • Joined: October 2009
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You suggest a good way to analyse if my suspicions are correct.  I have now remeasured both the 85 IM's and the 95 OB's.  The boot center point mark on the 85 IM's is 1085 mm behind the center of the ski and the boot center mark of the 95 OB's is only 601 mm behind the center point.  If I rely on the boot center point as maked on the 95 OB's by Head Skis my toe will be 475 mm too far forward on the ski.  This is a big concern but by the same token I am reluctant to just disregard the mark that Head put on the ski.  I would really like to find a way to contact the technicians at Head to speak to them about my concerns.
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#4
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10/8/09 at 3:55pm
  • Joined: December 2001
  • Location: Maine
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 I think the mark really is a suggested point.  Have you tried googling Had to see who the us distributor is?
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#5
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10/9/09 at 9:19am
  • Joined: July 2002
  • Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming
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This may not help, but I have a pair of 181cm Head 95 OB's that are mounted with Dynafit TLT Vertical's. 

I looked at mine this morning and took a couple of photos.  Mine are mounted so that the center mark of the boot (Scarpa Spirit 4 in a 27.5 shell) is dead on with the center mark of the ski.  I've skied that setup quite a bit in the last 12 months and I'm happy as a clam with it.  I've had no feeling whatever of being too forward or back.

Here's the setup in full view:



And here's an attempted closeup of the mounting point relative to the boot center:



If you're still concerned about your pair, send me a pm and I can give you an email address that should connect you with someone at Head North America.

Good luck.  Those are great skis.

Bob Peters Jackson Hole, WY       
North40 Realty    
Me on twitter - http://twitter.com/bobpetersjh

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#6
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10/29/09 at 5:18pm
  • Joined: October 2009
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I did get an answer from Head and it turns out my skis were mismarked at the factory.  The BC mark on my skis, when measured from the tail, was 2 cm forward of the factory specks.  My research on this topic has lead me to conclude that you cannot rely exclusively on the factory mark.  They may be right for some and are a generic average but that is all.  Each of us as skiers has slightly different body configuration and sense of balance.  The only method that is more than a guessimate is to find a method to actually balance on the unmounted ski and find the sweet spot for our own body type and where we balance on the ball of our foot and then place it directly over the centre of the running surface of the ski.  I am amazed at how many skis are mismounted since I started measuring.  There are some excellent discussions on various web sites about this. (see http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=13503 )

Thanks to Bob Peters for his assistance and contact info for Head.

Bruce
Edited by brumac2 - 10/31/09 at 5:50pm
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#7
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11/1/09 at 8:59am
  • Joined: March 2008
  • Location: Connecticut, USA
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What was the measurement from the tails they gave you for the 181cm 95 OB skis?
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#8
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11/4/09 at 8:57pm
  • Joined: October 2009
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this the full text of Heads reply

Reg. Monster 95 OB:

Ln [cm] mounting point from ski end [cm]
171                     75,0
181                     79,0
191                     83,0
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#9
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11/5/09 at 3:40pm
  • Joined: March 2008
  • Location: Connecticut, USA
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Thanks for the info brumac2

For the record, my 95 OB's factory mark was right on the money.


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#10
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11/16/09 at 6:55am
  • Joined: January 2008
  • Location: Jackson Hole
  • Post Count: 462
ALWAYS ask the shop guys to measure and check mount lines on a ski.  Many of the S7s from Rossi have incorrect markings this year.  Each year some manufacturer miss marks skis and the sharper shop guys catch on pretty fast as to who they are- our do.

Stephen A. McDonald, C. Ped
Jackson Hole Sports, Base of Bridger Gondola
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
http://thepedorthist.blogspot.com/
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#11
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12/14/09 at 10:48pm
  • Joined: October 2009
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After much deliberation I decided to mount these bad boys up with the ball of my foot over the center of the running surface.  For me that was 81 cm from the tail.  I had them out this past week in the Northern Monashees near Blue River.  They are amazingly light on the climb and nimble on the descent.  In fact with the binding placement it took me a couple of runs to get on top of them because they were so quick.  We had 50 cm fresh on a well set crust layer that was relatively stable so it was possible to really let them run.  I am excited to get out again.  These skis are a dream to climb with, weighing in at 4358 gms on my kitchen scale for the pair of 181 cm skis with Dynafit TLT's and 100 mm brakes.  Thanks to all for their input.
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