How to Put Bindings on A Snowboard

Placement of your bindings on your board is really important so in this post I’ll show you how to put bindings on a snowboard.

Why Does it Matter?

There are a few main reasons why the placement of your bindings matters.

1. You want to have your correct foot at the front of the board, depending on whether you ride regular or goofy
2. You want to have your bindings centered width ways so that there is even overhang of your boots on both the toe and heel side – if there is too much overhang on one side then it could cause dragging and if your boot is too far away from an edge then it will be hard work to apply pressure to that edge for turns.
3. You want to have them set up so you have the right stance width
4. You want to have them set up so that they reflect the setback that the board was designed for

How to go about setting them up

Follow these guidelines and you should have your bindings set up in the best position to get the best performance out of your snowboard.

---

Regular/Goofy

---

If you’re not already sure if you are regular or goofy this is the first thing you will need to decide before installing your bindings. Check out the link below for some handy techniques for deciding if you’re not sure yet.

• Goofy or Regular – How to tell

Once you know which you are you can set up your front foot in the right place.

If you ride regular then your left binding should be placed at the nose end of the board.

If you ride goofy then your right binding should be placed at the nose end of the board.

If you aren’t sure which end of the board is the nose end, check out the post below.

• How to tell the nose from tail on a snowboard

---

Binding Angles

---

The next thing you need to work out is what your binding angles are going to be. If you already know your preference then you can move on to setting up your angles.

If you aren’t sure what binding angles you want to ride then check out the link below to see which angles are best for you. Which binding angles you start with will depend on your ability level and your style of riding.

• What Binding Angles Should I use

Setting up your angles

Binding discs go up in increments of 3. Use the angle indicators on the discs or base plate to get your angles spot on.

The binding disc lifts out of the baseplate and you simply rotate it until the arrow on the base plate is pointing at the angle that you want.

Some discs have the angle markings on the disc and some have the markings on the baseplate and have the arrow on the disc (as per image below).

---

Stance Width

---

Your stance width is usually roughly slightly wider than shoulder width. But what’s that?! If you aren’t sure of your stance width then check out the link below to work it out.

• Snowboard Stance Setup

Once you know your stance width take a measurement to see which binding holes you will be using. For a wider than normal stance you’ll be using the holes closer to the nose and tail and for a narrower stance you’ll be using the holes that the closest to the center of the board.

It’s a good idea to only lightly tighten the screws initially and then you can measure again once the bindings are where you think you want them. Your measurement should be from center of binding to center of binding.

For example if your stance width is 580mm then it should be 580mm between the center of the front binding to the center of the back binding.

---

Centering your Bindings

---

This is possibly the most important setup factor and one that many people miss when they’re putting on their bindings.

Place your bindings on the board where you think they should go then place your boots in your bindings.

Move the bindings up and down the board width-ways so that the overhang of your boots are even on both toe and heel edge.

If either your heels or toes are too far from the edge then it will be difficult to apply pressure to the edges. If either you heels or toes are overhanging too much then you risk dragging a boot in the snow.

Binding discs are able to be used two or more different ways up, so if you can’t center them properly one way up then you can spin them around and use them the other way up. There are typically angle indicators all the way around the disc.

---

Make sure they are Tightly Screwed in

---

To attach your bindings you will need a phillips head screwdriver.

Once you have your bindings exactly where you want them it’s time to screw them in. Make sure you have all the screws tightly fastened. You don’t want your bindings to come loose while you’re riding.

I’ve had this happen a couple of times and it’s a pain to have to stop in the middle of your day to tighten your bindings. I’ve only ever had this happen with binding screws that don’t have washers. So if your screws don’t have washers then I recommend getting washers or new screws that have washers.

Thanks for reading

Now you’re ready to go with your new bindings!

I hope this post will help to get your bindings set up as they should be. When I bought my first pair of bindings years ago I set them up so my boots weren’t centered (back from the toe edge with lots of overhang on heel edge) and I always wondered why I found it harder to do a toe edge turn.

It made a massive difference once I got them set up properly.