binding position on new board

[clegend30]

i just bought a Belmont 140 with 30/60 bindings. i was wondering what the best position to mount the bindings would be. would it be better to have the bindings wider out or more shoulder width?

[Juice75]

It really depends on what's comfortable to you. Stand on the carpet with your feet about shoulder width apart, and see how that feels. Move them a little farther apart, closer together, etc, and note what feels the most comfortable. Make sure you bend your knees a little while doing this.

Just remember, if you don't feel comfortable on the board, you won't progress.

[wakemitch]

get a wakeskate and you will always be comfortable

[tedamenta]

Wakeboarding and snowboarding are so similar that I would think that the proper stance would be about the same. Here is what the American Association of Snowboard Instructors has to say about stance width:

“Stance width is the distance between binding centers, measured in inches. One recommended starting point is to measure the distance from the bottom of the foot to the middle of the knee. A second is to start with the width of the hips and to add one inch per foot of height. A more accurate approach is to stand in snowboard boots on a hard, flat surface at riding angles. Begin with the feet a few inches narrower than the hips and slowly separate the feet until the weight is equally spread across the balls of both feet. This method accounts for differences in shape and flexibility of the feet and other variations in lower-body biomechanics.”

I can also say that on a snowboard, the center of the feet should be over the center of the board, lengthwise. Another way to say this is that tip of the big toe and the back of the heel are the same distance away from the toe and heel edge respectively.

Does anyone here think that this does no apply on a wakeboard and that the center of one or both feet should be closer to the heel or toe edge?

In terms of the angle of the bindings, and the location on the board, check out this link and the related ones one this page:

http://waterski.about.com/od/wakeboardingtipstrick1/ss/wakebind_setup.htm

I have also read through many of the stance threads on this forum and many believe that having the stance too wide and/or ducked out too much can increase the risk of injury.

It seems to make intuitive sense to me that having your stance unnatural in any way would increase your risk of injury and decrease your performance.

[Cameron]

Yeah with your stance too wide and your feet too 'ducked' out then your chances of your knees bending medially increase x lots. I have blown out medial ligaments twice and chances are that the stance had something to do with it... they are now a lot closer in and more straight.....

[wakemitch]

you guys should try the dvs bindings.