Ellefsen’s Patent Binding ([Fig. 10]) is of the same class. It appeared last season (1904-5), and has scarcely been in use long enough to allow of exhaustive criticism.
As with Torgersen’s, the belting only reaches about half-way down the foot, where it is terminated by an iron cross-piece with upright cheeks fitting on either side of the heel (see [Fig. 10]). From these cheeks a strap leads round the back of the heel, by means of which the belting is pulled tight. This stretching of the belting is the novelty of the arrangement, and is very ingenious, as, of course, it prevents all buckling. The iron toe-pieces are much the same as in Huitfeld, but they are fixed firmly to the ski by means of the little metal tongues which are part of them. The tongues at the same time secure the driving belt under the toe, giving it due stiffness in a vertical direction and preventing pressure of the toe strap. But obviously this is the weak spot of the front part of the arrangement, and unless the belting is of the very best quality it is liable to tear there. The makers, however, claim that the best belting will not tear, and time alone can decide whether this is so or not. The binding is not readily adjustable, and when ordering it is necessary to send a sketch of the boot which one intends to use with it.
Fig. 10.—Ellefsen’s Patent Binding.
The figure with the boot also shows a little strap sewn on to the heel of the boot to prevent the heel straps slipping off. This is very useful with all the above-named fastenings. See infra, pp. 47 and 48.
The Lilienfeld Binding has caused more discussion and provoked more criticism than any other. It, too, is on the “sole” principle, but differs from all others in this respect, that (except for the heel and toe straps) it is made entirely of metal.
The vertical axis of the sole is, moreover, placed in front of the toe, and not under it as in other fastenings, and vertical stiffness is secured by means of a very ingenious spring arrangement embedded in the ski. This shifting of the axis forward makes the binding feel curious at first, but one gets accustomed to it after a while, and then it becomes very comfortable and pleasant. An objection to the plan is, however, that one is deprived of much control over the heel of the ski, and is placed, so to speak, at the mercy of the spring. It is, however, often convenient to raise the heel of the ski when going up hill, and it is annoying to find when one tries to do so that it refuses to obey on account of the spring being insufficiently screwed up. On the other hand, if the spring be tight the heel keeps “clappering” up and down at every step. Another decidedly bad point about this fastening is its weight. It is unquestionably heavy. It is necessary, therefore, to use a considerably lighter ski with it than with any of the ordinary arrangements, and light ski are apt to be brittle. It is, however, a very powerful binding, very suitable for making “S” turns on steep and difficult ground. It seldom or never breaks, and it is adjustable to almost any boot. It is usually sold fitted to a special ski with a hole in it cut for the spring. The so-called “Alpine skee” is shortish, broadish, and flat-bottomed, with a sharply turned-up bluff entrance. These qualities render it less suitable for straight running, but useful for turning on the mountain-side, for which special purpose it is, indeed, designed. People somewhat advanced in years will find the “Alpine skee,” with its special fastening, of value for mountain tours, and it is, we think, easier to learn to turn on it than on any other; but your dashing youth and your jumper will certainly prefer the Norwegian article. Of course, the Lilienfeld fastening can be fixed to a Telemark ski.
Fig. 11.—The Lilienfeld Binding. “Alpine Skee.” Movable Steel Sole.