The present invention contemplates a binding system for a snowboards and the like. The system includes a soft-soled boot having a hardened exterior shell consisting of a toe portion and a heel portion, which are linked by at least one sidewall portion. The toe and heel portions include two toe and two heel pegs respectively. The boot includes an instep portion having instep cables for adjusting the boot to the wearer and the cables are adjusted by grommets and tightened in position by at least one resting bar. The binding has a base plate for connecting to the snowboard. The base plate further supports a pair of toe hooks adapted to engage the toe pegs and a pair of heel peg levers adapted to releasably engage the heel pegs of the boot. A grappling hook and ratchet mechanism grabs the resting bar on the boot.

The invention relates to an automatic heel unit (1) for a ski binding, comprising a base (7) for fitting the automatic heel unit (1) on a ski and a heel downholder (3) for holding down a ski boot in a heel region of the ski boot. The heel downholder (3) is mounted so as to be movable in relation to the base (7). The automatic heel unit (1) has a holding configuration in which the heel downholder (3) is located in a holding position and may interact with the heel region of the ski boot that is held in the ski binding in such a manner that the heel region of the ski boot is held down in a lowered position. Furthermore, the automatic heel unit (1) has a step-in configuration in which the heel downholder (3) is located in a step-in position and the heel region of the ski boot is released by the heel downholder (3). The automatic heel unit (1) comprises a heel support structure (6), which is configured separately from the heel downholder (3), for supporting, in a direction that is horizontally transverse to the ski, the heel region of the ski boot that is held in the ski binding in the holding configuration of the automatic heel unit (1).

A ski boot comprising a sole designed to accommodate a boot of a skier and a connecting device having a fastening member to be fastened to the leg of the skier, which ski boot has: a lever part that is fastened to the sole via a pivot connection, the fastening member being movable relative to the lever part, a connecting rod that is connected at a first point to one of the sole and the lever part via a first pivot connection and at a second point to the other of the sole and the lever part via a second connection enabling the second point to be moved, and a deformable member that is arranged to prevent the second point from moving relative to a rest position.

Device for connecting the lower leg of a skier, with a foot and an ankle axis, to a ski binding mounted on a ski board, comprising a footwear assembly, a tibial connection with at least one rigid rod, where the at least one rigid rod comprises an upper end securely attached to the lower leg, and a lower end which is pivoting with respect to the footwear assembly.