A linkage binding for coupling a user's shoed or booted foot to another object, such as a ski or snowshoe. The linkage binding may include an upper plate including an upper surface to which a user's shoed or booted foot is to be secured, a lower plate including a lower surface to which another object is to be secured, a front connecting link hingedly attached to both the upper plate and the lower plate, and a rear connecting link hingedly attached to both the upper plate and the lower plate to form a 4-bar linkage.

A heel unit apparatus for a ski touring binding features two separate heel pins projecting forwardly from a heel body, and a heel pin blocker engaging the heel pins at an adjustable location within lengthwise mid regions thereof to laterally restrain outward spreading of the heel pins at said location. A blocker adjustment is operable to vary location of the blocker. Rear regions of the heel pins are restrained against longitudinal and lateral displacement. Lateral outward spreading of the heel pins in front of the heel body during both forced insertion of a footwear heel and safety release thereof is achieved by laterally outward flexure of the heel pins themselves. The adjustable location of the blocker varies the resistance to such spreading, thus setting the effective spring stiffness of the heel unit, and thereby dictating the spreading force needed to spread the heel pins apart during footwear insertion and release.

The present invention concerns a system for optional dynamic positioning of a ski binding (2) or parts of this, on or in a ski during use. The invention is characterized in that the system comprises an electrical actuator (6), an energy source (7) in order to run the electrical actuator, in addition to a control system (8) adapted to control the electrical actuator.

Some aspects include a ski binding system using controllable electromagnets, alone or in combination with permanent magnets, as means of attaching or releasing a ski boot to a ski during use. Some aspects include a ski binding system using a controllable solenoid. In some aspects, microprocessor-based control releases binding electronically based on input from sensors located in binding, ski and/or boot, as well as in other equipment or clothing connected to them or to skier, or binding releases when a mechanical threshold is overcome. In some aspects, sensor data are recorded for analysis of system performance and for adjustment and improvement of system parameters based on data analytics.

An armour vest includes front and rear portions that realize or otherwise mount armour plate or soft armour pads over a wearer's vital organs. A floatation bladder is stored and deployed under the protection of the armour. The armour vest is expandable to accommodate and at least partially protect the floatation bladder when it is inflated. In either a single or multi-stage process, the armour vest's volume is increased by automatically releasing buckles that increase separation between the front and rear portions around the waist and, in an embodiment, also at the shoulders of the armour vest. In a deflated state, shoulder connectors provide a load-bearing connection between the front and rear portions of the armour vest. Inflation of the bladder, either manually actuated by pulling a webbing trigger handle or automatically with immersion, causes a different load-bearing shoulder bridge to be brought into operation at the shoulders of the amour vest. The shoulder bridge is realized by the taking up of folds of fabric, which folds are released with the breaking of the buckle connection. Increased comfort and manoeuvrability are therefore afforded to the wearer of the vest.

A boot binding system for a splitboard that can include a latch pedal mechanism at an end of a baseplate on which the rider's boot rests. The latch pedal can have a dual function: either to attach each boot binding to a ride mode interface, or to attach each boot binding to a ski tour interface. In a release position the latch pedal is disengaged allowing the baseplate assembly to alternate between the ski tour interface and the ride mode interface. In a lock position, the rider depresses the latch pedal and locks the boot binding onto the selected interface. The latch pedal is held down by the rider's boot when in the lock position, contributing to the system's lightness and strength.

A toe-piece of a ski binding includes rotatable first and second clamping members respectively provided with first and second jaws. First and second rotatable supports rotatably bear the first clamping member and the second clamping member, respectively. In a ski descent configuration, the first and second jaws can elastically retract if solicited by a tip of a ski boot. The first clamping member has a third jaw with a first pin, while the second clamping member has a fourth jaw with a second pin. Locking means are provided which when the ski boot tip is between the third and fourth jaws, the blocking means are activatable to block the third and fourth jaws in angular blocking positions in which the first pin is inserted in a first hole of a ski boot and the second pin is inserted in a second hole of the ski boot, making walking uphill possible.

A binding for a touring ski, a Telemark ski or a cross-country ski having step in automatic locking. The binding includes a front retaining element to cooperate with the front sole of a boot, a rear retaining element to cooperate with the rear part of the front sole and/or the rear sole of the boot, a tensioning element to tension the boot on the binding and to enable the heel to be freely lifted, a tensioning link placed under and connected to a rear retaining stirrup, and a fixed or retraction stop to cooperate with the tensioning link so as to enable the rear retaining stirrup to move back, tensioning the tensioning element, when the heel of the boot exerts a downwardly directed pressure on the rear retaining boot situated in an idle position.

boot on a sliding board, having a base (130; 3) intended to be fixed to the sliding board,

two lateral jaws (101; 8, 9), each mounted to be rotationally mobile on the base (130; 3) about a substantially vertical rotation axis (103; 10, 11), so as to occupy a closed position to hold a boot and a separated position to release or receive a boot,

and a pusher (110; 35) having two lateral trig surfaces (114; 24, 25) each cooperating with a respective ramp (104; 22, 23) of each jaw (101; 8, 9), this pusher (110; 35) being linked to the base (130; 3) by a trig spring (112; 36)

and two links (120; 28, 29) each linked to a jaw (101) by a first lateral axis (123; 14, 15) and linked together by at least one central axis (125; 32).

The invention relates to a heel-piece for binding a boot on a gliding board that includes a frame including a vertical extension; a body rotatably mounted about the extension; at least two rods supported by the body, extending on respective sides of the vertical extension, the two rods each having a free end to cooperate with a housing in the heel of the boot; and a holding mechanism for maintaining a spacing between the free ends of the rods. The vertical extension supports at least one contact zone fixed in relation to the frame. Each rod cooperates with a respective portion of the contact zone, specific to each rod. The contact zone is arranged such that a rotation of the body about the extension, from a descent configuration, causes an increased spacing between the two rods. The invention also relates to a binding system and a gliding board equipped with such a binding.