The skiing boot is connected to the ski by a separate soleplate, which in each of its forward and rear portions has at least one soleholder and to which the skiing boot is secured so as to be only arbitrarily adjustable. A plate holder is mounted on the ski and comprises a pivot bearing for the soleplate adjacent to the rear half of the latter. Adjacent to the rear end of the soleplate, the plate holder is provided with an element of a detent device, which in response to an overload in a vertical and/or horizontal direction releases the soleplate. Adjacent to the forward portion of the soleplate the plate holder is provided with a member for holding down the soleplate. The female detent element of the detent device is part of the plate holder. The male detent element of the detent device is provided on the soleplate. The soleplate is provided with raised side cheeks adjacent to the detent device. The male detent element, the spring acting on said male detent element, and the bracket for the rear soleholder are mounted on said side cheeks.

A symmetrical non-exposed ski binding operative to engage the ball and tibial axis areas of a ski boot to a ski. The ski binding includes two downwardly protruding spheres operatively connected to the sole of a ski boot in the ball and tibial axis areas thereof for matingly engaging symmetrical arcuate tracts formed in the ski. Each arcuate tract is biased and is capable of releasing each sphere in any direction in the plane of and above the surface of the ski when predetermined release forces are exceeded.

A safety ski binding with a sole plate to be clamped to the boot, which is fixed at the ski in several cross planes perpendicular to the ski surface and which is so latched that it is released against the latching action when relatively strong forces act on the binding in the sense of a binding release; the sole plate is thereby fastened at the ski in a center or rearward cross plane by lateral detent means on both sides of the ski in such a manner that for the purpose of unlatching in case of a twisting fall, it rotates about a point disposed in or approximately in this cross plane and/or is able to release in the upward direction during a forward fall; additionally, the sole plate is fastened in a second forward cross plane by the use of means, which hold the sole plate to the ski, yet permit a lateral deflection in this plane.

The present invention is directed to a step-in, strapless snowboard binding. The snowboard binding is particularly useful for soft-shelled boots. The snowboard binding includes a receiving member and a locking member which move relative to one another to lock or unlock the boot relative to the binding. The receiving member has a motion control surface corresponding to each of a plurality of boot binding positions. The locking member engages a selected one of the control surfaces to lock the heel of the boot near a surface of the snowboard if snow is between the bottom of the heel and the surface. The locking member engages a different one of the control surfaces to lock the heel on the surface if there is no snow between the bottom and the surface.