Spademan binding information

Spademan was a type of ski binding, one of a number of "plate bindings" that were popular in alpine skiing during the 1970s. It used a bronze plate screwed into the bottom of the boot as its connection point, held to the ski by a clamp-like mechanism that grasped the side of the plate. Unlike conventional bindings, the Spademan could release in any direction, in response to any force or torque. It provided greatly improved protection compared to contemporary designs, which generally allowed release of the toe to the sides and heel directly forward, keeping the foot attached in any other fall direction.

The Spademan system became very popular in the late 1970s. Production mis-steps right when new toe-and-heel bindings were being introduced led to a death spiral, and the Spademan system disappeared in the early 1980s. However, the fact that it used a single mounting plate eliminated adjustments for different sized boots, which made it popular in rental shops for some time. The Look Integral was introduced to fill this niche when Spademan exited the market.