All bindings are designed to release when certain forces and pressures are places upon them. The DIN setting is what we use to control the accepted limits placed on them before they release. For example, your toe DIN controls the amount of upward force required to make your boot slide out of the toe portion of your binding. Heel DIN works the same. Sideways pressure can most often be adjusted as well, but takes more skill/knowledge. That being said, the direction in which you ride means nothing to your binding. It will release based on the constraints you've set no matter what. I don't know if you had safety in mind or if you were concerned of your skis releasing when you didn't want them to, but any bindings can be tailored to whatever your concerns are. Personally, I love Salomon's bindings and feel they hold up with the correct force for safety and function no matter where I'm skiing.

Here's Salomon's current list of freeski/backcountry bindings. I like the STH 16. I run it on my Liberty's and love it.

http://www.salomon.com/us/segment/freeski-backcountry-binding.html

Thanks for the replies! A little late though, I just bought two new pairs of bindings. :-)

Okay, sorry guys, but now I'm confused. As I understood it bindings are designed to release in particular directions based on forward and lateral movements typically/statistically experienced in recreational skiing and racing, as well as being based on human anatomy. They don't release equally in 360 degrees or equally from the heel or toe, which is why Knee Bindings thinks they have something unique for lateral release.

I have owned a pair of Tyrolias that had rotational heel release and just bought a new pair of Tyrolia Peak 12 T.H.s with the same feature and I also bought a pair of Salomon Z12s which supposedly have some kind of backwards falling release from the heel. I'm not sure if either of these will do what I want, which is to release my boots when my tails get stuck while skiing switch. I've read that someone has an upward toe release, but I'm not sure who. I'm more interested in safety than unintended release, being old enough not to be doing first descents in Alaska or winning any races.

Intuitively, it just seems to me that a binding designed for going forward is gonna be different than one designed for going backwards. For example, if you pull hard enough on the back of your boot it will release at the heel, but I don't think that pulling upwards on the toe is going to do anything no matter what the DIN is set at.

Please feel free to correct any misconceptions, I don't know much about equipment; I've just been trying to think through it logically from what I've been reading.

Thanks in advance.

Also, if your tails get stuck while skiing switch it can only mean two things:

1) You're not on twin-tips. Resolution: get twin-tips

2) You're skiing switch in crud, powder, or on severely dipping terrain and your weight is not distributed correctly. Just like with skiing regular, you need to adjust weight according to terrain. If you're going switch in pow, you really need to lean "forward" toward your tips.

I can't offer any advice past what I've already surmised. I've never experienced a fall like that in 21 years of skiing. Even without twin tips. Actually.....you may need to de-tune the edges of your tails. They have a tool called a gummy stone that is used to dull the edges of your tips and/or tails. You shouldn't have sharp edges starting 1/4 to a 1/2 inch from where your tip/tail starts to curve upward. This can cause you to catch a tip or tail with no explanation.

Gummy Stone:
http://www.backcountry.com/swix-gummy-stone

Chris, Actually my edges are detuned about 6 in. from both the tips and tails. I've also been discussing this on EpicSki and I did find a vid of the type of fall that I've experienced (although it's pond skimming). I ski switch a lot in none standard style (I don't scissor my skis as much as most people and I've been using a more upright stance) that has put me at more risk for these types of falls. Here's a link to the vid:



Here's also my best guess of what the problem is:

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, but I think I've got it now. So, I believe this is just a Center of Gravity (CoG) issue. We don't see the same kind of falls forward because most binding mounts are back of CRS so you have a lot of tip in front of you. Even if you lean completely over your tips you don't have enough leverage to displace them. If you're skiing switch most likely your mount is back of CRS so you have far less tail supporting you and it takes much less to push you over your tails. The steeper the slope the easier it is, or
the more erect your stance the less your CoG is supported by your skis. Any kind of bump or irregularity that might throw you more over your tails puts you at risk for this type of fall, especially if the slope is steep. I don't
think this is a style issue, because all of the vids have people with their CoG way over their tips. I just tend to like being erect and ski switch on steeper slopes. The moral is that for switch it's best to have a closer to center mount and to be sure to keep your CoG over your tips when skiing switch. The binding problem
is still the same: if you go over your tips with enough force your bindings will release. If you go over your tails with the same force they won't, however even if they did release I think you'd probably still whack your head.

Looks are made ver well. Don't get markers