Putting your skis back on after a fall can be a pain. If the trail isn’t very flat, you have to fight with getting the angle right. If there’s too much now, you have to make sure the binding and your boots are clear. But what if a ski just snapped back into place, taking away the battle of clipping in?
The BURT Retractable Binding was invented by Burton A. Weinstein in the 1970s. Produced by Lange, the binding featured retractable cables that would prevent the ski from fully releasing during a fall. Instead, the cables would extend when the boots detached and retract back into place after the fall.
As you could probably imagine, this binding was dangerous. Because the skis would pop back during a fall, some major injuries were possible, and complete fractures were common. Lange stopped production of the product pretty quickly, but, because it was the first binding that didn’t flatten the middle of the ski, it helped to develop modern carving.
Nonetheless, it was likely the least safe ski binding ever sold. You can still find them here and there on eBay, like this listing for $150, but you definitely shouldn’t attempt to mount it or actually use it.
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