As the practice of skiing for sport evolved, so too did the complexity of the binding. Sondre Norheim, in particular, is generally credited for giving sport skiing its initial downhill shove by inventing the very first heel binding which he designed using tree roots.

In 1950, securely bound to his ski, Norheim invented the slalom and perfected the first Telemark turn. His new binding didn’t completely take off, however, until sixteen years later when the 41-year-old Norheim amazed the crowds at an 1866 ski jump competition at Hoydalsmo, near Morgedal in Telemark. Two years later Norheim’s new heel binding astounded the crowds again at Christiania. Norheim’s Osier binding would continue to set the style for sport skiing until the late 1890s when a series of newly patented ski bindings lead to the development of Fritz Huitfeldt’s toe iron.

In 1897, Huitfeldt improved his patent by running toe irons through the ski itself and turning them up along the side of the ski, instead of bolting them to the sides. Combined with D’Hoyer Ellefson’s patented tightening device in 1904, Huitfeldt’s toe irons dominated the binding industry through the Kandahar cable era of the 1930s.

In 1905, Malsev’s cable company created a design that ran a metal cable through guides along the side of the ski to draw the heel down. In 1920, Marius Eriksen, designer of superior skis and edges and father of Stein Eriksen, improved upon Malsev’s design by adding a harness that utilized toe irons mounted to the ski. The new cable binding, or Kandahar binding as they were sometimes called after the European location, kept the foot securely bound to the ski regardless of speed. These early designs were given the nickname "beartraps." They were so effective that skiers were essentially trapped in their skis.

By the late 1930s cable bindings had become the most popular type of ski harness. They were stronger, lasted longer and were easier to adjust than the old leather strap binding. According to James Champion of Dartmouth’s Ski Shop in Hanover, New Hampshire, the greatest asset of the cable binding was its easy and adequate adjustment for diagonal tension. This tension held the heel of the boot close to the ski, which was necessary for fast downhill running and turning. However, as the 1940 edition of Ski Manual contends, they were not considered fully effective without the heel spring which was part of most, but not all, cable assemblies on the market.

During the 1930s and 1940s, numerous firms in the United States and Europe produced cable bindings. The majority were very well made and were priced anywhere from $5 to $7.50 a pair. One of the most common was the Anderson & Thompson racing binding which was designed with a low toe iron and an adjustable lip to hold the boot rather than the toe strap. This model was favored by expert skiers because it adjusted quickly and held the boot more securely than the toe strap variety. The adjustable lip also prevented the boot toe from curling while keeping snow out from under the toe. The average skier favored rear throw, and later front throw cable bindings for their solid safety record.

By 1940, cable bindings, once considered unsafe except for experts, were universally recommended for everyone. Unfortunately, despite improvements, they were still the cause of many serious ski injuries. In 1938, following a near epidemic in ski injuries, the Ski Club of Great Britain offered a cash reward for a reliable safety release binding design. The race for safety was on! It wasn’t long before an injured skier would cross the finish line.

Hvam’s Saf-Ski binding elaborated on the basic spring release principal of an earlier French model that had been patented but never marketed. The pressure of the springs provided exactly the right amount of tension to keep skiers securely fastened to their skis even with the sharpest turns on the steepest slopes. Yet, if a skier lost control in a turn and fell, the ski would release from the boot therefore preventing most knee and leg injuries.

In the midst of skeptics, Hvam introduced his new binding in his hometown of Portland Oregon. Once its advantages were demonstrated on the slopes, however, the binding caught on quickly. Soon other manufacturers were coming out with their own variations.

By the end of the 1940s, having proved their indisputable value, safety bindings had become almost standard. Popular safety bindings of the decade included the Kandahar Brand cable binding with micromatic toe irons, adjustable sole lugs, heel spring cables, side hitches and fronts throws; the Dovre cable binding with both adjustable sole lug and toe strap models; the Northland Micromatic binding with micromatic toe irons, adjustable sole lugs, two micromatic cables with heel springs, side hitches and front throws; and the Anderson & Thompson cable binding which came in both wedge toe and toe strap models each with micromatic cables with heel springs, side hitches and front throws.

At about the same time in Utah, Earl Miller introduced a step-in safety binding that also required boot plates. Cubco and Miller bindings were unique in that they both provided forward, backward and sideways release. The Look plateless step-in binding came out a few years later, ending forever the awkward bending over that was required to attach a pair of skis.

In addition to providing convenience, these combined integrated heel-toe release bindings had the effect of dropping the ski injury rate dramatically in the late 1950s. So much so that the Miller Ski Company introduced its Hanson binding with the claim that they would award any skier five hundred dollars who would "follow us through the same falls at the same speed, using any other standard type of binding, without sustaining injuries." While this claim wasn’t entirely practical, it did emphasize the safety of the binding.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the last years of leather boot soles, plate bindings became the cutting edge in binding technology. Among those available were Ramer Mountaineering, Cubco Elite S, Gertsch G-90, Moog, Burt, Besser Alu, Wulf, and Dr. Richard Spademan’s amazing "toeless wonder"—a plate binding that released the boot from the sides rather than at the toe and heel. Nonetheless, despite the novelty of plate bindings, step-in bindings were becoming increasingly more popular, with companies like Tyrolia, Salomon, Look, Geze and Marker leading the industry.

Perhaps the best known of the early step-in bindings was the Marker Rotomat. One of the most innovative developments of it time, the Rotomat featured a spring release system located at the heel and set on a pedestal that rotated as the skier moved. This rotation prevented premature release.

The Rotomat, though highly praised by racers for its retention, wasn’t quite as successful with the average recreational skier. Those skiers who experienced the occasional fall discovered that when the heel released, it spring assembly would break into several pieces, forcing the skier to reassemble the binding with gloved hands in deep snow. As a result the Rotomat was more commonly referred to as the Explodomat.

Despite the Rotomats quirks, it was a technological miracle compared to the Americana binding. Its plate binding had a steel surface that would rust and then stick together. As a result, the binding often failed to release at all, even when banged with a hammer. Plate bindings fell out of favor altogether in the late 1970s early 1980s following the advances made in plastic boot making.

The Integral system was unique in that it combined a specific boot with a specific binding. With the Integral, skiers were guaranteed a custom match. But a ski mounted with the Integral binding could not be used with any other boot thereby limiting the lifetime of the binding.

The revolutionary Burt binding, a spin-off of the plate binding, featured retractable cables that released the boot from the ski during a fall, then automatically returned the ski to the boot and latched it back into place. While these bindings seemed functional for awhile, they broke easily and constantly required attention.

As convenient as it may have been, this advancement, like many others in ski equipment history, was not an instant hit. The fact that the ski break made it no longer necessary for ski and skier to stay attached meant that skis might become detached while skiers were riding the lifts. This was a risk that few ski resort managers and lift operators were willing to take. With the development of high-elasticity bindings designed to prevent premature release, this concern was soon eliminated and ski brakes became a standard component of all modern bindings. Gone forever were longthongs and safety straps and along with them the numerous cuts and bruises associated with a released yet still attached ski.

Despite the great advances made in binding safety over the years, bindings are still the subject of more scrutiny than any other piece of ski equipment. Over the last few decades binding manufacturers have been the target of more lawsuits than any other sports equipment supplier. Consequently, the binding industry is not quite as lucrative as it once was. Printed warnings advising skiers to "ski at your own risk" no longer suffice. Skiers today must sign waivers whenever bindings are mounted or repaired. As a result, only a handful of binding manufacturers remain in business. Those that have endured are:

Ess • Marker • Salomon • Rossignol • Look

Geze, previously one of the binding giants, is no longer in the lineup. The brand name was purchased by Rossignol in 1994. Rossignol also purchased the Look binding brand but continues to manufacture bindings under the Look name. Look bindings are currently distributed in the United States by Dynastar—a brand also owned by Rossignol.