Updating Arctic Attire

Problem Statement

We are Sub-Zero Strap, an interdisciplinary team of JMU students charged with solving a problem. Our members and their majors are Grayson Heflin (Geographic Science, Biology Minor), Ben Allgor (International Affairs), Will Mize (International Affairs), Jaqueline Kossey (Biology), Kaylee Rathbun (Biology), and Gunnar Hansen (Marketing).Our team was given the task of designing modern bindings for skis and snowshoes that allow U.S Army soldiers to navigate extreme cold weather environments on snowshoes and skis with high levels of safety and stability. The current bindings used by the Army have functional issues, particularly in high-risk situations. For example, when a soldier is attempting to undo the bindings and exit the ski or snowshoe they often get caught up undoing the several straps leaving them vulnerable to enemy attack and other injuries. To fix this issue our team has designed a quick-release binding system that enables the user detach quickly and safely from the ski. Building on recent ski shoe technology,  this ‘quick-release’ system would increase safety while still not sacrificing the necessary stability and support needed in treacherous arctic terrain. 

Solution

To solve this problem our team began by interviewing several contacts from within the U.S Army who either were currently in arctic units or headed equipment divisions. We also interviewed several faculty members of the department of engineering. From the interviews with U.S Army personnel we discovered what particular aspects of the current bindings needed to be updated. These aspects that needed improvement boiled down to being a more stable and adjustable binding equipped with a method of quick release. With this in mind we then interviewed the engineering faculty who helped us to eliminate and improve upon potential MVP designs with their technical expertise. With our interviewees input our MVP first began as an “Infintiy-Loop”, a single strap that wrapped around the front and back of the foot crossing and making an X on the top of the foot. In this design we incorporated a button that would loosen the strap all at once allowing the wearer an easy exit. This idea however, was met with a lot of criticism from the engineering faculty as they pointed out that the X on the top of the foot could cause the wearer to become tangled in it rendering the innovation useless. From here we pivoted to a new design similar to a traditional snowboard binding. This MVP design has three crank bindings (used by many snowboarding companies today) and a static support strap that would wrap posteriorly around the ankle to give support and stability. To promote a quick release the three individual cranks meet centered above the middle of the foot and incorporate a quick release lever to unlatch all three cranks at the same time. As of now we are still in the process of developing the quick release mechanism and incorporating a thelmark heel component to allow for free motion of the heel to improve the bindings application to skis.

Meet the Team