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Stroll into the shop, head toward the racks of shining alpine skis, and one thing you'll notice is that the majority of the skis we sell are designed and packaged with integrated binding systems. When you purchase skis, matching bindings usually come with them. Five years ago, normal mounting procedure required drilling and then directly screwing the binding to the ski. Today's bindings are affixed to rails or plates integrated into the skis themselves (eliminating the screws), allowing the binding to virtually "float" while the ski is flexed into a turn.
Let us step up to the lectern: Because of the absence of screws, no longer does the binding create a dead spot through the course of a turn (imagine nailing a two-foot block of wood to the top of a ski and expecting a nice, consistent flex). This dynamic motion translates directly into better edgehold on groomers and hard snow, which means less skidding and more controlled carving for the skier. Also, by design, integrated binding systems have built-in rise (stacking the boot higher on the ski) which affords the skier more leverage. Practically speaking, this might mean that you don't fall as much, and so you keep your jeans (and the cigarettes stowed in the back pocket) nice and dry for the lifts.
Nope. As we explained above, the floating binding and rise are designed primarily to increase power and edging ability on harder snow and groomers.
Most park and pipe skis are sold flat, meaning that they lack any rails, plates, or otherwise funky mounting systems. The reasoning: Since freestyle skiers are generally not out carving the mountain all day, they wouldn't receive the any benefit from an integrated system. Also, many of these skiers have particular binding systems they are comfortable with (certain models have more reliable retention when landing a jump switch, for example) and appreciate the freedom of choice a flat ski provides. Lastly, a flat ski lacks any built-in rise, and keeping the boot closer to the ski increases stability on rails and stomping airs.
Fat skis are also sold flat for many of the same reasons stated above. Powder skiing requires lots of small adjustments on a gloriously unstable surface. The lack of riser helps with stability in these situations. Typically the edges and sidecut of the ski do not aid in turning in powder, so no powerful carving is done at all. It also provides the option to choose a particular binding, perhaps one suited to landing 100-foot cliff hucks.