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Do you honestly fell a difference using one or the other? Does it narrow down to personal preference? Here are 2 very popular bindings of each type. INPUT
For most park skiers, I think they're pretty much useless, might as well take them off. I think they're for carving and fat skis, so that you get better leverage when you're turning the ski onto its edge, so it takes less effort. Not sure what else they're for.
My buddy has lifters on all of his park skis, and he does fine on rails. However, for the Px12's, you can simply change out the screws and mount them flat
The basic concept of a lifter is that it increases the leverage you have on the ski as it makes the distance at which the force is being applied further away (Have a lever long enough you can move the world, that sort of thing).
Some people say it helps when carving, and others prefer to be lower as to minimize the effects of being a little off balance on a landing and potentially having the ski pull out from underneath them. Most likely it makes very little difference, but that doesn't stop people from having vehement opinions on the subject.
Personally, I don't use any lifters, as it is one more thing that can break on the binding, as well as the idea that makes landings less tricky when a little off balance. That said, if there was a deal on a pair of bindings I really wanted and they had a lifter, or I was getting a touring binding, I wouldn't mind it.
Seems to me that it's importance is vastly overrated, and people spend way too much time talking about it. Kind of like this post.
im pretty certain that the idea of lifters started with racing. i mean, on all of my race skis the bindings are like 3 feet of the ground. the concept is the higher the boot is, the farther edge angle you can acheive because of leverage and you wont drag your boots, and in racing edge angle is everything. so i think for a carving ski, it might help if you are really laying out the euro-carves, but i dont think it hinders you that much either if you are just in the park and such.