K2 Coomback Tele Mount Position

What's the conventional wisdom on placement of tele bindings on Coombacks?

One shop tells me that K2 says to locate boot center over the boot center mark on the ski. The binding instructions (BD O1s) and other shops tell me to locate the 3 pin line at chord center on the ski. Pin line at chord center is what my previous set-ups have been, including some different bindings on the same Coombacks, and I've been happy with that. Going with boot center moves everything forward about 2.5 cm, so I'm suspicious of K2's method. K2 themselves have yet to give me a proper answer.

The skis are 167s and the boots 24.5. I'm a small-ish guy, but some might argue the skis are on the short side for me, so between that and the rocker tip, I really don't care about moving bindings forward to make turning easier. I do want to keep any float that may come from having plenty of ski in front of me. I want them to work in a variety of conditions, both BC and in-bounds, with pow the priority. I tend to ski in a low stance FWIW.

I'm sure someone will say it's all a matter of personal preference - I'm just looking for what works for most folks most of the time.

thx!

I normally mount my tele-bindings with my tele-boot center at -1cm from the manufacturer's alpine boot center mark.  You want to have your bindings mounted as far forward as possible, WITHOUT ever having to lean backward on the cuffs of your boots (to keep from going over the tips) while skiing. If you have to lean backwards on your cuffs, even occasionally, that means you are mounted too far forward. Conversely, The only indicator of being mounted too far behind the optimal location will be sluggish handling, so it's better to start at -1 as a "best guess mount location, and go from there.

You could mount at -4 if you want. I garauntee that you will not be too far forward, nor will you ever need to lean backward on your boot cuff to keep from stuffing a tip, but you will probably expend much more energy to control your skis than you would if you mounted in the optimal location.... It's worth the effort to start at -1 and work out a best mount location, even if you have to move the bindings after the first mount. good luck

Pretty good advice regarding the downhill from tele.skier, but my goal with mounting tele skis for hiking is balance with skins on. I like the tip to raise when I take a step, but I also want to be able to side step without the tail dropping too quickly. It is an art (or matter of luck), not a science to get this right. Worse, if you get it right dry, it will change when wet, and will change again when the temperature varies. Skins change the balance point as do the bindings, as does snow glopped on the tips. It isn't as simple as just finding the balance point of the naked dry ski.

My 2 cents.

If you've been happy with pin line on chord center on that same ski you could just go with that.
I've got rid stiff O1's on anti pistes (tele coomback) mounted on the forward inserts, and that seems to work well. I think the forward mount is +2.
When I've compared pin line on chord center to boot center/boot center mark, they've been pretty much the same within a couple millimeters.
If your tele boot has a center mark (I've only noticed center marks on Black Diamond tele boots), I would go with boot center on center mark, or one centimeter forward if you are trying to mount for a faster turn initiation.
And by all means, try a couple different mounts to see if you like one more than the other (or if you can even tell). It doesn't hurt the ski.
Good luck.

thanks guys.