A Swiss skier called Guido Rouge is credited with inventing the Kandahar binding back in 1932, naming it after a series of ski races sponsored by Lord Roberts of Kandahar (we wonder why!).

As with many great inventions they get copied worldwide, in this case by the Russians, though these were actually bought from a guy in Riga, Latvia, Russia’s next door neighbour.

In the days before downhill skiing became a major sport in its own right, Kandahar type bindings were pretty universal as they could be used for both cross-country and downhill skiing. We have a real set of Kandahar bindings elsewhere in the collection, which explains things a little more.

We think this set of ‘Kandahars’ date from the 1940s and cost £20 in 2025.