Heel unit comprising a release and adjustment mechanism

A heel unit for a touring binding, comprising:

• a base for mounting on a sliding board;
• coupling means to engage with a heel portion of a sliding board boot in a downhill position of the touring binding to retain the sliding board boot on the touring binding,
• a release mechanism to hold the coupling means so that the coupling means is rotatable relative to the base such that the coupling means can be released from the engagement with the sliding board boot in the downhill position of the touring binding in an event of action of a force that exceeds a predetermined release force, wherein the release mechanism comprises a spring means that determines the predetermined release force;
• and
• an adjustment mechanism to rotatably adjust the touring binding between the downhill position and a walking position, wherein the coupling means are arranged in the adjustment mechanism in a position remote from the sliding board boot such that the coupling means do not come into engagement with the sliding board boot, wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises an actuation assembly that is manually actuatable between a locking position in which the adjustment mechanism is locked in the downhill position or in the walking position, and an unlocking position in which the adjustment mechanism is unlocked and is rotatable from the downhill position into the walking position or from the walking position into the downhill position substantially without an actuation force or with an actuation force that is less than the predetermined release force.