question on bindings.....

Hi everybody!

I stumbled across this page a few days ago and have a question about bindings. I am fairly new to skiing and the equipment involved and I apologize if this question has come up before.

OK, I have been skiing about a dozen times...all on rental or borrowed skis. I just bought some used skis/bindings/boots and am gearing up to hit the snow. The boots didn't fit in the bindings, so I adjusted the toe and heel portion so that the center line of the boot was as close as I could get it to the center line of the skis (boots are forward by about 2mm). Then I found a DIN setting guideline and dialed the skis in to a conservative number for my height and weight. I set all 4 locations at 6.0 ( I am 6'-1" 175lbs). My question is this...is it safe for one to dial in one's DIN setting? Now I don't have a machine that can check the retention force of the bindings, so I set it conservative until I can test them on the snow. I'm from Michigan, so the ski "mountains" around here don't get that big (570' drops!). I don't plan on doing any jumps or moguls or anything like that, just nice easy downhill skiing. From what I've been reading on here and other sites...people almost always recommend against adjusting the DIN setting on your own. That it takes a skilled technician with weeks of training to do it properly. If that is the case, why are the bindings so easy to adjust? I mean all it takes is a pull of a lever here, a push of a button here, and a simple twist of a screwdriver. It takes the people at the ski rental all of 2 minutes to do this. To me, the ease of adjusting the bindings suggests that it can and should be dialed in by the skier him/herself. Can anybody convince me why it is or isn't safe to adjust your own bindings? I'll be the one that will know whether my ski popped off when it shouldn't, or stayed on when it should have popped off. So as long as I make small incremental adjustments, I don't see how this is dangerous??
Please help an ignorant skier.

[bvibert]

Sure anyone can adjust their bindings to make their boots fit, but getting it right at home is more hit or miss. I for one value my legs/joints too much to not spend the extra $20 to have a certified shop adjust my bindings.

We had a thread recently on this same subject that you might find interesting:

http://alpinezone.com/forums/viewtop...ghlight=#16867

thanks for the link.

[dmc]

I know a guy that does binding testing..
It's insane the tests he performs when he sets up a ski... Torsion bar tools... And everythig...

[thetrailboss]

Originally Posted by jacob

Hi everybody!

I stumbled across this page a few days ago and have a question about bindings. I am fairly new to skiing and the equipment involved and I apologize if this question has come up before.

OK, I have been skiing about a dozen times...all on rental or borrowed skis. I just bought some used skis/bindings/boots and am gearing up to hit the snow. The boots didn't fit in the bindings, so I adjusted the toe and heel portion so that the center line of the boot was as close as I could get it to the center line of the skis (boots are forward by about 2mm). Then I found a DIN setting guideline and dialed the skis in to a conservative number for my height and weight. I set all 4 locations at 6.0 ( I am 6'-1" 175lbs). My question is this...is it safe for one to dial in one's DIN setting? Now I don't have a machine that can check the retention force of the bindings, so I set it conservative until I can test them on the snow. I'm from Michigan, so the ski "mountains" around here don't get that big (570' drops!). I don't plan on doing any jumps or moguls or anything like that, just nice easy downhill skiing. From what I've been reading on here and other sites...people almost always recommend against adjusting the DIN setting on your own. That it takes a skilled technician with weeks of training to do it properly. If that is the case, why are the bindings so easy to adjust? I mean all it takes is a pull of a lever here, a push of a button here, and a simple twist of a screwdriver. It takes the people at the ski rental all of 2 minutes to do this. To me, the ease of adjusting the bindings suggests that it can and should be dialed in by the skier him/herself. Can anybody convince me why it is or isn't safe to adjust your own bindings? I'll be the one that will know whether my ski popped off when it shouldn't, or stayed on when it should have popped off. So as long as I make small incremental adjustments, I don't see how this is dangerous??
Please help an ignorant skier.

We did just discuss this, but the issue is liability. If you get hurt skiing and need expensive medical treatment, your insurance company or you might try to sue to recoup the expense. So there is that issue. Also, it is better to have someone who knows what they are doing complete this work because there will hopefully be NO problem with the bindings.

IMHO your DIN setting sounds a bit low, but it depends on the binding, how old it is, your ability, etc etc.

The pretty much unison response here was TAKE IT TO A SHOP.

[powers]

Have to agree with thetrailboss. Bring it to a shop. To quickly answer your questions:
Yes, it is easy to adjust bindings. Rental shops have a whole different system for testing rental bindings. All bindings are serviced/tested at the start of the season and a sample is re-tested every few weeks or so depending on the size of the fleet. Retail shops do the same thing but to everyones skis. DIN numbers are not force numbers. A 7 with a boot sole of 295mm is a different force than a boot sole of 332mm. Is your toe height correct? Forward pressure? Are the bindings releasing symmetricly? Just so you know, bindings don't prevent knee injurys. The forces involved with blowing up an ACL are not compensated for in traditional bindings, except for Line bindings.(Google for an explination) I blew out my knee buckling my boots @ Wallyworld Mt. and my bindings tested fine post accident. I'm getting my new knee brace next week! I can't wait!!!