Adjusting my own ski bindings....

[beanbag]

I finally got around to buying a good pair of ski boots and tried them out this past weekend, but on rented skis.

Tomorrow, I'm off to do a little night skiing but since I managed to blag this as a freebie, I'm going to use my own crappy ski's and that means adjusting the bindings to fit my new boots.

Now after working out my "DIN" settings using the following website (7.5), I think I've got it sussed, but can anyone here confirm I've got it right and this website is correct!?!

http://www.rosswalker.co.uk/din_setting/step4.htm

Here are my details:

- Advanced intermediate skier
- Height: 182cm (5'11")
- Weight: 78-79kg
- Boot size: Mondo point 30.5
- Ski length: 165cm

I just want to be sure I'm doing this right. My other question is do I adjust the DIN setting on my binding with the boot attached or when it isn't....???

Cheers,

BB

[Asterix]

Advanced or Intermediate?

Which one is it - they are worlds apart if judged correctly.

[gingerpaul]

Hello matie. I'm now using 7 myself after I found myself losing my skis a couple of times in deep powder so I think you'll be ok. Try not to freeze your camera this time.

[pugwash4x4]

what asterix said

if you don't ski much then have your bidings at the lower end of the recommended limit- when you fall/cross skiis it means that the skiis will release rather than destroy your knee- as you get more advanced and build up the right muscles, (and get skilled enough to reduce the risk) then you can up the binding strength.

im' a big chap and have skiied a lot so i have my bindings up as high as they will go- can resutl in slightly sticky situations though!

[beanbag]

Asterix said:

Advanced or Intermediate?

Which one is it - they are worlds apart if judged correctly.

I ski quite a bit these days. About once a week at the moment but I've never adjusted my own binding before because I've never had to!

By advanced intermediate, I would say I'm an intermediate skier going to an advanced skier.

I'm doing a lot more off-piste these days which is brilliant and even attempting the odd small jump and drop off....

[RDM]

Asterix said:

Advanced or Intermediate?

Which one is it - they are worlds apart if judged correctly.

I think if he was Advanced he'd know how to adjust bindings by now. Think it would
also depend on what you were skiing, on heavy wet snow I lower the DIN setting due
to having bad knees, I'd rather step out my bindings rather than risk a twist.
On good snow/ bumps I'd set them back to 8/9.

I'm old school though, not these carvey things.

In the old days I knew friends who were instructors who would degrease their bindings and
wet them so that they rusted up and wouldn't release in an embarrassing way when teaching,
their knees lived to tell the tale.

[Aprisa]

Din setting seems about right but just as important is the height and length settings for your individual boot which may or may not be automatic depending on the binding.

You should just be able to get a credit card under the toe when adjusted and the heel will sort itself. Lengthe wise there should be a series or scribed marke behing the heel binding with an arrow that should lie within these marks when the boot is in.

HTH
Nick

[C8PPO]

Adjusting your bindings isn't just about altering the DIN setting, or even the DIN setting and the boot length. If you're not sure (and given that you've asked the question, you're not), then it's a simple choice between whether you want to walk home after your ski or come back on crutches. Simply not worth risking it - get you and your skis down to a local ski shop and have them done properly.

[Asterix]

RDM said:

Asterix said:

Advanced or Intermediate?

Which one is it - they are worlds apart if judged correctly.

I think if he was Advanced he'd know how to adjust bindings by now. Think it would
also depend on what you were skiing, on heavy wet snow I lower the DIN setting due
to having bad knees, I'd rather step out my bindings rather than risk a twist.
On good snow/ bumps I'd set them back to 8/9.

I'm old school though, not these carvey things.

In the old days I knew friends who were instructors who would degrease their bindings and
wet them so that they rusted up and wouldn't release in an embarrassing way when teaching,
their knees lived to tell the tale.

I was BASI II and instructed for 5yrs - did a bit of racing for the Army as well.

I used to have mine cranked to the max - race spec bindings and IIRC the DIN setting didn't even begin until 12 or 14! - at 20ish. Anything lower and I could still pop the skis off just from loading up the ski during large radius turns!

My tip to most others would be to err on the side of caution. For the OP - maybe look at starting at 5 and then increase if they pop. Alternatively, you could take them to someone who's qualified to set properly on the way to the slope - a much safer bet.

I always worry when people rate their own skiing ability. I remember when I had a holiday with the family and my uncle who rated himself as an advanced skier lasted about 20mins with me and was exhausted. Not meant to sound braggy, more a statement of fact. People tend to overestimate themselves and set their kit up incorrectly beacuse of it.

Edited by Asterix on Wednesday 11th February 10:30

[beanbag]

RDM said:

Asterix said:

Advanced or Intermediate?

Which one is it - they are worlds apart if judged correctly.

I think if he was Advanced he'd know how to adjust bindings by now. Think it would
also depend on what you were skiing, on heavy wet snow I lower the DIN setting due
to having bad knees, I'd rather step out my bindings rather than risk a twist.
On good snow/ bumps I'd set them back to 8/9.

I'm old school though, not these carvey things.

In the old days I knew friends who were instructors who would degrease their bindings and
wet them so that they rusted up and wouldn't release in an embarrassing way when teaching,
their knees lived to tell the tale.

I guess that's one of the things you learn when you become an advanced skier plus it's impossible to judge somebody's skiing level on their knowledge of adjusting bindings..... We all have to learn!

Plus like I said, I've only just got a complete set of equipment and when I spend more than a day on the slopes, I rent skis so the binding adjustment is done for me.

So...back to the real question. 7.5 would sound like a good start for most?

[Zod]

Mine are set at 8.5. They come off when they need to, but not otherwise. The idiots at Snow and Rock set them to 10. Good thing I checked! It shouldn't' matter whether the boot is in or not when you set them. You only need the boot in to check you have the length right if your bindings are adjustable (mine are fixed).

[beanbag]

Aprisa said:

Din setting seems about right but just as important is the height and length settings for your individual boot which may or may not be automatic depending on the binding.

You should just be able to get a credit card under the toe when adjusted and the heel will sort itself. Lengthe wise there should be a series or scribed marke behing the heel binding with an arrow that should lie within these marks when the boot is in.

HTH
Nick

I'll be honest in saying my bindings are crap. So are the ski's. They're about 4 years old now and I bought them when I came back to skiing. I only use them for hacking about or when I can't be bothered to rent skis as I can't be bothered to do tomorrow.

In fact, the bindings are a 2005 pair of these:

[gingerpaul]

beanbag said:

So...back to the real question. 7.5 would sound like a good start for most?

2nd answer down. We're similar size/height/weight/ability so I'd try 7 and see how you get on. If you're worried about damaging your knees then drop it down a bit. I found that on 5 I was losing skis in the powder when I really shouldn't have been so we tightened them up a bit. One of our group was an instructor and another had being skiing as long as your mrs so we made sure the adjustment was sensible.

[Asterix]

Seriously - get them done properly. Will take 2 mins.

[ALawson]

I set my own skis up at 6.5-7.5 when I was sking alot and when very fit. I then made the mistake of sking with a niggle in my knee after 2.5 days of powder ski I simply fell over on a moderately steep slope going slowly, I rotated around by lower ski and went down the fall line.

Result was :- Medial Ligament ruptured, ACL partially ruptured and torn miniscus! At least I skied down on the other leg!.

I would rate my ability as a bit higher than average but wish I had lowered the DIN setting when it was obvious that I wouldn't be sking on groomed runs but in deepish powder with a tired niggly knee. As has been said above better to be looking for a ski for a few minutes than 9 months of physio, operations etc.

[beanbag]

gingerpaul said:

beanbag said:

So...back to the real question. 7.5 would sound like a good start for most?

2nd answer down. We're similar size/height/weight/ability so I'd try 7 and see how you get on. If you're worried about damaging your knees then drop it down a bit. I found that on 5 I was losing skis in the powder when I really shouldn't have been so we tightened them up a bit. One of our group was an instructor and another had being skiing as long as your mrs so we made sure the adjustment was sensible.

Knees aren't the problem, but to be honest I think you're about right.....

I'll try 7......

P.S. The ski shop isn't open when we're going skiing at night. If you need ski's, you must be there by 6pm to get your gear and then somebody will collect them at the end. We're planning on getting to the slopes by about 7pm.

[theboymoon]

Asterix said:

Seriously - get them done properly. Will take 2 mins.

The fact you haven't even mentioned toe height or forward pressure in the opening post means you really should get a friendly shop to help you.

Busted knee. just not worth it.

[tvrolet]

theboymoon said:

Asterix said:

Seriously - get them done properly. Will take 2 mins.

The fact you haven't even mentioned toe height or forward pressure in the opening post means you really should get a friendly shop to help you.

Busted knee. just not worth it.

Knee...I wish

[beanbag]

theboymoon said:

Asterix said:

Seriously - get them done properly. Will take 2 mins.

The fact you haven't even mentioned toe height or forward pressure in the opening post means you really should get a friendly shop to help you.

Busted knee. just not worth it.

Interesting you mention this. I've been asked neither of these questions ever when getting my binding adjusted by the ski shops.

Just weight, height, ability and I give them my boots and skis. That's all.

Any chance you could explain this? (I'm quite interested....)

[Asterix]

beanbag said:

theboymoon said:

Asterix said:

Seriously - get them done properly. Will take 2 mins.

The fact you haven't even mentioned toe height or forward pressure in the opening post means you really should get a friendly shop to help you.

Busted knee. just not worth it.

Interesting you mention this. I've been asked neither of these questions ever when getting my binding adjusted by the ski shops.

Just weight, height, ability and I give them my boots and skis. That's all.

Any chance you could explain this? (I'm quite interested....)

They won't ask because it's something they (should) automatically understand and do.

If you look down at the toe binding there is usually a thin piece of plastic that goes horizontaly across - this is a low friction polymer that will allow the toe of the boot to easily slide sideways once the DIN setting has been passed. If you have the the toe height too high then you will notice an up and down movement and a slight delay in the ski reacting to your inputs. If it is too low then the toe of the boot will have too much downward pressure on the strip and won't release at the correct setting.

The forward pressure setting is vital for the same reason. Too much and it forces the front of the toe too hard into the 'wings' of the front binding not allowing it to release properly. Too low and it won't sit correctly.

There is normally a small arrow on the heel binding that should sit nicely inbetween two markers to show this is correctly set.

Edited by Asterix on Wednesday 11th February 11:48