shattered dynafits, shattered dreams...

So, snoslut and I hit up silverstar last weekend, and a few turns down from my saddle, my face hits the snow. WTF, I thought, and figured i'd just caught a tip or something - but my heel won't lock down??? And then I look down to this (see photo). It turns out, the front to screws have had their heads cracked off, one of the back screws pull off a chuck of plastic with it, and the other pulled the threads out. Now, I checked my other ski, and one of the front screws' heads popped off... So, six thousand feet of safety turns down some pretty fantastic pow with my heels free, yay!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2307/2323804295_667bdae001.jpg?v=0

This is ridiculous - these bindings are only three years old! my dins are set at 10, but still, the screws should be sized to a pretty high safety factor, on top of the release load! Anyone know dynafit's warranty policy or if I have any recourse?

From what I am told , Dynafit have an excellent warranty reputation so I am sure you will be looked after if you contact them and Lou Dawson's website Wildsnow is a depository of all knowledge and things Dynafit, so if you search there you may get some answers.

Sorry to hear of your gear problems and if I had humped my booty up to Silver Star and looked down all that pow and then had a breakage, well, man that sucks , big time. I feel for ya!! :'(

"DYNAFIT THE NEW TELEMARK BINDING"

That sucks...

Not that it will help you this time, but a pair of long Voile straps, wrapped under the back of the heel piece and around the boot, make a passable "fixed heel" when you have a Dynafit failure. Worked for a buddy of mine reasonably well.

Do you usually carry them on a roof rack or inside? I recently shattered one of the heel pins, and Caley at ProSki pulled it apart- lots of dirt and grit inside. Apparently they are not totally sealed (like alpine binders), and road grime sitting inside will eventually lead to corrosion and failure. He suggested putting them inside, and always giving a hard shake with them upside-down to clear any water out.

Sorry - my telling Scotsman how reliable some Canadian ski guides claimed the Dynafits are on a recent thread possibly jinxed ya...

Those are Comforts, right?

The design of the Dynafit heel doesn't sit right with me. All of your weight is on those pins. Seems like there should be a pad or something under the heel to take the brunt of compressive forces on the binding. Same deal on the front but at least it's all metal parts supporting you and they can cam out if you compress really hard. This is one reason why I went for the unpopular brake option on my Verticals -- seems like they provide a little support under the heel.