DIY tech for kids alpine bindings

Unfortunately going to a shop and paying someone doesn't guarantee no broken legs.

I'm an ex ski tech who always adjusted my kids' bindings by consulting the manufacturers DIN chart and trying to err on the easy to release side. As Lowell mentioned, testing results can be remarkably inconsistent - a lot depends on the condition of the boot sole, anti-friction plate, and binding lubrication. I'm lucky that my kids are now grown and survived my experiment, I guess.

I've watched Bode Miller a bunch, and find it hard to believe he could stay in a binding set at DIN 5. Maybe on a perfect run where he nails it smoothly and never goes off line, but in survival mode on one ski bouncing off his hip (his specialty)? Doubtful.

This whole sport is an experiment. So is parenting. Its a perfect fit.

I'm going to go test the release values on our booster seats now.

As others do, I also set my own skis and those for my family.  Two kids and my wife.  Along with the calculators, there are also Marker DIN charts available on line.

I am not so sure that I agree that settings tend to be too high.  I set my skis to the recommended and felt that I was getting prereleases enough that I upped mine to my satisfaction.  In the end the worst damage tends to be in slow, low impact falls and as said in earlier responses to this post, most bindings fail in this regard.  I set all our skis to recommended, then pay careful attention as to when and how they release.  We do a lot of skiing, lift served, so there are plenty of chances to evaluate.  In any case I adjust as needed. That usually means upward from standard DIN, yet usually falls within the range.

For younger kids and low DIN settings, it is easy to see if the binding is working more or less correctly.  You can move up through .25, .5 1, 2, etc. each time forcing the boot out to get a feel for how the binding is working and if forces increase proportionally.  This is crude, but it gives you a ballpark feel.  Many will say that this is too risky.  That is for you to decide, but even getting a proper DIN set at a shop at season start is no guarantee that during the season the binding will not fail to work properly.

Also, most shops will set DIN at the low setting for liability reasons.  This is not necessarily a good thing but should be fine for kids.

My feeling is that under normal fall/release situations, the level of torque or leverage generated by a fall, if less than what could possibly cause damage to a bone or other bodily structure should be the correct setting.  how do you get to that!  I am not sure, but to be sure that has nothing to do with a skier's aggressiveness on skis.  Yes the more aggressive skier can generate higher impact falls, but that skiers bones and ligaments, etc. are not necessarily more capable of withstanding the forces.  However, somehow the DIN charts use aggressiveness partly as a means for setting the binding.  This,of course has more to do with preventing pre-release (to be sure a danger in and of itself) than the acceptable forces on the legs and joints.

Regarding Bode Miller, I simply do not buy that he typically only generates only a DIN 4 force on his bindings.  I have watched a number of his SL races, particularly the year before last and I can't tell you how many times he simply stepped out of his bindings during the run.  Each time I said to myself, "Oh, I wouldn't want to be his ski tech!".  It is also hard to imagine that his DIN was set to 23 in those circumstances.

Also, having been involved in my son's ski race team for the last several years, I can tell you that it is true that the kids seem to use DIN as a means of bragging.

Alan

I agree that aggressiveness doesn't have anything to do with your ability to escape a fall uninjured.  The reason beginners get lower DIN settings is they're unwilling to take on higher risk in exchange for a lower likelihood of prerelease.  When I'm teaching beginners, the odds of a prerelease are very low -- no matter where I set the bindings.  My tolerance for an injury is also extremely low; I don't mind a release in every fall.  When I'm skiing down icy double diamonds, my demands on the skis do change.  A pre-release now means a likely injury, and I'm more willing to accept a possible injury in a fall to prevent those pre-releases.

For the Bode comment, I swear I read that on the Internet once a few years ago.  I don't know where, and I don't know if it was true when I read it.  Just repeating the rumor in case anyone else heard it and knows where it came from.  If you're skiing well on a firm surface, however, the pressures on a binding should be very slight.  Most of us neither ski well nor on firm surfaces. Hopefully not, anyway. 

For the Bode comment, I swear I read that on the Internet once a few years ago.  I don't know where, and I don't know if it was true when I read it.  Just repeating the rumor in case anyone else heard it and knows where it came from.  If you're skiing well on a firm surface, however, the pressures on a binding should be very slight.  Most of us neither ski well nor on firm surfaces. Hopefully not, anyway. 

I have no doubt that you saw the Bode comment on the internet.  I guess the question is if it is one of those urban myths

I've seen a lot of race photos and saw lots of kids and adults racing in the last few years and I think the boot binding takes quite a lot of pressure.  If you look up almost any photo of a top racer in action you will note that the ski is far up on one edge (almost perpendicular with the snow) and the edge is biting very much into what they prefer to ski as icy snow.  At his speeds and with high g turns can you imagine the leverage on the binding/boot?  Now the question is if the binding is made to release under that type of torque.  I believe the toe absolutely will not release since the boot under those circumstances ought to be pushing straight down on the ski.  But I think that the binding heel could potentially let go.  The side of the ski away from the contact edge should want to lever away from the boot and would seem to equate with lifting the heel.

Even if my scenario is incorrect, most race courses get very rutted and are not particularly smooth even at the start of a race, so there is lots of jarring going on.  If you watch a race, it is remarkable that these guys can even stay on the course with their skis and legs constantly impacting and getting pushed off the snow.  In any case it is not unusual to see a racer lose a ski before actually falling.  That is why they crank them.

And I hear you about how you adjust your own bindings and for good reasons.  I quite agree and extending the logic a bit further, once one is comfortable with their gear would you really want an anonymous technician fooling with your bindings?  Not I!

Alan

Straying a bit from the main topic, I had a real wake-up call on the dangers of pre-release last winter. I was skiing at Crystal Mountain on a soft snow day and enjoying one of my favorite runs, Upper Bull Run. Near the bottom of the run, where you approach the old Miner's Basin lift, I got a little tired and the snow got heavier (something it often does there). I hit a pocket of heavy snow with my weight a bit too far forward and had a double release from my heel pieces.

Like a man shot out of a cannon, I landed absolutely on the top of my head. Fortunately, the soft snow cushioned my fall or I might have broken my neck. Wearing a helmet wasn't the issue. I honestly don't think I would have fallen if I hadn't pre-released. I tightened my heel pieces after that.