Dynafit toe pre-releasing

The following has happened twice now and I’d like to know if anyone else has experienced this. It has happened once in Dynafit vertical’s and just the other day in Dynafit radicals. Yesterday was solid hard spring like (it is February) snow surface. I clip into the toe piece, step into the heal piece. Stomp on the snow surface to create a level spot under the ski and toe releases. The stomp on the slight incline creates a similar (or exact) force like Lou’s video ( ). My partner suggested I must be entering the binding wrong leaving it susceptible to release but I now believe it to be a problem systemic to all Dynafit models. I was hoping the side towers in the Radicals would prevent the prerelease but it did not. I came close to watching my ski slide down the mountain both times. Guess that makes a good case for leashes instead of brakes in hard snow conditions. If anyone has experienced this I’d like to hear about. If not then I might have defective product.

With over 5 years in the same set of Dynafits, and around 200 ski days on them, I've never experienced any sort of "pre-release". I know that's not much help, but I'm having some trouble visualizing the mechanism you describe that causes it.

interesting video...

I have a pair of Armada JJ's mounted with some old Dynafit classics.  Last spring I was skiing and came across a windswept pitch of totally bulletproof snow.... all of a sudden both my toes blew open and i was on my arse with my skis dangling off their leashes.  I cleaned out the boot hardware and checked for snow build up on the bindings, clicked back in, and 10 ft down hill both skis blew off a second time, then a third time even with the toes locked into tour mode. I finally had to glissade down off the steepest firmest snow and then click back in.   

Seems like Lou's video describes exactly what I was dealing with...also wonder whether the old classics I'm using have weaker springs in the toe as he mentioned in his video something about stronger springs to counteract those pre-releases.

Anyways... I've since avoided skiing my Armadas on anything other than powder days, I think they're so wide that they're significantly more prone to opening up vs my other narrower ski, but now I'm wondering if in my case at least it has to do with the old toe pieces having weaker springs than the newer Verticals I have on my Manaslus.

I would first check to make sure that there is no snow or ice packed between the metal wings and plastic plate. If that space is not free (which can happen easily if you have icing conditions, which I encountered this weekend), you aren't really 'in' the binding, because the jaws can't close all the way.

or the boot dimples - the one time it happened to me with about 5+ yrs of use was at transition when I booted for a bit and then put ski back on and didn't clear snow out by swinging ski few times - popped out right quick. I really think it is either a defective toe piece in isolated incidents or poor seating into boot dimples. If Hoji can stomp 75-100 drops I trust them. Other than locking toe they are pretty much as tricked out as they can get.

The most common cause of "prerelease" is snow in the boot dimples; this is avoided by stepping into the binding then swinging your foot back and forth (making the pins rotate in the dimples); this clears the snow in the dimples by the cutting edge on the pin. Then step into the heel pins.

I put a silicon paste into my dimples to preclude snow/ice buildup; also make sure there is no snow on the toe part of the boot sole.

Some manufacturers have made boot dimples less than optimal; I also believe that the dimples can become worn.

Of course, another kind of pre-release occurs when touring without locking the toepiece.