Skibindings – GearGuide

With only the right skis you are not home safe yet, as far as putting your ski kit together. The correct bindings are just as important. Your bindings play a crucial role when it comes to safety.

Image: Scott BC 16 Guardian B100 Binding

The ski bindings transmit the energy from every move you make, and the pressure you exert, to your skis. This is literally the ‘connection’ between the ski boot and the ski. The complexity of the binding is that on the one hand, it needs to connect well to your boot, hold it fast, give a stable feel and transmit that energy efficiently, while on the other hand, it needs to come off quickly if you do fall. For a beginner, it is quite important to choose bindings that you click on, and out, quickly.

The correct bindings

Bindings that are well dialed in and are used correctly increase your safety while skiing. Choose bindings that match your experience, level and ambition. Not all ski bindings match all ski boots and vice versa. So if you are not sure about what will fit your boot, take it along when you go to choose your bindings.

Setting up your bindings

To avoid losing the skis at times when you do not expect it or conversely not releasing them when they should, (in a crash) it is important that the release settings are dialed in well. In either situation having your release settings wrong can lead to serious injuries.

It is very important to have a specialist set your bindings. He or she will set your bindings according to the international ‘DIN standard’ (DIN stands for Deutsche Industrie Norm and are a set of German standards that are used widely in the ski industry). This adjustment depends on your age, weight, length of the sole of your ski boots and your ski proficiency level. The higher the level, the higher the DIN adjustment and the more difficult the skis will loosen. Make sure you inform the specialist working your bindings well about the above-mentioned variables before setting up your bindings. Be honest about, for example, your weight and your ski experience. Finally, it is about your own safety. Walk through the release settings with your specialist again after they have been set.

To get an impression of how to adjust according to the DIN standard, you can calculate your indicative DIN setting here.

As mentioned before the bindings you choose should match your proficiency level.

Beginner and intermediate: You will probably be taking it easy, not pushing too hard. You won’t need the most sensitive adjustment and high release settings. The terrain you will be skiing is above all on-piste, so the higher end lightweight or really impact resistant bindings aren’t really necessary. A good, price effective option is to go mid-range as far as quality or price point is concerned. Please note if you are heavier skiing the right release settings for you might not be available in mid-range bindings.
Advanced: You are a bomber. You are going to take risks, and when shit hits the fan, your bindings need to rise up to the occasion. Higher release settings. lighter weight, and high-performance materials that can take the pressure of higher speeds and more radical terrain.