How can I test the tightness of ski bindings?

[Kingspades]

Stroll with me if you will back into the mists of antiquity, otherwise known as March 2009. On my second day ever on the ski slopes, I took a curve too fast and wiped out. My ski failed to detach and I tore my left ACL in the fall.

Having failed to learn my lesson the first time around, in six weeks I’ll be on the slopes once again. This time, however, I’d like to make double-secret sure that the bindings on my skis are set for the correct amount of tension. I know setting them involves finding the balance between having it so loose that the ski falls off when it shouldn’t versus having it so tight that it doesn’t detach when it ought.

As a newbie skiier, I’m dependent upon the rental shop to set the bindings correctly. I don’t have the knowledge to do it myself. That said, once they’ve set me up with my equipment, is there some test I can perform to check that the bindings are set to the correct tension?

[Omniscient]

I’m not aware of any test that would reliably demonstrate the setting. The setting is based on a manufacturer chart that takes into account your skiing ability, boot size, height and weight. Make sure you tell the truth when you rent your equipment (You will be a Type 1 skier) and if you want you can ask the tech to set you up with a Type 1 minus which essentially means the ski will be set to release at an even lower threshold than what is typically considered the minimum. However, keep in mind that a ski releasing when it shouldn’t can be every bit as dangerous and injury prone as the opposite.

A quick Google led me to this.

ski-injury.com - ski injury Resources and Information.

http://www.theskichannel.com/news/skinews/20100623/Ski-bindings-How-to-avoid-common-injuries

[Telemark]

@Kingspades

As a newbie skiier, I’m dependent upon the rental shop to set the bindings correctly. I don’t have the knowledge to do it myself. That said, once they’ve set me up with my equipment, is there some test I can perform to check that the bindings are set to the correct tension?

Not really. You can ask the tech at the rental shop to double check the settings but there’s no simple way to test the release without equipment.

[Kingspades]

Omniscient, I thought I had some decent google-fu, but I hadn’t found that second article you posted. It contains the following, which sounds like exactly what I’m after:

(1) To test your back binding release, have your friend stand on the back of your skis, then lean forward and fall on to your hands. Your back bindings should release, and the heels of your boots should snap free from the bindings.

If they do not release, unscrew the big tension screw a figure or more, and do the test over again until your boots will release.

(2) To test your front binding release, have your friend simply kick the toe of each boot in a sideways direction. Your boots should pop free with an average kick.

If they do not, loosen your bindings and do the test over again until it works

[gazpacho]

(1) To test your back binding release, have your friend stand on the back of your skis, then lean forward and fall on to your hands. Your back bindings should release, and the heels of your boots should snap free from the bindings.

If they do not release, unscrew the big tension screw a figure or more, and do the test over again until your boots will release.

(2) To test your front binding release, have your friend simply kick the toe of each boot in a sideways direction. Your boots should pop free with an average kick.

If they do not, loosen your bindings and do the test over again until it works

When I was a teenager in the late 80s this is how we adjusted our bindings. At the risk of being a conceited ass we were expert skiers. So we wanted our bindings to be much tighter than you are likely want. To sum up if your bindings don’t release with the above tests then they are to tight. If they do release they might still be to tight.

[Telemark]

Those are really rough tests, and won’t tell you if your skis are adjusted properly for a beginner skier with a repaired ACL.

[Ike_Witt]

(1) To test your back binding release, have your friend stand on the back of your skis, then lean forward and fall on to your hands. Your back bindings should release, and the heels of your boots should snap free from the bindings.

I have never heard of this test and I started skiing when I was 3 or 4. I am guessing that the OP had some seriously bad luck. The problem stems from finding the exact right time for bindings to release. If they release too easily you can have problems on intermediate slopes. If they don’t release at all, you get knee injuries, like the OP. Based on my experience, I’d rather the skis detached only in the event of a really bad wipe out. Nothing sucks more than to have your skis a couple of hundred of yards away from each other on a hill.

Of course, I have never torn my ACL, so that may in fact suck more. Plus, remember the old days when the back bindings used to have a strap that you secured around your calf…nothing like getting smacked on the melon by a ski after a simple wipe out…Brakes on the bindings were a huge step forward.

[Gray_Ghost]

I am confused. Doesn’t the rental shop have a gauge for determining the release strength on the bindings? Moreover, aren’t rentals usually on the light side?

Have you tried snowboarding? From the times I’ve tried it, it seems like it’d be a lot less strenuous on the knee ligaments?

[Telemark]

@Gray_Ghost

I am confused. Doesn’t the rental shop have a gauge for determining the release strength on the bindings?

The DIN settings are built into the binding. All you do is determine what DIN setting is needed by weight and skier type and you dial that in. The shops don’t test directly that the settings on the binding match a predetermined force. Bindings release in several different ways (front, back, sideways, twisting) and it would be impractical to test them all.

http://www.dinsetting.com/dinchart.htm

But a rental shop should be keeping their bindings in good working order so the release mechanisms work as designed. They do regular maintenance and replace/repair as needed. This is why shops won’t touch old bindings; they have no way to be sure that the bindings are still in good working order.

[Kingspades]

@gazpacho

…if your bindings don’t release with the above tests then they are to tight. If they do release they might still be to tight.

@Telemark

Those are really rough tests, and won’t tell you if your skis are adjusted properly for a beginner skier with a repaired ACL.

It would be nice if there were a simple, foolproof way to check things out, but failing that a rough test is better than none at all. Both of your advice is well taken though.

@Ike_Witt

I am guessing that the OP had some seriously bad luck… If they release too easily you can have problems on intermediate slopes.

If you believe my ski instructor (and I do), then you’re exactly right. He told me I was actually one of the better students in the class and seemed to be picking things up quite well.

To tell the story, we were late into the second day of ski school. I’d progressed to the point that I was riding the lift up the hill and skiing down one of the easiest green runs. I was comfortable making turns and weaving my way back and forth down the slope, and had in fact just started to figure out the skill of skiing uphill in order to slow myself down.

Our instructor encouraged us on our third trip down the slope to go a little faster if we felt comfortable doing so. Well, in the excitement of picking up this new slowing technique I forgot that I could also slow myself down by plowing. On one trip across the slope I started going faster than I wanted and began to slow myself by turning uphill. The trouble was that I was too close to the edge of the slope, and not remembering that I could plow to stop myself, reacted by turning back downhill and attempting to reverse course back across the slope. I lost my balance in this fast turn, wiped out, and in doing so twisted my knee and tore my ACL.

At any rate, to address the last point of your post Ike, as a beginner I’m not worried about losing a loose ski on an intermediate slope. I figure that, if I progress to the point where that becomes a possibility, I can always get them tightened.

@Gray_Ghost

Have you tried snowboarding? From the times I’ve tried it, it seems like it’d be a lot less strenuous on the knee ligaments?

I had exactly the same thought, and in fact asked my knee surgeon his opinion earlier this week. He’s an avid snowboarder himself, and in fact will be on the slopes in Utah next week. He agreed that it would be more difficult to hurt myself in the same way, but acknowledged that there are still plenty of ways to injure yourself on a snowboard. Moreover, as an enthusiast instead of a doctor, he advised me that, in his experience, snowboards have about a four day learning curve for beginners. There’s no reason that I can’t enjoy skiing with my reconstructed knee, and he recommended that if I was enjoying skis on my last trip, I stick with them on this trip.

Now, all that said, there’s a chance I’ll be able to give snowboarding a test drive before going to Colorado. I’ll hopefully be able to make an informed choice for myself having given it a whirl.

[Omniscient]

@Gray_Ghost

I am confused. Doesn’t the rental shop have a gauge for determining the release strength on the bindings? Moreover, aren’t rentals usually on the light side?

Have you tried snowboarding? From the times I’ve tried it, it seems like it’d be a lot less strenuous on the knee ligaments?

It’s easier on the knees, with the exception of when you’re on the lift, but the learning curve for a beginner is much, much steeper. If you’re a very infrequent visitor on a mountain you’re usually better off with skis if you hope to get any enjoyment out of your trip. To enjoy riding you tend to need 3 days of lessons and learning in one trip before you can reliably make it down the mountain.

[Gray_Ghost]

@Omniscient

It’s easier on the knees, with the exception of when you’re on the lift, but the learning curve for a beginner is much, much steeper. If you’re a very infrequent visitor on a mountain you’re usually better off with skis if you hope to get any enjoyment out of your trip. To enjoy riding you tend to need 3 days of lessons and learning in one trip before you can reliably make it down the mountain.

This is true. I’ve only been a few times, mainly because the people I was with were boarders, and I wanted to try it out. In two days of messing around with it, I got to the point to where I could get down a blue without making too much of an ass of myself. Sure are a lot of fun in powder and crust-y glop though. And I understand that if you put the time in, you don’t get stuck in ‘intermediate-hell’ like many people often are on skis.

Re: bindings, I thought I remembered seeing a shop tech mount the boot and use a tool to pop it off the binding, but it’s been many, many years, and I’m sure now that I mis-remembered it. Ignorance fought.

[Telemark]

@Gray_Ghost

Re: bindings, I thought I remembered seeing a shop tech mount the boot and use a tool to pop it off the binding, but it’s been many, many years, and I’m sure now that I mis-remembered it. Ignorance fought.

They certainly may have done so, but just to make sure that the binding was operating correctly. Most shops won’t do any detailed testing of the release forces, they just look things up on a table and set the bindings accordingly. When you get into racing things are a little more complicated, but this is a beginner skier and the shops are going strictly by the book.