Low DIN bindings for junior skiers

[razmanpierre]

My daugher is a petite teen about 100lbs 4 ft 11 inches, she usually rents skis so we have not had to worry about DIN settings. She inherited a pair of Head skis with Tyrolia Jr bindings that are a few years old from her aunt who is about the same height weight and skiing ability as my daughter. I took then to a few local shops and they all said that although the skis and bindings are in excellent condition they won't reset teh bindings because Tyrolia no longer supplies DIN settings on their chart for this particular model of binding. Interestingly all 3 shops tried to sell me new bindings. I have searched the net for info on low DIN or Jr. binding settings, but found nothing. I pressed one of the shop technicians for answers and he said that even though the skis and bindings are in excellent shape and they are generally a safer binding using a diagonal release system with a low 1-6 DIN range, his and many other shops have a policy now that they won't work on skis more than a couple of years old., 3 years old tops in his shop., and only if he can get the chart for the DIN settings from the manufacturer. Eventually we will by my daughter brand new skis of her own instead of renting , but she is still growing and we can't afford to by any new equipment this year. All of my used skis are to big for her and they are getting old as well. Can anyone shed any light on low DIN bindings for jr skiers? Right now these bindings are set at 3.5 on both the toe and the heal. Does this sound resonable for 4 ft. 11 inch jr skier of about 100lbs?

Edited January 18, 2006 by razmanpierre

[Papasteeze]

Thats a reasonable settting for an easy intermediate skier. You want them to come off if she falls, correct? She won't likely pre-release them at that setting unless she is doing aggressive GS carving turns in bumpy terrain or jumping. Have her put boots on, step into the skis (inside on carpet and get ready to catch her) have her lean forward and see if she can make them release, if they do, then the setting might be too light for her height and weight.

 

It is very risky with old bindings, but if a certified shop wont set/test them, then you are on your own. Make sure they do work at a minimum, make sure they do release. Falling with a 5 foot lug wrench tied to your knee that won't come off is not a pleasant experience and tends to ruin your whole season and potentially any thought of skiing again. You can turn the DIN up later, if they come off too easy, but you can not turn back the clock and lower the DIN after an injury.

 

 

My racing kids' DIN is set at 6 - but he is of expert ability and pre-releases skis set at 5 on hard GS turns. The ski shops won't set his binding any higher than 5 due to chart setting of 80lbs 5'1" - My freestyler was set at 4.0 by a shop - his skis also pre-release (pops off on jumps), I just turned them up - he is of expert ability at 70lbs, 4'-10"

 

Giving binding setting advice is a cardinal sin by anyone other than a certified ski shop. I see people with ridiculously high settings and I see people with lots of knee damage. When I fall, I want to come out of them, I am an expert skier but have my DIN set a at an Intermediates level. Hope all this helps.

 

Is that a straight ski or a shaped ski that she inherited?

[razmanpierre]

Thats a reasonable settting for an easy intermediate skier. You want them to come off if she falls, correct? She won't likely pre-release them at that setting unless she is doing aggressive GS carving turns in bumpy terrain or jumping. Have her put boots on, step into the skis (inside on carpet and get ready to catch her) have her lean forward and see if she can make them release, if they do, then the setting might be too light for her height and weight.

 

It is very risky with old bindings, but if a certified shop wont set/test them, then you are on your own. Make sure they do work at a minimum, make sure they do release. Falling with a 5 foot lug wrench tied to your knee that won't come off is not a pleasant experience and tends to ruin your whole season and potentially any thought of skiing again. You can turn the DIN up later, if they come off too easy, but you can not turn back the clock and lower the DIN after an injury.

My racing kids' DIN is set at 6 - but he is of expert ability and pre-releases skis set at 5 on hard GS turns. The ski shops won't set his binding any higher than 5 due to chart setting of 80lbs 5'1" - My freestyler was set at 4.0 by a shop - his skis also pre-release (pops off on jumps), I just turned them up - he is of expert ability at 70lbs, 4'-10"

 

Giving binding setting advice is a cardinal sin by anyone other than a certified ski shop. I see people with ridiculously high settings and I see people with lots of knee damage. When I fall, I want to come out of them, I am an expert skier but have my DIN set a at an Intermediates level. Hope all this helps.

 

Is that a straight ski or a shaped ski that she inherited?

Thanks for the advice. I do plan the test on the carpet, and agree with you completly that we are better to have them a bit loose and than too tight. She is a careful skier that prefers to carve than pop around in the moguls. These are a straight ski . I will do the carpet test and if they are releasing OK I will let her give them a try this weekend under my supervision. I have been skiing many years but always err on the side of caution and look for advice from other skiers when I don't have enough information.

[skigurl]

i'm 4'10" 150lb and race and i'm set between 5 and 6 by shop guys, i also have Tyrolia Jr bindings on a pair of skis and they are set at 5, and i have never had any problem pre-releasing.

[skidude]

Bindings sound fine. If the shops set them there for her age and stuff, then thats a good place to start. If you start having issues, let the shop guys know, and they might think about changing it.

 

6 should be high enough for a few years, even though you probably don't want to crank it up past 5 if they only go to 6.

[skifreak]

Here is a link to a DIN calculator. I would assume these bindings are too old for this, but if can't get any help from a shop then use this as a last resort. I'd suggest just picking up a cheap pair of new bindings.

 

The link for the DIN can be found by scrolling down the page....

 

http://www.forskiers.com/articles/8.asp

[AtomicSkier]

I would continue to rent shaped skis vs going with the straights. Skiing on straight skis is just engraining bad skiing....

[Justo8484]

i'm going to have to agreed with atomic on this one. going from even a rental shaped ski back to a straight ski is backwards progression. sure, it might be economically attractive right now, but in the long run, for the sake of your daughter having a better time on snow, a shaped ski will be much more fun and enjoyable for her.

 

as far as the bindings go, whats the model? industry law says that once a binding is no longer indemnified, a shop cannot legally mount, remount, or adjust and DIN, forward pressure, etc settings on it. this is because after time, the springs, cams, levers, rubber bushing and whatnot inside the binding start to wear out. its a safe bet that if these bindings are more than 10 years old, they are definately not indemnified any longer. i know we've taken a few in this year from the early 90's, but not too many. a shop not working a 3 year old binding seems a little rediculous. i am not sure if there is a list of indemnified bindings online anywhere or not, but try googling it, and look to see if your bindings are on there. if they are, there is no reason the shop should not work on them, especially if they are in as good of shape as you say they are. what shops were you consulting?

[xNick11]

ide say set them at like 4.5-5..right now my skis are at a 6.5 i think but im goin to turn em up to a 7 cause i just pop out way to easy anymore..oh and im 5"7' 130lbs to.

[Shadows]

ide say set them at like 4.5-5..right now my skis are at a 6.5 i think but im goin to turn em up to a 7 cause i just pop out way to easy anymore..oh and im 5"7' 130lbs to.

 

 

your bindings wouldnt happen to be salomons would they?

[Papasteeze]

i'm going to have to agreed with atomic on this one. going from even a rental shaped ski back to a straight ski is backwards progression. sure, it might be economically attractive right now, but in the long run, for the sake of your daughter having a better time on snow, a shaped ski will be much more fun and enjoyable for her.

 

100% absolutely agreed.

[mbike-ski]

Shaped is definately the way to go, I did check my 13 yr old daughters settings - she is the same size and a conservative int skier and they are shop set at 5 (they are atomic bindings with a range from 3-10) Good Luck!

[xNick11]

your bindings wouldnt happen to be salomons would they?

ya they are..if u say they suck i really dont care they work awsome for me.

[toast21602]

ya they are..if u say they suck i really dont care they work awsome for me.

 

a lot of people talk shit on their bindings but i have had a pair on my last skis that i had no problem with and i just got a pair or 9-12 ti's on my Foils this year and they are light as hell and i rally dont pop out for no reason... i have no complaints.

[razmanpierre]

Thanks for all the great advice, resources and suggestions. I think I have enough to go on now to be comfortable to let her use them for a few outings until we can afford to replace the bindings or find a end of the season package deal to set her up with new skis and bindings for next season. I will likley rent a few demos for our last few outings of the season to help her choose what type of ski she likes. She may grow out of any new skis we buy, but there is always the option of the ski swap shows if she does. Thanks again to all who replied.

[xNick11]

a lot of people talk shit on their bindings but i have had a pair on my last skis that i had no problem with and i just got a pair or 9-12 ti's on my Foils this year and they are light as hell and i rally dont pop out for no reason... i have no complaints.

ya same here but i have 810tis but the reason y people a pre-release problem with them is cause they dont tighten the toe peice down on the boot enough or the wings..when i got my bindings remounted on my other skis i really had to adjust the toe peices and then after my first day of skiing on them i cause the one landing and i just poped out so it still needed more adjusting but i got it down good now.

[sibhusky]

Why don't you look into seasonal rentals? Usually they are only a year or two old. In fact, we used to get NEW skis as seasonal rentals, which next year became the shop's daily rentals. Same with boots. Added feature -- if she needs to get longer ones, or bigger boots you just show up at the shop mid-season for an exchange.

[tynyro]

My daugher is a petite teen about 100lbs 4 ft 11 inches, she usually rents skis so we have not had to worry about DIN settings. She inherited a pair of Head skis with Tyrolia Jr bindings that are a few years old from her aunt who is about the same height weight and skiing ability as my daughter. I took then to a few local shops and they all said that although the skis and bindings are in excellent condition they won't reset teh bindings because Tyrolia no longer supplies DIN settings on their chart for this particular model of binding. Interestingly all 3 shops tried to sell me new bindings. I have searched the net for info on low DIN or Jr. binding settings, but found nothing. I pressed one of the shop technicians for answers and he said that even though the skis and bindings are in excellent shape and they are generally a safer binding using a diagonal release system with a low 1-6 DIN range, his and many other shops have a policy now that they won't work on skis more than a couple of years old., 3 years old tops in his shop., and only if he can get the chart for the DIN settings from the manufacturer. Eventually we will by my daughter brand new skis of her own instead of renting , but she is still growing and we can't afford to by any new equipment this year. All of my used skis are to big for her and they are getting old as well. Can anyone shed any light on low DIN bindings for jr skiers? Right now these bindings are set at 3.5 on both the toe and the heal. Does this sound resonable for 4 ft. 11 inch jr skier of about 100lbs?

 

You can calculate very easy DIN settings with a software that is very good you insert there your height,weight,length of boots in mm and skier type.It's a very good software and is free you can download the software from here DIN calculator