Can I set my own bindings?
 

On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:12:43 GMT, "Suanne Lippman"
wrote:

I just bought a pair of Fischer skis and bindings over the internet for my
wife. (actually everyone local was out of stock for the year!)
The system is such that mounting the bindings and setting them for the boot
size is pretty foolproof. She is a very conservative skier, so setting the
adjustments at the very bottom of the scale (4) like her old skis should be
fine.
I am able to pop the boots out with what seems like a reasonable amount of
force

Is there any compelling reason to have an "expert" check this over; are
brand new binding likely to be really far off? If it were for me I wouldn't
worry about it, but I would hate to see someone else get hurt because I
would spring for a prudent expense.

There is no compelling reason to have an expert check a brand new pair
of bindings unless you like wasting your time.

Set them yourself if your comfortable. I do all my own settings,
mountings, drilling, adjustments. DIN charts are available all over
the internet with a quick search - a ski shop will be using the exact
same formula's. Do a little research, and then do the bindings.
You'll be in a better position to fix or adjust them on the fly down
the road.

Good luck.

nate

Can I set my own bindings?
 

VtSkier wrote:
Suanne Lippman wrote:
I just bought a pair of Fischer skis and bindings over the internet
for my wife. (actually everyone local was out of stock for the year!)
The system is such that mounting the bindings and setting them for
the boot size is pretty foolproof. She is a very conservative
skier, so setting the adjustments at the very bottom of the scale
(4) like her old skis should be fine.
I am able to pop the boots out with what seems like a reasonable
amount of force

Is there any compelling reason to have an "expert" check this over;
are brand new binding likely to be really far off? If it were for
me I wouldn't worry about it, but I would hate to see someone else
get hurt because I would spring for a prudent expense.

Thanks.


Go ahead and use the bindings, but spring the 20 bucks
it will (should) be for a torque test and put your and
her mind at rest. Make the problem someone else's so you
don't get blamed if something goes wrong.

I think I've asked this before, but I have never had a binding "torque
tested" to my knowledge, is this a purely North American thing like the
"Indemnity list"?


--

--
Chris *:-)

Can I set my own bindings?
 

MoonMan wrote:
VtSkier wrote:
Suanne Lippman wrote:
I just bought a pair of Fischer skis and bindings over the internet
for my wife. (actually everyone local was out of stock for the year!)
The system is such that mounting the bindings and setting them for
the boot size is pretty foolproof. She is a very conservative
skier, so setting the adjustments at the very bottom of the scale
(4) like her old skis should be fine.
I am able to pop the boots out with what seems like a reasonable
amount of force

Is there any compelling reason to have an "expert" check this over;
are brand new binding likely to be really far off? If it were for
me I wouldn't worry about it, but I would hate to see someone else
get hurt because I would spring for a prudent expense.

Thanks.


Go ahead and use the bindings, but spring the 20 bucks
it will (should) be for a torque test and put your and
her mind at rest. Make the problem someone else's so you
don't get blamed if something goes wrong.

I think I've asked this before, but I have never had a binding "torque
tested" to my knowledge, is this a purely North American thing like the
"Indemnity list"?

A torque test is a measured (with equipment) release of
your bindings intended to assure that the boot/binding
system is releasing at the amount of force required for
the recommended DIN setting. In the US we test ALL bindings
mounted in a shop and test rental bindings at least once
a year after the initial setup. As for customer bindings,
once the initial setup is made, the customer needs to
request a test. If a shop is asked to adjust a binding
to a new boot for instance, they will insist on doing a
torque test at the same time. A good shop won't charge
if any part of the system has been bought from the shop.

Yes, I'm sure it's part of our litigious nature. However
much of the equipment nowadays used for testing comes
from Europe, and although the initial studies and testing
was done here (in Vermont actually), the standards are
European, so I'm sure you can have your bindings tested
in Europe if you want to.

Can I set my own bindings?
 

bumpfreaq wrote:
On Feb 13, 5:24 pm, Walt wrote:

Yeah, like tattoos, haircuts, and appendectomies, you don't want to do
it yourself and you don't want to go to the cheapest guy in town.

Hey, what's wrong with cutting my own hair?


Well, it seems like an unnecessary effort for one.

http://www.frappr.com/?a=photo&gid=381229&pid=363620&src=flash_slidetick er


//Walt

Can I set my own bindings?
 

Suanne Lippman wrote:

Is there any compelling reason to have an "expert" check this over;

Do you know where the forward pressure indicator is located, and how to
read it? (Completely different than the DIN indicator, and different for
every manufacturer and model, unlike DIN.)
Do you know there's no hidden manufacturing defect? That the DIN
indicator reading matches the actual torque for all release modes? That
all modes release?

Anyway, have fun. Bye.

Can I set my own bindings?
 

MoonMan wrote:

I think I've asked this before, but I have never had a binding "torque
tested" to my knowledge, is this a purely North American thing like the
"Indemnity list"?

You are kidding yourself if you think there's no European equivalent to
the "Indemnity list," which after all is just a manufacturer's list of
bindings they manufactured that they think are still safe and functional.

Can I set my own bindings?
 

uglymoney wrote:

There is no compelling reason to have an expert check a brand new pair
of bindings

It's perfectly possible to know where and how to use the forward
pressure indicator on your new bindings (although it still surprises me
how many people don't even know it exists) so I won't argue that point.

However, while the binding DIN indicator is supposed to directly
translate to a torque (it is of course the release torque that's
important, not the DIN reading) sometimes there's a manufacturing error
or merely a tolerance error that slips by the quality control. A small,
but real risk even with new bindings. With experience twisting or
levering out can tell you if there's a gross error but the torque and
DIN reading may still be off a lessor but still important difference.

For used bindings this becomes a major problem, for the mismatch between
DIN and torque can grow with time. One of the ways a binding can fail in
the shop is is the mismatch between DIN reading and torque becomes out
of tolerance (shop rats that I've good relations with have sometimes
officially paperwork failed a binding for this, then proceeded to set
the binding purely by torque readings - they're willing to do so since
they know me and my ski history.) Basically what this says is that
setting used bindings to a supposed torque by setting the DIN indicator
doesn't always get you what you expect.

A few years back someone published a table of binding DIN readings
versus actual torque for numerous aging bindings for all manufacturers
and numerous models. Interestingly there was a strong correlation to
manufacturer - Marker kept within tolerance by far the best. Since all
the current designs postdate that study there's no real reason to
mention which manufacturer's bindings diverged the most (and even the
Marker data is out of date.) Suffice to say their was (and I suspect
still is) in how bindings age AND for all the DIN reading drifted with
age. Another good reason to test older bindings.

Can I set my own bindings?
 

On Feb 14, 9:20 am, Walt wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:
On Feb 13, 5:24 pm, Walt wrote:
Yeah, like tattoos, haircuts, and appendectomies, you don't want to do
it yourself and you don't want to go to the cheapest guy in town.

Hey, what's wrong with cutting my own hair?

Well, it seems like an unnecessary effort for one.

http://www.frappr.com/?a=photo&gid=381229&pid=363620&src=flash_slidet...

//Walt

Hooohooo! To the contrary, it's a necessary effort to cut lots and
lots of my hairs a few times a week in order to maintain that clean
and shiny look.

Chris
3 more days of work
4 more days 'til I'm driving west
5 more days 'til sliding down that slippery slope

And.... it's snowing in CO

SnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowSnowsnowsnowsn owsnowsnowsnowsnowsnow
Snowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowbeercheeseands now

Can I set my own bindings?
 

bumpfreaq wrote:
On Feb 14, 9:20 am, Walt wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:

Hey, what's wrong with cutting my own hair?

Well, it seems like an unnecessary effort for one.

http://www.frappr.com/?a=photo&gid=381229&pid=363620&src=flash_slidet...

Hooohooo! To the contrary, it's a necessary effort to cut lots and
lots of my hairs a few times a week in order to maintain that clean
and shiny look.

Well, I've always advocated waxing and tuning at home rather than
leaving it to the pros. You get dispensation under that exception.

3 more days of work
4 more days 'til I'm driving west
5 more days 'til sliding down that slippery slope

And.... it's snowing in CO

SnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowSnowsnowsnowsn owsnowsnowsnowsnowsnow
Snowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowbeercheeseands now




//Walt

Can I set my own bindings?
 

On Feb 14, 12:41 pm, Walt wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:
On Feb 14, 9:20 am, Walt wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:
Hey, what's wrong with cutting my own hair?
Well, it seems like an unnecessary effort for one.

http://www.frappr.com/?a=photo&gid=381229&pid=363620&src=flash_slidet...
Hooohooo! To the contrary, it's a necessary effort to cut lots and
lots of my hairs a few times a week in order to maintain that clean
and shiny look.

Well, I've always advocated waxing and tuning at home rather than
leaving it to the pros. You get dispensation under that exception.

Excellent! I guess I'll be off to tune my head now.

Chris
3 more days of work
4 more days 'til I'm driving west
5 more days 'til sliding down that slippery slope

And.... it's snowing in CO

SnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowSnowsnowsnowsn owsnowsnowsnowsnowsnow
Snowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowsnowbeercheeseands now

//Walt