Wayne Decker wrote:
This is no joke: Please, Please PLEASE have the binding/boot combo
certified by a real
technician. Make sure they put it on the boot torque machine--or whatever
they call it to ensure that the boot and binding system are working together
properly and the binding releases as it should. Please don't risk your
daughter's knees any further.

So here is a what to do question. Last year I spent a fair amount of
time trying to get my binding tested. I wanted to check my downhill -SG
ski's with a pair of 10-18 binding on them. I went to one place that
would only test them at my DIN setting of 7. I said the DIN range is 10
to 18 how are you going to test them at 7?
I would be happy to pay what ever would be charged. Do you know of any
shops that will test race binding?
With further investigation it appears that the only way this testing
works is to follow the charts, you can not set the machine to test for a
din of 13 and they will not even test my 6-14 bindings at 9 which is
what I run my GS ski's at. So as much as it is best to have binding
checked it is not always possible. Sometimes it is pointless binding do
not work as well at one extreme setting or the other and should be
picked so your DIN adjustment is in the middle of the range. I have had
3 sessions with techs on binding so I am getting familiar with the
atomic race line of binding and comfortable with setting up my own. I
can always check with a tech if I have a question. But it is not really
the thing to do to save money by setting your own binding, if your going
to do it yourself you need to invest the time to learn to do it
properly. Otherwise it is much cheaper to have somebody else do it.
I had my first pair of atomic binding setup at Ski Stop on LI the
bindings worked but were not setup correctly. Ric Hodge noticed they
were done incorrectly, he removed & reset them while waiting to take my
GS race run. I was a little freaked to see my binding in pieces on top
of the race hill. The Ric Hodge story is to illustrate the difference
between a knowledgeable person and someone reading from a manual as they
setup your binding. Most techs that really understand what they are
doing will fill you with information if you ask, but you need to ask the
right questions. I bring cannoli's from Little Italy as bribe food. But
the experience of the tech is what he has learned from those abnormal
problems that crop up. A insert that has been cross threaded, or a screw
from the factory that is too long and should be used with a riser plate
that when installed with out a riser plate only sticks out a little of
the base.

michael