DIN setting "skier weight" with or without full gear?

[KingGrump]

yes, i'm 50 now and 36 months plus some. I tried to set my binding back when I was 50 but when on my Coach course being video'ed the ski flew off after going to 6.5 setting from where I used to keep them at an 8. The course conductor told me to increase them, and I was like I already lie about my weight, and he shrugged and said it's your body, you decide, i'd rather keep my skis on. Also on a powder session my ski popped off twice and annoyed my friend who said they had popped off a couple times on a past powder day and yes, have my bindings tested at the beginning of each season. So my skis went back to an 8 last year cause it works. Seems to come off without stressing me when i fall and doesn't pop off when it shouldn't.

Yeah, you really looked like a DIN 6.5 skier to me.

I know some resorts required their employee set their release setting in accordance to the DIN charts. Does W/B (Vail) make you guys do that?

 

[Philpug]

Does W/B (Vail) make you guys do that?

Yes they do and they put a sticker on the ski to prove it. Now, in Canada it might be different. The question I had was if there is a race coach and their bindings start at a 8..9..or 10 and they are a 6 or 7...can they ski that ski while at work?

 

[Lady_Salina]

Yeah, you really looked like a DIN 6.5 skier to me.

I know some resorts required their employee set their release setting in accordance to the DIN charts. Does W/B (Vail) make you guys do that?

Not yet. They apparently do in the USA but maybe we have different laws here on what they can and can't do, I'm not sure. They requested we check our bindings for safe release and if the WB shops tuned them they were not allowed to set the bindings last year unless we paid for them to be tested and that was the only difference. I believe if I say I am a 3+ skier and set mine before I lose my winter weight and set them at my high weight they will set at an 8!

 

[KingGrump]

Yes they do and they put a sticker on the ski to prove it. Now, in Canada it might be different. The question I had was if there is a race coach and their bindings start at a 8..9..or 10 and they are a 6 or 7...can they ski that ski while at work?

That is a interesting question. Can anyone working for Vail want to field that one?

My DIN according to the chart as a type III skier is a 7. I'll be in the trees before 10 turns.
Even 8.5 with a type III+, I'll walk out of my binding about 4/5 times on any given day. Depending on terrain and snow conditions.
On top of that some of my bindings starts at 11.

I am really thankful I don't work for Vail.

I believe if I say I am a 3+ skier and set mine before I lose my winter weight and set them at my high weight they will set at an 8!

You should have no issues if you just use your summer road hugging weight. IIRC, that's about #220, right?

 

[Evan]

What is says in the Indicator window is a reference, it is actually the amount on Nm that it takes to release that is more important. If you look at the following charts for three manufacturers, you will notice if you put your stats in each of the charts, you can get a different indicator setting but what is consistent is the amount of force it takes to release the binding (all the way to the right). If yet see, the Marker will actually have a different indicator setting than the other two but the the amount of force it takes to release but binding is actually the same as the other two. With your stats and being a Skier Code L, the binding could torque in the toe at 60Nm and be acceptable, at the Skier Code M, again to torque at the same 60Nm and also be acceptable. (acceptable range is withing one line up or down)

Note, no where here do I say DIN, here is why: The Numbers Game: Bindings Pt 2.

View attachment 55700 View attachment 55702 View attachment 55703

It is not what someone else thinks you should do. What I say a little common sense comes into play is if you are 147lb in the morning and youhave a big lunch and end up at 149lb are you going to change your settings? no. Are you a type II skier or a type III? Im many cases as @François Pugh says, err to the low side, if there is an issue, increase it. I would agree with this especially in a situation like yours when you are unclear and asking what you should do. But most importantly, get the bindings function tested to make sure they are releasing in the proper torque range.

I am sorry if this is a little more technical than you expected or asked for but it is not as simple as going to some website, plugging the numbers in and setting the binding, the binding has variance in it and it should be checked to make sure that is is functioning in the correct range. Even the site you referenced says...

Thanks for the comprehensive and very informative helpful answer @Philpug much appreciated...

 

[cosmoliu]

I told ski shops I was "49" for 10+ years. With more and more grey hair, I stopped doing that a couple of years ago. Now I just tell them I want a 6.5 setting and sign the waiver. I don't know what I'd do if I worked for VA.

 

[fullStack]

Set them to whatever number makes your ego and libido happy.

Don't let @skichickee see this or else she'll know why I keep cranking up my DIN.

 

[DanoT]

yes, i'm 50 now and 36 months plus some. I tried to set my binding back when I was 50 but when on my Coach course being video'ed the ski flew off after going to 6.5 setting from where I used to keep them at an 8. The course conductor told me to increase them, and I was like I already lie about my weight, and he shrugged and said it's your body, you decide, i'd rather keep my skis on. Also on a powder session my ski popped off twice and annoyed my friend who said they had popped off a couple times on a past powder day and yes, have my bindings tested at the beginning of each season. So my skis went back to an 8 last year cause it works. Seems to come off without stressing me when i fall and doesn't pop off when it shouldn't.

I did not feel any need to change the release setting on my bindings when I reached age 50 but I sure did feel a need to do so at age 60. I still need to rate myself as a 3+ to get the lease setting 8 and that works for me.

The DIN Chart is a recommended starting point and I doubt it was designed with professional skiers, ski bums, and others in mind who are on skis 80+ days per season.

 

[slowrider]

Interesting how many skiers here are at the reduce din setting age. First I lied about my age. Later I lied about my weight. Now I don't have to. Dang it. Din 8 and holding.

 

[KingGrump]

No need to lie.
My usual line is "Set it at 10. I'll sign the waiver."

 

[Pdub]

Setting the DIN seems to be a primitive science. My son last season was 80 pounds, 4'10", 13 years old. DIN was around 4.5 if I recall. He is a racer, a very strong skier, so I upped it to 6. By the end of the season we were at 7 for training, 8 for SL/GS races, and 9 for Super G. Coaches did help set things. Anything lower and he would just step out. These were new Rossis with SPX12 Look bindings.

What frustrated me was the trial and error nature of this and the high consequences of "guessing" wrong. Too low and he walks out of the ski, which could affect qualifying for the next race. Too high and you break a leg. Seems like there must be a better way than guesswork.

 

[Mike Thomas]

Trial and error is the opposite of guessing.

 

[Philpug]

Setting the DIN seems to be a primitive science. My son last season was 80 pounds, 4'10", 13 years old. DIN was around 4.5 if I recall. He is a racer, a very strong skier, so I upped it to 6. By the end of the season we were at 7 for training, 8 for SL/GS races, and 9 for Super G. Coaches did help set things. Anything lower and he would just step out. These were new Rossis with SPX12 Look bindings.

What frustrated me was the trial and error nature of this and the high consequences of "guessing" wrong. Too low and he walks out of the ski, which could affect qualifying for the next race. Too high and you break a leg. Seems like there must be a better way than guesswork.

What is talked about many times is the height...weight...age...what is rarely discussed and just as important is the boot sole length and the amount of leverage it creates to the calculation.

What you are also not considering is if your son is horse playing with another racer in the lift line..kids being kids...and one pushes the other over and that slow twisting fall is when the binding does not know and cannot discern that he is not doing race speeds. This is what (simply) was considered when creating the chart...the balance of retention AND release.

 

[Pdub]

Trial and error is the opposite of guessing.

Doesn't trial and error by definition incorporate some degree of educated guessing?. Trial and error in this case was using the chart, taking a guess about how far to push the DIN above the recommendation, adjusting if problems arose, and then guessing which new DIN to select. In this context, the word trial implies implies taking an educated guess.

The opposite of guessing would be going to a completely reliable chart and setting the DIN and being done for the season. Such a chart does not exist for junior racers, as far as I can tell.

Philpug, good point about the liftlines, something I hadn't considered. Sometimes the worst injuries are those super slow-mo falls where there is not a great force exerted yet a binding release would save the day.

 

[Philpug]

The opposite of guessing would be going to a completely reliable chart and setting the DIN and being done for the season. Such a chart does not exist for junior racers, as far as I can tell.

Racers are weighing the balance of risk (pre releasing) vs. reward (if you don't finish, you cannot win), no chart can account for the variable for each racer's priority here.

I will add the old racing saying...smooth is fast and fast wins races. The smoother smoother the racer is, the lower the bindings can be set, the less risk of pre release and rhe injuries that can come from it.

 

[François Pugh]

I bet the majority of the smooth fast FIS WC racers don't set their bindings at III for their GS/SG/DH races.

The chart is based on average stats from available general public bones, for use by the general public, for the purposes of regular recreational skiing of that general public, not the racers, or adrenaline junkies skiing at exceptionally high speeds or on extremely dangerous terrain.

It's also based on breaking bones, not tearing ligaments in slow-speed low impact falls.

 

[Magi]

This is an area where I question too. Honestly, I don't have an answer for you but right now I am 49...and 58 months old . @Rick Howell's version of a chart...as complex as it is...is interesting.

View attachment 55711

Thanks for posting this Phil. This chart finally explains how I arrived at my DIN settings via trial and error...

 

[Mike Thomas]

I am sad that no one truely answered the OP's question: DIN setting "Skier Weight" with or without full gear?

The correct proceedure is- in your underwear on a shop scale in front of the ski tech. who will do the final adjustments (to the binding you weirdos). Anything less is... well, half-assed.

 

[skix]

The correct proceedure is- in your underwear on a shop scale in front of the ski tech. who will do the final adjustments

Tech should also measure height and check teeth for age.

 

[Philpug]

I am sad that no one truely answered the OP's question: DIN setting "Skier Weight" with or without full gear?

The correct proceedure is- in your underwear on a shop scale in front of the ski tech. who will do the final adjustments (to the binding you weirdos). Anything less is... well, half-assed.

Skier should also be shown when the scale was last services and certification of most recent calibration.