Din self-adjustment

Pow_pillows

New member
So a couple days ago I was skiing lake Louise and dropping some cliffs and stuff in the chutes. And I had two pretty minor crashes from pre-releasing trying to scrub some speed after the hits. So now I'm thinking of bumping my din up and I was wondering if this was a bad idea or not. Is there some pretty serious injuries that could result from this? I wouldn't be adjusting it by a lot just maybe .5 to 1. Any input would be great.
 
yes theres some serious risks, such as tearing your acl, twisting your knee, tweeking your ankle, lots of fun stuff that can happen when you dont release when you need to. what is your current din and whats your weight and skier type? i found the perfect din for myself by walking it up gradually each day by like .5 din. so (if you can accept the risks) go out ski a day, turn them up by like a half, until you stop prereleasing, but so that they still will come off when you have a bad wreck. also, what bindings are you using? ive fiddled with my din a bit and have found 10-10.5 is perfect for me.
 
theres risks with anything, having your din too high is obviously a greater risk but pre-releasing is a bitch and can be super dangerous. Sounds like you might want to crank it up one and test it out
 
13373782:Pow_pillows said:
I'm 140 pounds 5"9 and size 9.5-10 shoe size, very aggressive skier type. Right now it's set to 7

i would just gradually walk yourself up din number by .5 until you stop pre releasing, as i mentioned, it can be dangerous, and just dont crank your din all of a sudden to a 10. i would try a 7.5, then 8, then if your still coming out 8.5 or 9. (use this advice at your acls own risk)
 
13373782:Pow_pillows said:
I'm 140 pounds 5"9 and size 9.5-10 shoe size, very aggressive skier type. Right now it's set to 7

This is about what I'm at too. I always get them adjusted by the shop and then adjust them no more than 1 crank up if I'm pre-releasing too often.
 
13373809:will_powder said:
Chances are that DIN is not the problem. You should check your forward pressure. At a shop.

Always check foreward pressure first. But sometimes you do need to crank it up a bit.

Not responsable for for anything that happens---but if they say your FP is alright then crank it up by .5 untill you find a good spot.
 
The amount of paranoia on NS about tweaking binding settings is unwarranted. It's not rocket science. Spend an hour learning a little about DINs, how to check your forward pressure marker, and take a look at the tech manual for your bindings. Then bump up the dins a bit, make sure you can still twist out, take a few hard laps, readjust, repeat.
 
13373774:shin-bang said:
yes theres some serious risks, such as tearing your acl, twisting your knee, tweeking your ankle, lots of fun stuff that can happen when you dont release when you need to. what is your current din and whats your weight and skier type? i found the perfect din for myself by walking it up gradually each day by like .5 din. so (if you can accept the risks) go out ski a day, turn them up by like a half, until you stop prereleasing, but so that they still will come off when you have a bad wreck. also, what bindings are you using? ive fiddled with my din a bit and have found 10-10.5 is perfect for me.

13373785:shin-bang said:
i would just gradually walk yourself up din number by .5 until you stop pre releasing, as i mentioned, it can be dangerous, and just dont crank your din all of a sudden to a 10. i would try a 7.5, then 8, then if your still coming out 8.5 or 9. (use this advice at your acls own risk)

Whats even more dangerous than a blown acl is scrubbing speed at 40+mph is steep rocky terrain and having a ski blowoff.

For me personally, i crank the DIN on my charging skis because ive had a ski blow off which sent me into a high speed ragdoll crash in which i bounced off a rock and sent a 20 footer headfirst backwards. Or had a ski blow off while scrubbing speed in chunder. Or had to wait 2 hours form ski patrol to get my ski because i left it in some super precarious position 200ft above me.

Id rather blow an ACL or break my leg than have the kind of crash that carries a +10% chance of life flight type injury. If i am to get fucked up, id rather it be my fault than that of the equipment. I totally and completely agree with you though, i started at the DIN chart recommended, and as i had pre-releases went up by 0.5 DIN from there. THat is how you have to do it, small increases till its dialed, just hope you don't have a pre-release in a bad situation while trying to find that right DIN haha.

That said, i ride at literally half the DIN on my rock/everyday skis. Id like to bump them up, but the tensioning screws are stripped, so i just make sure im skiing very smoothly and light on my feet a la Hoji. And due to the shit conditions ive had the last 4 years, days spent on these skis are usually poking around, finding cool stuff to ski once a storm finally comes in.
 
my dins at 9 toe and 10 heel on my pow skis right now, and 8 and 8 on my park sticks. i weigh 180 and am 5'11
 
Honestly if you're pre releasing then you should probably move it up. There are some tables that you can probably find online but they are hard to read unless you know how to read them. Just mess around a bit because if you move it up too much you can definitely hurt yourself really bad. Don't want any broken ankles.
 
OP did you remember if you put in that you were a skier type 3 or a 3+ when you got your bindings set? If you put down a regular 3 you may want to consider going to 3+.
 
13373984:last_tango said:
OP did you remember if you put in that you were a skier type 3 or a 3+ when you got your bindings set? If you put down a regular 3 you may want to consider going to 3+.

3 or 3+ won't change what DIN they're going to set you at.
 
13373839:californiagrown said:
Whats even more dangerous than a blown acl is scrubbing speed at 40+mph is steep rocky terrain and having a ski blowoff.

For me personally, i crank the DIN on my charging skis because ive had a ski blow off which sent me into a high speed ragdoll crash in which i bounced off a rock and sent a 20 footer headfirst backwards. Or had a ski blow off while scrubbing speed in chunder. Or had to wait 2 hours form ski patrol to get my ski because i left it in some super precarious position 200ft above me.

Id rather blow an ACL or break my leg than have the kind of crash that carries a +10% chance of life flight type injury. If i am to get fucked up, id rather it be my fault than that of the equipment. I totally and completely agree with you though, i started at the DIN chart recommended, and as i had pre-releases went up by 0.5 DIN from there. THat is how you have to do it, small increases till its dialed, just hope you don't have a pre-release in a bad situation while trying to find that right DIN haha.

That said, i ride at literally half the DIN on my rock/everyday skis. Id like to bump them up, but the tensioning screws are stripped, so i just make sure im skiing very smoothly and light on my feet a la Hoji. And due to the shit conditions ive had the last 4 years, days spent on these skis are usually poking around, finding cool stuff to ski once a storm finally comes in.

LOL
 
what kind of binders? I'm on solomon 914's, and 912's and marker jester's, with the solomon's the wing setting is very important. I'm 5'8" and 180lbs and have never had any issue with any of my bindings provided the wings were set properly on the solomons
 
A basic rule to follow is always check your forward pressure before your dins. If your forward pressure is correct, bump the dins up a quarter to a half.
 
Yeah dude I would check your forward pressure first and then if that's okay crank up your din by half notches. Like 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5 etc. until you stop pre releasing. but if your not sure how to check your forward pressure go get that checked out by a ski shop guy because messing your bindings up can cause serious injury to your knees. As long as you aren't pre releasing there is no need to crank them up, it's just to risky. Best of luck, be careful, and may the ski gods spare your acl.
 
And what I mean by as long as your not prereleasing is for example if you were skiing at a din of 6 and you were prereleasing and then you put it to a 6.5 and then weren't prereleasing there is no need to put it to a 7, it's just a bad idea.
 
im 150 5'11 and i ski with mine at a 10.5 toes and heels. i know its high but they still come off when i stomp that shit too hard
 
Remember that pre-releasing is not preference, the ski popping off could save you from major ligament damage. If you are landing wrong and it is coming off do not tighten the DINs, if they're coming off on a perfect landing or what you seem to be describing than slowly tighten them and test them.
 
thought I'd just give an update. went again on sunday and started at 7.5, popped out a few times and rolled over a few rocks but luckily no injuries. tightened it to an 8 and didn't pre-release for the rest of the day. thanks for all the info!
 
Go in to a shop and get it tested. Old and even new bindings arent very accurate at releasing. Dont trust the number on your binding because its not always accurate. I torque tested 1000's of skis and all bindings vary, even though they are supposed to be true to the din scale. The least accurate at releasing seemed to be marker griffins. They constantly released 2-3 notches off of what they were supposed to be and had to be adjusted.
 
You guys are all bitches. Mine are at 14 and i can still release if i have to. Crank them. If you are charging hard you never want that shit to come off. especially dropping cliffs in pow, your dins sound low bro.
 
13379055:collin.zecher said:
You guys are all bitches. Mine are at 14 and i can still release if i have to. Crank them. If you are charging hard you never want that shit to come off. especially dropping cliffs in pow, your dins sound low bro.

You are just the worst...
 
13373830:Holte said:
The amount of paranoia on NS about tweaking binding settings is unwarranted. It's not rocket science. Spend an hour learning a little about DINs, how to check your forward pressure marker, and take a look at the tech manual for your bindings. Then bump up the dins a bit, make sure you can still twist out, take a few hard laps, readjust, repeat.

thank you.

fuck, i could never figure out why this is such a difficult concept.

if you cant figure out or dont know how to adjust your gear, you probably shouldnt be anywhere near cliffs.
 
FYI: the shop-sanctioned method of using a torque wrench and/or gauging DIN in terms of "skier ability level" is too wrapped up in actuarial tables and legal bullshit (i.e. they are over-conservative). If those things were applicable for actual aggressive skiers (as in, cliff dropping, flip-throwing, mogul-straightlining cats), they wouldn't make bindings that went beyond 12 DIN.

Besides, its better to risk knee injury than it is to have your skis fly off in a no-fall zone.
 
13379582:lIllI said:
FYI: the shop-sanctioned method of using a torque wrench and/or gauging DIN in terms of "skier ability level" is too wrapped up in actuarial tables and legal bullshit (i.e. they are over-conservative). If those things were applicable for actual aggressive skiers (as in, cliff dropping, flip-throwing, mogul-straightlining cats), they wouldn't make bindings that went beyond 12 DIN.

Besides, its better to risk knee injury than it is to have your skis fly off in a no-fall zone.

i think of that sometimes. 1) it's funny how we are supposed to be on the "safe side" when we trust a chart over empirical evidence, and 2) can you even get a recommended DIN over 12 through the chart?

how do really hardcore racers choose their DIN? do they have a special chart?

i remember years ago there was a thread on here about what DINs people use and some of them were so freakin high. and ive met (really good) park riders who crank their DINs so high it makes my knees hurt just thinking about it. it really seemed dangerous

what did seth morrison use when he was in his huge cliff dropping prime? i think i heard mid teens at some point

but yeah-- if youre pre releasing, check your forward pressure, and if all is well then incrementally up your DIN within reason. oh and get FKSs
 
din is not that hard to change yourself... People are probably guna hate on my opinion but adjust it yourself. Its honestly common sense. I worked in a ski shop and they never put effort into determining din. They just cranked it up if the person said they were pre-releasing. Its not like they spend hours doing calculations to determine the "perfect" setting. Do it yourself.
 
13379592:Titsandwich11 said:
i think of that sometimes. 1) it's funny how we are supposed to be on the "safe side" when we trust a chart over empirical evidence, and 2) can you even get a recommended DIN over 12 through the chart?

how do really hardcore racers choose their DIN? do they have a special chart?

i remember years ago there was a thread on here about what DINs people use and some of them were so freakin high. and ive met (really good) park riders who crank their DINs so high it makes my knees hurt just thinking about it. it really seemed dangerous

It's weird because personal experience will always have more value than a chart cooked up with a series of averages extrapolated in unrealistic testing scenarios, then adjusted for risk with legal liability coloring that judgement anyways. Those charts apply up to the point where you're a weekend warrior soccer dad whose skis never leave the ground. Any level beyond that and the charts lose meaning.

Back when I skied more than twice a year I rode at 13 on FKS155s and never prereleased; I always released when I needed to. Meanwhile I can't count how many people I've seen get seriously injured from prereleasing because they were afraid to put their DIN past 7.
 
On a side note, does anyone remember the testing videos demonstrating how much "safer" the Line bindings were? They compared it with an FKS in a controlled, simulated setting (i.e. indoors mounted to a table).

Does everyone remember how notoriously shitty, and therefore more dangerous, the Line bindings were, despite the tests?
 
13379610:lIllI said:
It's weird because personal experience will always have more value than a chart cooked up with a series of averages extrapolated in unrealistic testing scenarios, then adjusted for risk with legal liability coloring that judgement anyways. Those charts apply up to the point where you're a weekend warrior soccer dad whose skis never leave the ground. Any level beyond that and the charts lose meaning.

Back when I skied more than twice a year I rode at 13 on FKS155s and never prereleased; I always released when I needed to. Meanwhile I can't count how many people I've seen get seriously injured from prereleasing because they were afraid to put their DIN past 7.

yeah, exactly

13379613:lIllI said:
On a side note, does anyone remember the testing videos demonstrating how much "safer" the Line bindings were? They compared it with an FKS in a controlled, simulated setting (i.e. indoors mounted to a table).

Does everyone remember how notoriously shitty, and therefore more dangerous, the Line bindings were, despite the tests?

haha oh man what a joke. i saw two pairs of those blow up on medium park jumps, and heard countless horror stories second and third hand. great idea, terrible rushed execution
 
13373830:Holte said:
The amount of paranoia on NS about tweaking binding settings is unwarranted. It's not rocket science. Spend an hour learning a little about DINs, how to check your forward pressure marker, and take a look at the tech manual for your bindings. Then bump up the dins a bit, make sure you can still twist out, take a few hard laps, readjust, repeat.

i think a lot of that is that people assume the person wont learn how to properly do it, so they are hesitant to tell people to crank it up. if you look up the binding manual, and learn how to check forward pressure and set everything properly, its fine, but i dont think a lot of people would know to do that

just because of the risks involved (and honestly the demographics of this site), i generally feel that if you have to ask, its better to have somebody else do it, or show you how to do it in person
 
13379057:cjt121099 said:
solution, get fks bindings for your new planks

That's not a solution at all... FKS still need to be adjusted just like any other binding on the planet for them to function properly. Learn and understand the basic mechanics of bindings before you go and spew out stupid misinformation like this.
 
13379055:collin.zecher said:
You guys are all bitches. Mine are at 14 and i can still release if i have to. Crank them. If you are charging hard you never want that shit to come off. especially dropping cliffs in pow, your dins sound low bro.

Nobody listen to this.

13379057:cjt121099 said:
solution, get fks bindings for your new planks

Nope. Fks release the exact same as any other binding.
 
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