Skiing without brakes?

ballsofsteeze

ballsofsteeze

Member
Hey ns, so a couple weeks ago i landed hard on a 5 attempt and cracked the plastic of my baseplate. It looked like no big deal, just a little sketchy, the brake was still on, and i skied 2 more weeks on them like that. Yesterday, for no apparent reason, when i dropped my skis to clip in, the brake just fell off. So naturally I skied the whole day without a brake.

Now I have a couple days off, and I'm wondering if it's time to replace the bindings. It seems silly because the skis i'm on are just going to last me the rest of the year. I need new ones because they are way too short. The skis skied just fine without the brakes for the day, but I also don't want to take any chances and compromise safety or performance. As i see it i really have 3 options

1. ski on skis with one sketchy binding and hope it doesn't fly away when i release.

2. buy some new bindings to ride out this year and slap them on my new skis next year

3. fuck it and buy new skis/bindings right now with money i don't really have.

your thoughts? Aside from the obvious danger of losing my ski on release and them being a bit harder to step into since they don't stay in place, am i going to hurt myself skiing like this? would it be worth it to buy new bindings (looking into pivots) now and put them on my old skis?

thanks and +k for good responses.
 
before you go and spend copious amounts of money on new bindings, ask your shop if they have a brake that will fit your current bindings. two of my friends had to go through this last season.

if they dont i suggest looking into a more durable binding. I have never had a binding problem as i try to stay away from lower end bindings (ESPECIALLY MARKER!) if you buy low end markers your season will be nothing but grief and broken brakes.
 
Maybe I'm not understanding you but couldn't you just replace the brake for $40? Honestly though, I'd be more worried about the possibility of seriously injuring someone else. A few years back I was standing at a base lodge and a ski came flying into the crowd in front of the lodge like a missile. Apparently someone landed on a rock or something up top and busted the brake off one ski. The kinect energy from that thing was amazing. It impacted the leg on a picnic table first and ricocheted into some dudes ankle. The sound of that thing hitting the table though was so loud. If that had skipped up and hit a kid, I have zero doubt it woulda killed em. Somethin to think about bro. I'd rather spend money than live with somethin like that for the rest of my life. Plus if your getting new skis next season anyway, just get the new bindings now and remount em on your new skis next year.
 
well i have some px10s, crappy bindings i know. the thing is, the brake didn't just come off, the plastic that was around the brake is cracked, some is missing. i don't think they can put in a new brake now. i'm planning on buying some pivot/fks 14s for next year (or maybe this year). i know a shop that i can get them at for like 260 brand new. i was going to buy them next year anyway, so maybe i'll just do that early

 
in that case disregard everything i said. sounds like you are in the market for new bindings. if you want to save a buck, try looking in the b/s/t forums for just a new heal piece. they are relatively cheap used and could be a simple solution cause you wouldnt have to drill new holes.
 
Another option, although not the safest, would be to rig up a skiboard leash. Not sure what you'd tie it to on the binding though without the brake. You should jus get the new bindings. Piece of mind man.
 
thanks for the good advice. and yeah i don't want to ski on these things without brakes any longer than i have to. i'm thinking i'll just get some now. can't really hurt right? only thing is, this will be my skis third mount. i hadn't thought of that...
 
At the very least do this. When your ski comes off without a brake if it doesnt flip over it will become a projectile that will fly straight down the mountain. Unless someone chases it down and tackles it this ski could either never be seen again, or could kill/injure somebody leaving you liable. I would suggest a new binding altogether as you can always remount them onto your next ski.
 
Definitely don't ski without brakes! As others have mentioned, it's incredibly dangerous. And if you don't give a shit about that (dick), it's soooo easy to lose a ski. I broke a brake landing a jump and my ski shot off in to the woods in pretty deep snow. Fortunately, my homie found it because after searching for an hour I had given up.
 
no i definitely give a shit. i would never want my ski, even unintentionally, to injure someone else because i was dumb enough to ski without brakes. i only did it because it was the very beginning of the day and i had to ski on something. i think i'm going to buy some new binders. like tomorrow.

on a side note, since this is my third mount on these skis, will the durability be compromised?
 
SHIT hahah cant help but laugh thinking about that scene in my head. didnt even think about that consequence
 
well its all fixed now. i found a shop that had an extra brake and put it on there for 25 bucks. thank you all for advice, karma has been given.
 
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