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Ski bindings are one of the two critical links between ski and skier, and it is important to understand what they are and how they function so you can get the most out of your setup on the mountain.
They come in 2 common setups, a system setup (rail system), commonly seen on piste skis, like this Atomic Cloud Q8 and some all mountain skis such as this Salomon Stance 84, which allows the toe and heel piece to slide into fixed positions along a track mounted to the ski, or a flat top mounted setup (drill system), common on all mountain skis, freeride and freestyle skis, see this Line Pandora 85 as an example for an all mountain ski, which eliminates the rail in favour of having a flat mounting surface to place the binding directly on to the deck of the ski, which lowers the overall binding height as well as providing some other benefits, with the drawback being no boot size adjustment.
Jargon busting
Let’s not waste any more time and straight away get ourselves familiar with some technical terms and words you see thrown around that leave you wondering:
Toe Piece - The forward most part of the ski binding, where the toe of your boot sits
Heel Piece - The rear section of the binding, this piece is responsible for you being able to remove yourself from the binding when you want to take the skis off.
DIN - Arguably the most important safety aspect of your ski binding, the DIN is an adjustable range that changes how much energy is needed to eject your boot from the binding. It is determined by the factors; weight, height, age, ski ability level and boot sole length, and is important to set up accurately. The higher the number indicated by the DIN setting, the more energy is required to release the boot.
AFD - This is an acronym for Anti Friction Device, it is a plate found under your ski boot on the toe piece of the binding and is important for proper release function. Some bindings have automatically adjusting AFD’s and some require manual setup, we can help you with this on a case by case basis here at Snowtrax (link)
Forward Pressure/Heel Pressure - A part of ski binding setup that is crucial to holding you properly within the binding and making sure the DIN release activates properly. On system bindings there is a visual indicator that indicates when your binding has the correct heel pressure, and on mounted bindings your ski binding tech will make sure this is done correctly for your specific setup.
Your boots and bindings
Your boots can have a deciding factor in what bindings you need, if you come to Snowtrax for a boot fit we will firstly endeavour to find the right boot for you, but also will provide some guidance on your boot and binding compatibility. This is again where things get a little technical, but don’t worry! We are here to help, let’s break down some terminology that relates to both boot and binding:
GripWalk - GripWalk is the latest iteration of ski boot sole, most commonly found using ISO 23223 soles, Gripwalk offers a rockered sole on the foot of your boot to make walking easier. GripWalk soles will only work in GripWalk bindings
Alpine Sole - Also known as flat soles, they use ISO 5355 and don’t offer the same rockered walking style as GripWalk. Alpine Soles can be used with either Alpine or Gripwalk bindings.
ISO - This stands for International Organisation for Standardisation, and makes sure all boots and bindings come with uniform compatibility.
🔺 Be careful if you have a very old pair of skis or boots, as they may not be compatible with the latest equipment!
What is the right binding for you?
Now we have a better understanding of our binding terminology, it’s time to discuss what binding works best for you and your intended use. We will start with system bindings, which already come paired to the ski, and its intended use and rider, this eliminates any headaches there, making them a great straight forward and simple answer!
Flat Top mounted bindings are perhaps more interesting as there is an almost endless combination of setups you can make between bindings and skis. This is where it is important to determine what kind of skiing you are doing and your physical attributes in order to find the best match, it is important here to find the binding that suits your DIN setting the most.
Let’s have a look at the Marker Royal family bindings as they cover 3 common DIN ranges, and we will start with the Squire 11, this binding works best for lighter weight skiers and provides good all mountain capability with a slight lean towards freestyle riding.
The Griffon 13 is next, and is an incredibly popular binding that can offer performance across the entire mountain, this binding is typically suited to stronger skiers that can put some more energy through their skis.
The last of the Royal family is the Jester 16 which offers users an incredibly tough binding that allows the skier to put a lot more energy into their riding, the Jester 16 specialises in freeride skiing and is suitable for high capability skiers that require a high DIN setting.
You will notice a number attached to the names of the bindings, this refers to the binding’s highest capable DIN setting, however it is not recommended to sit too close to this maximum number for an extended period of time, and is more often worth upgrading to a stronger duty binding and being in the middle of that binding’s DIN range.
There are of course other bindings, and they do offer some slightly different purposes, but most fall into an all mountain use-case, however it is worth mentioning the HEAD Protector range, a binding exclusive to HEAD skis. These bindings come mounted as part of a system rail, so they are not a flat top mount, but what makes these bindings special is an extra build feature in the binding heel piece that allows for an increased range of movement before a full eject occurs; this feature offers increased protection against possible ACL damage, and is useful for preventing harm on a more general basis.
Conclusion
From this we can conclude that while most bindings have versatility on the mountain, some are a little more specialised for certain roles, most bindings will tell you their intended purpose but the 2 most important factors are to make sure that your boots will work with the bindings and that you fall nicely into the middle of the binding’s DIN range, if you are unsure, our expert colleagues in store will be able to help.
On our website, we have made sure to include the DIN range of our flat top mount bindings to make them a little easier to understand. As you progress with your skiing and knowledge you will learn more about the smaller technical aspects of ski bindings, but this guide is aimed to help you understand the core aspects and functions.
At Snowtrax, we can fully set up your ski bindings, whether purchased from us or from a 3rd party, to get you skiing safely from day one!