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How to Set the Din on Ski Bindings

How to Set the Din on Ski Bindings

John Mattson, James Brooks, James Brooks, John Mattson

Modern alpine ski bindings have been designed to eliminate most ski injuries, but they offer a wide range of settings, and understanding this adjustment is crucial to avoiding serious injuries. Din stands for Deitsches Institut fur Normung, or German institute for standardization and was started as a method of measuring industrial standards in Germany. The modern Din ratings for ski bindings assess weight, height, length of boot, ability and age and provide a very good standard for ski binding adjustment.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:
  • Skis with mounted bindings Ski boot Screwdriver Tape measure Din chart Notebook Pencil
  • Skis with mounted bindings
  • Ski boot
  • Screwdriver
  • Tape measure
  • Din chart
  • Notebook
  • Pencil
Step 1
Spring Skiing in the Rockies
Spring Skiing in the Rockies
Verify that the distance and vertical spacing of your bindings has already been set. This has nothing to do with the Din setting, but it is a crucial step for adjusting ski bindings. Most bindings have an indicator for distance that supplies this information when the ski boot is fastened in the binding. The vertical spacing is also crucial and more difficult to calculate, so if there is any doubt, consult a qualified ski technician
Step 2
Find a Din chart and calculate your personal data. Charts are readily available at most ski shops and on the Internet. The Din chart is easy to understand and rates skiers for age, ability, height, ski boot length and weight. Use the notebook to calculate and document each of the steps.
Step 3
Nevado Ishinca in Peru
Nevado Ishinca in Peru
Assess your personal ability. Din provides three categories of ability: beginner, intermediate and expert. It is wise to be honest with yourself when you choose this category, because injuries are painful and limit ski time.
Step 4
Steep face on Nevado Ishinca
Steep face on Nevado Ishinca
Calculate your personal height and weight and use the appropriate chart to convert this data to a letter grade from A-M.
Step 5
Measure the length of your ski boots. This factor contributes to the amount of leverage during a fall, and is an important factor in determining the Din setting.
Step 6
Plug the numbers into the charts, and determine your personal Din. Double check your calculations and see if they sound reasonable. If your are a light beginner skier, the number should be very small.
Step 7
Adjust the Din setting on your bindings. This should be labeled and obvious. The large screws in the front and back of the toe and heal, respectively, are used for adjustment and the dial is easy to read and will change with the setting.
Step 8
Recheck your calculations and verify that the Din setting on your ski bindings is the same as the one that you calculated.

Tips & Warnings

 
The Din is a very good guideline, but one size does not fit all. Racers and very extreme skiers may wish to adjust their bindings beyond the recommended numbers, because a binding that is too loose could pre-release and cause a fall in a dangerous situation.
 
Improperly adjusted bindings are a leading cause of serious ski injuries, so consult a qualified ski technician if there is any doubt about these procedures.

Resources

Article Written By John Mattson

John Mattson is an architectural engineer, adventure writer, and photographer who has traveled to many remote corners of the earth. He has recently self-published a colorfully photographed book of 26 diverse and extreme adventure stories titled "Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet."

Write for Trails.com

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