Properly setting the release force setting (or DIN) of an alpine binding is critical for safety and retention while skiing. To help explain how it’s determined and why it matters, we developed this detailed guide to break down the ins and outs of release force setting.
Your binding’s release force setting refers to the tension of the spring in the toe and heel piece. Ideally, this spring has enough tension to keep your boots properly interfaced with your bindings during any normal skiing motion, and just enough give to allow your boots to release from the bindings when your motions become abnormal and dangerous. Release force setting is denoted via a DIN-normalized numeric value, which is why the release force setting as DIN.
Deutsches Institut fur Normung, or “DIN,” is a German organization that sets standards that specify requirements for products, services, and processes. In the ski industry, DIN is used to standardize everything from measuring the geometry of skis to categorizing types of ski boot soles. It is also, of course, the organization that normalized the denotation of release force settings in ski bindings. But ultimately, the answer is simply that “DIN” is easier to say.
When you have your skis mounted in a shop, your DIN number is calculated by a ski technician utilizing a standardized chart that takes into account body weight, height, skier type, age, and boot sole length (BSL). Since these factors are critical for your safety, it’s important to be honest about your weight and skier type, and take your equipment to a trusted ski shop.
Skier type, in its official designation, is not the same as skier ability. Skier type is concerned with the speed and aggression with which you ski, and the inherent risks that come with your specific skiing style. Because of this, only you can determine your skier type. An honest assessment of your type is critical to ensuring that your binding release force setting is set to an appropriate tension.
Type I Settings Apply to:
Type II Skiers are all Skiers who do not meet:
*Skier Ratings courtesy of Wintersteiger
Before you can even get around to the business of setting the DINs on your bindings, you need to make sure your bindings are properly interfacing with your ski boots. To do this you need to confirm proper forward pressure and toe height. Another thing to keep in mind here is that your ski boots must be compatible with your ski bindings, and be without damage or excessive wear to the toe and heel lugs. There’s only one proper way to do this—take your skis, bindings, and boots into a shop that is certified to mount bindings.