During my years on the demo circuit, I’ve had the pleasure of calculating thousands of DIN settings with skiers looking over my shoulder, oftentimes asking questions or insisting I’m doing it wrong. While there is a lot of information online about DIN settings, a lot of it is incorrect and there isn’t any one good primer on DINs and release settings in general. This is my attempt to set the record straight.Whether you are curious how the DIN system works (it’s complicated), or think your settings may be incorrect (there’s a good chance they are), read on and learn more. Just be forewarned – this isn’t a license to adjust your own skis.

Intro to DIN Settings  – Why Releasable Bindings are Necessary
DIN – (short for Deutsches Institut für Normung, the name of the German regulatory body that oversees the standardization of the settings) – is a standardized setting on your ski binding that determines the amount of force required for the binding to release the boot in the event of a serious fall or other situation where an unusual amount of force is being applied to the binding in an unusual way.

Why is this necessary? It’s simple – when you are on the verge of a bad fall or a fall that’s likely to cause injury, you want your skis – several pounds of sharp metal, wood and foam, to tumble out of your way rather than remain attached. These gigantic levers can apply a huge amount of force to your joints, ripping apart your knees, ankles and hips. Not a good scenario.

Nonetheless, I hear the same line from people all the time – “crank those up, I don’t want to come out of them.” That’s just a  bad idea all around. A properly adjusted binding should only release when you would want it to, and never when you don’t. If popping out prematurely is a problem you have, you may want to have your settings re-evaluated and your bindings checked for problems – don’t just blindly set them at their max.

DIN settings are a function of 6+ variables
So just how are DIN settings calculated? It’s a pretty complex system that doesn’t always make a ton of sense, but it essentially comes down to one thing – the more force you could potentially apply to a ski, the higher your correct DIN setting. Technicians generally rely upon a chart that is provided by the binding’s manufacturer, because settings do vary from company to company.

Your DIN setting is generally a function of 6 different factors:

• Your weight – heavier = more force = higher setting (up to a point)
• Your height – less important than weight, but more height = higher setting
• Your boot sole length – larger boots can apply more force to the binding, so larger boots = lower setting
• Your skier type (ability level) – more aggressive skiers apply more force under normal conditions, so better skiers = higher settings
• Your bindings’ manufacturer – bindings & appropriate DINs vary from ski to ski
• Your age – Skiers over 50 are moved down the chart 1 grade level, as are young & very light skiers under certain circumstances

1: Start with the weight & height at left.
A 155lb. skier’s skier code is K. If the height & weight are in different rows, we use the skier code closer to the top of the chart (on this adjustment chart – this varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.)

2: Move up or down according to ability level.
The original skier code is based on a type 1 skier. Because our person is a type 2 skier, we will move him down 1 line to skier code L.

3. Age a factor?
Our skier is under 50, so this doesn’t come into play. If he were 50 or older, we would move up 1 skier code toward the top of the chart.

4. Move over to the appropriate sole length column.
Find the skiers’ boot sole length (typically printed in tiny letters along the heel or sole of the boot in millimeters) and match it to the appropriate column.

Where the skier code row & sole length column cross is the correct DIN setting.
In our example, the correct setting is 6.5.

DANGER!
The DIN settings on your bindings are a life safety system that only trained professionals should attempt to adjust or change. While the aim of this post is to give you full and accurate information on the release systems of ski bindings, it isn’t anything near what you would need to know to change them yourself, and there’s always a possibility that some of this information is  incorrect, outdated, or doesn’t apply to your particular equipment. Just don’t do it.

Tagged as: bindings, safety, skis