Ski Bindings

Ski Binding Shopping Tips

With so many choices of ski bindings from differing styles, brands and models how will you ever choose? It’s easy; here we will cover some of the main differences in ski bindings and what to look for when shopping bindings.

When shopping bindings you will notice a few differences between them, mainly the brake width and maximum DIN setting. These two factors can change how a binding performs and for what type of skiing they will be best used for.

Binding brake width explained

With skis and skiing technology always changing we have been granted wider and wider skis in the past years and they keep getting wider and wider. To combat this extra width ski bindings have started to offer wider brakes. Brakes are the black plastic and metal piece which will pop down and stop a ski from going down the mountain if left unattended or after a crash.

To shop bindings adequately you will need to know the waist width of your skis. So if you have just purchased new skis and the waist width is 98mm you will need a ski binding with a brake width of at the least 98mm or more. Brake widths vary depending on the binding but you can typically buy a binding with a little wider brake width so you have some growing room if you upgrade skis down the road. Don’t go too big (more than 20mm) as this can cause the brake to drag in turns and be susceptible to breaking over time.

Binding DIN explained

The DIN on bindings is a number rating which will coincide with the ability level and weight range the bindings are going to be best for. Choosing a ski binding based on DIN setting is necessary for all skiers but is most important for freestyle skiers, racers or those being a bit harder on their skis. You must adjust your ski bindings to the correct din before you head out for a day on the slopes. For more information on ski bindings DIN please view our ski binding buying guide.

Shopping ski bindings on Skis.com

With so many choices in bindings we made it easy to narrow down your choice to just what is going to be best for you. We offer several refinements on the left side of the page where you can choose different features, settings, brands and even colors. Not everyone is going to need the same bindings so being able to select a certain brand, intended use and more is great. To chop using refinements simply choose the refinement you wish to narrow your choice with and the page will refresh with that choice. For example; if you wish to only shop men’s ski bindings you can select men’s in the gender refinement and the page will refresh with only men’s bindings. You can use multiple refinements when shopping ski bindings, simply wait for the page to refresh with your first refinement and choose another.