Brains
For anyone who has rented or gotten skis mounted, odds are that you filled out a form asking some questions about your physical information. If you asked the teenager working the ski shop what it’s for, they would say, “It’s for the DIN.” then, stare blankly while you fill out the rest of the form. But what is a DIN and how does it work? This quick guide should get you up to speed.
A DIN in short is the release setting for your bindings. DIN is short for “Deutsches Institut für Normung” which to English native speakers doesn’t mean much. Essentially, it’s the industry standard for the force required to release from your ski binding. It’s measured in Newton meters which is a measurement of force. An aggressive turn requires a lot of force and you want to stay in the binding, but when you crash you want to pop out to avoid injury. DIN finds that balance between hard turns and a crash. Calculating the physical info you give gives a measurement to which a certified ski technician can adjust the binding correctly.
How does a ski binding work? Without getting into the details of all the bindings out there, here’s the short of it: A spring in the heel piece and a spring in the toe piece work in tandem to secure the boot in the binding. Tightening or loosening the spring brings the DIN up or down. Different bindings have their own ways of releasing the boot, but the core principle is those two springs keeping you in place while you ski. The higher the tension on the spring, the more effort it is to release you from the binding. Now how does all that physical info play a factor?
Height, weight, skier type, age, and boot sole length (BSL) all affect the DIN differently. Everyone is different and your DIN setting is personalized to you. Height and weight are straightforward. The taller and heavier you are, the more force that is required to release you. Someone who is 6′ 5″ and 200 pounds. is going to require more tension to keep them in the binding than someone 5′ 3″ and 120 pounds. The skier type works the same. Skier type has three designations: Type I, II, and III, or in other words, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A beginner skier who is still learning and falling more often will need a ski to release more frequently. An experienced rider is comfortable with aggressive turns and landings and will require a higher din to keep them secure. Age relates more to the safety of the rider and liability. It’s been determined that a rider under 10 years old or over 49 years old requires a lower din to keep them safe in the event of a crash. BSL is measured in millimeters from the back to the front of the ski boot sole. BSL has an inverse effect on DIN. The longer the BSL the lower the DIN due to less leverage and therefore less force required to release the boot.
Knowing your DIN can help you with your ski binding purchases. Bindings come in different DIN ranges and are named accordingly. A Look SPX 12 has a max DIN of 12 and a minimum DIN of 3.5. This means the springs can retract back to 3.5 DIN and extend to 12 DIN. If your personal DIN setting falls within this range, that means the binding is appropriate for you. Now a good rule of thumb is to allow 2-3 DIN above and below your setting. This is more of a safety measure to account for the wear and tear of the binding. The springs can lose tension or lock up over time and may require adjustment to make sure it’s still releasing at the correct amount of force. Some skiers know that their DIN isn’t enough for how hard they ride and may opt for a binding that goes above their recommended DIN setting. It’s case by case, but knowing your calculated DIN is a good place to start when purchasing a binding.
