New to Skiboarding FAQ - The Basics

[Wookie]

.....I don't mind doing the adjustment myself....

The binding check by a ski shop is not as much about adjustment as it is about verification and testing. Your bindings are likely adjusted near perfectly by Spruce (Jeff) but there is no way for Jeff to verify the settings without your boots. The ski shop will place your boots in your new bindings and measure the pressure required to twist/pull the boots out of the bindings. If the pressure is too high or too low then they may make adjustments. They will also test general operation of the binding. You can approximate the tests required for this verification but the ski shops have specialized tools for it.

As Bluewing mentions this is cheap, usually a $10-25 service if not free. My ski shop throws it in once with any preseason wax & tune. You just spent a couple of hundred bucks on a new set-up, spend the few bucks for the peace of mind to get them tested professionally.

[Bluewing]

The binding check by a ski shop is not as much about adjustment as it is about verification and testing. Your bindings are likely adjusted near perfectly by Spruce (Jeff) but there is no way for Jeff to verify the settings without your boots. The ski shop will place your boots in your new bindings and measure the pressure required to twist/pull the boots out of the bindings. If the pressure is too high or too low then they may make adjustments. They will also test general operation of the binding. You can approximate the tests required for this verification but the ski shops have specialized tools for it.

As Bluewing mentions this is cheap, usually a $10-25 service if not free. My ski shop throws it in once with any preseason wax & tune. You just spent a couple of hundred bucks on a new set-up, spend the few bucks for the peace of mind to get them tested professionally.

Forward pressure can't be definitely set without the boots in the binding so unless Jeff has boots that he uses with the person's specific sole length then it is an approximate setting of forward pressure based on his vast experience. Most likely it is set properly, but that has to be verified with the boot in the binding. The ski tech can do a release test as noted. I am not an expert but my guess is a release test is not needed for new bindings with the forward pressure set properly. But, having a final check by a ski check is money well spent as noted.

[Gromit]

The Spruce Pro Prime Plus bindings with their Tyrolia Attack 13 bindings also should have their toe height adjusted to give 0.5mm clearance between the stainless steel toe plate and the ski boot's sole.

[STILL BOARDING]

The binding check by a ski shop is not as much about adjustment as it is about verification and testing. Your bindings are likely adjusted near perfectly by Spruce (Jeff) but there is no way for Jeff to verify the settings without your boots. The ski shop will place your boots in your new bindings and measure the pressure required to twist/pull the boots out of the bindings. If the pressure is too high or too low then they may make adjustments. They will also test general operation of the binding. You can approximate the tests required for this verification but the ski shops have specialized tools for it.

As Bluewing mentions this is cheap, usually a $10-25 service if not free. My ski shop throws it in once with any preseason wax & tune. You just spent a couple of hundred bucks on a new set-up, spend the few bucks for the peace of mind to get them tested professionally.

I hear that peace of mind for just a little cash! I'll bring them to my local place, they did it for free last time. I was just hoping to be more involved with the process. Reading about what you all do on you own makes me want to do more than I have already done. Test & verify will do. It just makes it harder to try to lend the boards to someone to check them out. The Head 94's are more easliy adjusted albeit not tested or veified. Thanks!

[STILL BOARDING]

Forward pressure can't be definitely set without the boots in the binding so unless Jeff has boots that he uses with the person's specific sole length then it is an approximate setting of forward pressure based on his vast experience. Most likely it is set properly, but that has to be verified with the boot in the binding. The ski tech can do a release test as noted. I am not an expert but my guess is a release test is not needed for new bindings with the forward pressure set properly. But, having a final check by a ski check is money well spent as noted.

Thaks again Bluewing, I'll bring them to the local shop no sense in being cheap on this end of things!

[Bluewing]

It just makes it harder to try to lend the boards to someone to check them out. The Head 94's are more easliy adjusted albeit not tested or veified. Thanks!

Not to be continuously beating the forward pressure setting drum, but that setting needs to be checked even when the rental/demo bindings like the Head 94s use are adjusted for different boot lengths. It is a good thing to understand what the forward pressure setting is, how the binding adjustments work to adjust it and how to tell if it is set right. Even if a shop does it - always good to know.

[Bad Wolf]

I was just hoping to be more involved with the process. Reading about what you all do on you own makes me want to do more than I have already done.

There are lots of ski maintenance items that you can learn to do at home. Most of the tools you need are relatively inexpensive and can be bought at your local ski shop or online. You can learn the skills and knowledge on You Tube, it's not a secret. I learned how to all the following tasks at home. I think understanding your equipment and how to maintain it makes you a more complete skier. It's also fun and saves you money.

DIN settings
Forward pressure settings
Waxing boards
Tuning edges
Simple base repairs with P-Tex
Simple top sheet repairs

As Bluewing and Wookie suggest, you should take your bindings to have the release pressures checked just to make sure they are within specification. I do it once a year, usually at the start of the season.

[wushuguy]

I hear that peace of mind for just a little cash! I'll bring them to my local place, they did it for free last time. I was just hoping to be more involved with the process. Reading about what you all do on you own makes me want to do more than I have already done. Test & verify will do. It just makes it harder to try to lend the boards to someone to check them out. The Head 94's are more easliy adjusted albeit not tested or veified. Thanks!

Trust me. It's not that hard. I'm not too much of a hands-on type of person and I managed to figure out the release bindings last season. Set it up all by myself and it worked out okay for me. Didn't release on me but I never fell hard enough for it to =P Aside from that, it's mainly having the tools to put yourself in a situation to learn. Last season, I didn't have the proper head for the bindings and it almost killed my screwdriver! Hahaha! Then I had to go out and pick up a set of the proper ones. But this time around, I attached it to my package from Greco so that I have them for the future.

As for waxing and more board maintenance, that's something I'm still reading/looking into. It's also nice if you have spare boards or whatnot to test it out. My buddy and I want to start waxing our own boards and for our friends for a reduced cost but we have to test it out on something until we're better at it.

[wushuguy]

Noob question here. In terms of how tight non-release receptor bindings should be on the board, how hard should it be to tighten the front binding? I'm trying to setup my boot right now and not sure how much pressure I should be applying to get the front onto the boot. Also, is the boot supposed to wobble from side-to-side inside the binding? (If not, I'm clearly not making it tight enough!)

And also the metal bar part, does it move from side-to-side? Or is there a way to lock it in the center?

NVM: I figured it out. I wasn't close to tight enough. Now that it is, everything is perfect. Nothing slides side to side, very tight fit. Excited to test em out!

[STILL BOARDING]

Trust me. It's not that hard. I'm not too much of a hands-on type of person and I managed to figure out the release bindings last season. Set it up all by myself and it worked out okay for me. Didn't release on me but I never fell hard enough for it to =P Aside from that, it's mainly having the tools to put yourself in a situation to learn. Last season, I didn't have the proper head for the bindings and it almost killed my screwdriver! Hahaha! Then I had to go out and pick up a set of the proper ones. But this time around, I attached it to my package from Greco so that I have them for the future.

As for waxing and more board maintenance, that's something I'm still reading/looking into. It's also nice if you have spare boards or whatnot to test it out. My buddy and I want to start waxing our own boards and for our friends for a reduced cost but we have to test it out on something until we're better at it.

I ended up taking them to my local shop, they charged me $10.00, I was going to try out waxing on a pair of old rentals I brought for the BF 2 years ago as I upgraded him to my Head 94 Salamanders. This way if I ruin them no big loss to me or the skiboarding world, I hope ! I am nervous about doing this anyway Let me know how it goes for you and your buddy!

[wushuguy]

I ended up taking them to my local shop, they charged me $10.00, I was going to try out waxing on a pair of old rentals I brought for the BF 2 years ago as I upgraded him to my Head 94 Salamanders. This way if I ruin them no big loss to me or the skiboarding world, I hope ! I am nervous about doing this anyway Let me know how it goes for you and your buddy!

Haven't had a chance to take out the boards. We're hoping to hit up the local hill this weekend (baby in comparison to anywhere else) but we also have our ski trip planned next week Jan 1st. Should be good to go. I'm leaving the factory wax on for now and iwll probably go for a rewax when we get back from our 3rd day on the slopes. Depending on timeframe and spare boards, might just go with the shop for waxing as opposed to doing it myself. Maybe in the offseason...

Or maybe I should start shopping for used boards around $25-50 just to practice...hmmm