If your car was in storage for six months, for safety reasons, you would not think twice about checking the oil, tires, and brakes before driving it again. The same attention to safety should apply to your skis that have been setting around, maybe in a damp basement or hot garage, for the last five or six months.

Jack Hay of Alpine Sport Shop in Saratoga Springs, NY recommends that everyone should have a complete examination of the binding systems on their skis in the pre-season and even several more times during the season. When I asked why you should have it done several times in the same season, Dan Nizolek, Alpine Sport Shop Service Manager told me your bindings can make or break you – literally.

As Dan explained, the release settings, while being able to be locked in, can work loose to change the release pressure needed for ejection. It’s possible they can begin to release too early or too late for the torque expected from an individual skiers computed setting.

A skier may also become more aggressive on the slopes as he or she improves and put more controlled torque into turns, therefore needing an increased tension setting. Conversely, should an aggressive skier be slowed by an injury it only makes sense to readjust the release tension to reflect the change in skiing style. Also a skier’s weight could change enough to make adjustments necessary. Of course, should you change skis or boots it is necessary to reset or check the binding settings even if the boots physically fit the new skis.

First and foremost in adjusting bindings is to remember that a skier should never, never touch any binding adjustment settings unless qualified to do so. Qualified means you have been schooled and certified to work on ski bindings. I watched Dan do a release check on a set of bindings and as these pictures show there is much more to a binding check than cranking down screws.