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Ski Tech RANT!

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B.Lyfe
Posts: 624 - Karma: 116
I have to just vent, I've been a tech for 7+ years now, I ski park, big mountain and even snowboard. Why are some customers and/or skiers so retarded?

Example 1. Im adjusting boots for a kid. He hands me a size 11.5 ski boot. I ask him what his shoe size is and he says 9. His mother says "he'll grow into it". WTF really? 2.5 sizes in 1 season? not to mention his actual boot size is probably a 8 because his sneakers are already big for him. RETARD

example 2. I just had to adjust a 151 salomon threat for a 13 year old. He weighs 130lbs and has a soul of 307mm. He should be roughly a 4.5 at intermediate. He is marked as an intermediate skier on the paperwork too. What is his old Din setting? 10! he set his own din to 10.

Then these people try to argue with me that they know better and they need high dins. guess what lady your kid can get hit by a mac ~truck at 80mph and his ski isnt coming off. Is that how safe you want it?

This happens all the time, boots 3 sizes too big for kids, and park skiers that think they need an 12-16din binding when their markings as an expert are a 7.

GRAR! anger, hostility towards the opposition... AKA Stupid Skiers

Oct 27 2011 12:28PM
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B-runge
Posts: 16558 - Karma: 361
thats such a stupid comparison im not going to address it
Oct 28 2011 12:40AM
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Casey
Posts: 7847 - Karma: 24,308
I know seriously, the last time my parents didn't buy me what all the cool kids had, I fucking axed them. Straight up man, do it. I bought some full tilts with the life insurance money, never had shin bang again.
Oct 28 2011 1:02AM
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Davy.Crockett
Posts: 5373 - Karma: 324
this website seems really wrong to me...
Oct 28 2011 1:10AM
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strongmark
Posts: 3278 - Karma: 883
my god this thread is frustrating. based on what im hearing most of you know less about skiing than the clueless egghead who tried to sell you the wrong stuff in the first place.

first things first, din setting isnt a matter of the tech's personal preference. there is a chart, and legally, the chart needs to be followed for liability issues.  its not subjective.  if you want your dins higher than said chart says, either a. tell the tech so upon adjusting them and sign off on it, or b. pick up a screwdriver and have at it.  grab some comp 3000's and set er at 26.  but otherwise, quit bitching about it.

and please, for the love of god, stop talking about ski boots on the internet.  its ludicrous.
Oct 28 2011 2:19AM
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seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174
what does he have anything to do with this......?

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Oct 28 2011 9:10AM
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B.Lyfe
Posts: 624 - Karma: 116
yay my rant turned into a boot preference arguement.

stya on topic of things that are obviously wrong. like a 8 year old with 9 din, or wearing 215 straight skis and entering a park comp ><


Oct 28 2011 9:22AM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7479 - Karma: 36,027
would be gnar.
Oct 28 2011 9:56AM
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SFBv420.0
Posts: 2539 - Karma: 3,124
try skiing more ranting less
or I use dried herbs smoked frequently to maintain a positive attitude when dealing with tards
well that and I work for me now
Oct 28 2011 11:31AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
I've been a ski tech since I was 17. Worked in various shops from the SF Bay Area to Oregon to Tahoe. All the shit you're talking about is the same stuff I've seen a thousand times. The foreigners and protective moms are almost always the best one's too... fucking crazy funny hearing them say "I know my kid" or some bullshit like that when you try to explain pretty simple, straightforward things to them in order to help them out..

You just have to try to educate them as much/as best you can about what's up. If they don't want to take your advice, then that's their fault. They'll suffer for it. What sucks is due to their suffering, they might give up on skiing and not return as a customer - and then blame you for it lol. C'est la vie.

To that, I say fuck em... put most of your efforts towards the people that are willing to listen and will surely come back due to that. I had hundreds of returning customers. One guy even tracked me down and came all the way to to my new shop I was working at in Tahoe after I left the Bay Area, just for my bootfitting expertise. (I suppose it's not that crazy, since he was skiing in Tahoe anyways, but still an ego-booster)

Just gotta go with the flow, shrug your shoulders when they don't want to listen, rather than getting flustered. It sometimes even puts them on their back heels and makes them believe "Oh shit, this guy might know what the fuck he's talking about, because he doesn't give so much as a FUCK to argue with me right now, possibly because i'm fucking talking out of my ass". It's a weird psychology.
Oct 28 2011 11:44AM
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Boggs
Posts: 1039 - Karma: 208
You're either:
A) 500 lbs (fatty)
B) bad at sarcasm
C) a troll
D) all of the above
Oct 28 2011 11:47AM
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.RYAN66
Posts: 5381 - Karma: 235
ill take D
Oct 28 2011 11:51AM
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Lord.Quasimoto
Posts: 958 - Karma: 33
mostly b with a little c. also,

e) a better skier then 99% of ski techs
Oct 28 2011 11:56AM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Oh, and as for din settings... yeah... don't worry about when they set their shit too high on their own. Even I set my shit WAAAY higher than it should be depending on the bindings I'm using.

My Tyrolias and my Rossignols? Yeah.. I basically crank it up to about 8.5-9 rather than 7.5 where it would be as a "type 3 skier". However, I pop out of those things like crazy when set to the correct ASTM setting, so, I figure going off huge jumps and cliffs qualifies me for the unknown "type 4" haha.

However, My light, all-plastic Salomons Z12's? Those things pre-release when I set them at 9 or 10. I have to crank them to 11 just to get the kind of retaining qualities I want. Is it safe? ehhh probably not. But I seem to pop out of them at the right time (when I actually do come out of them), so I figure that's a good indicator.

I have set many bindings at 12 and 13 for the insane dudes who REALLY want me to, and don't give a fuck about their knees.. You just have to make them sign a waiver saying you're off the hook for liability based on the fact that they asked for you to do something off standard ASTM code.
Oct 28 2011 11:57AM
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Boggs
Posts: 1039 - Karma: 208
That's irrelevant though, I'm not saying your wrong to set them higher, but calling techs morons for setting bindings where they legally have to is wrong. There isn't a shop in my city that would set them higher even with a waiver. It's just too risky legally. Tech skiing ability has nothing to do with it.
Oct 28 2011 12:13PM
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BskiP
Posts: 1369 - Karma: 223
As much as the ski industry wants you to believe that bindings all release they same, they absolutely do not.  They may have the same DIN which requires the same amount of force to eject, but what most people don't realize is how  your binding is made and what it is made out of make a huge difference as well.  Metal bindings will hold you in more consistently than a plastic binding at the same din.  Most people do not need a 15 or 18 DIN binding, but considering that they are made of mostly metal rather than mostly plastic makes all the difference in the world! If you have had a problem with bindings breaking, odds are you are on some crap binding that is made of plastic. Park skiers need to be on metal bindings. Jesters rather than griffons, the 14-18 range Rossi Tyrolia and Salomon bindings rather than the 12 (If you are full grown, not a kid.) Keep that in mind when you are buying bindings, its worth the extra cash IMO.

As far as forward pressure goes and setting your own din, do not mess with that shit unless you know what you are doing.  Seriously, come talk to us in a shop. Shops charge 5 or 10 bucks for this stuff, but we are stoked to help you learn this stuff. I've been in a shop for 5 years, before that I was in there every day all ski season long bugging the shit out of the techs about everything.  Yea, they probably got pissed off at a 14 year old kid asking what everything did everywhere in the shop, and asking some really dumb questions, but did it teach me everything i needed to know to be a ski tech that knows enough to do anything i need to in any shop anywhere.  It also got me a good job a few years down the road.

As far as setting your own DIN be careful.  I was rocking a 13-15 most of the season on my fat skis, ejected a handful of times and no problems at all.  I was rocking a 10 (which is my recommended 3+ setting) on my park skis, and tore my acl this past April on those skis.  Accidents do happen, even with the correct DIN. My best recommendation for setting your dins higher than recommended would be just a little bit at a time. If you keep popping out at 8, take it into the shop, learn about forward pressure, and crank it to an 8.5. if thats still a problem, go 9. Realize that you still want your ski to come off, so set it accordingly.  Finding the DIN that will keep you in when you are in control, but eject you when you are not is what you are looking for. Hopefully this helps some people out, hit me up or anyone else in the thread with shop experience with questions, I know I would be down to help rather than see someone jack their knee or leg or whatever.
Oct 28 2011 12:31PM
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thejosh81
Posts: 10 - Karma: 12
what shop in CT do you work at?
Oct 28 2011 12:48PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
thank you for going completely in depth as far as my reasoning to have different bindings set to different dins. Lol.
Oct 28 2011 12:49PM
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Lord.Quasimoto
Posts: 958 - Karma: 33
this guy knows whats up. everything you said is 100% correct.
Oct 28 2011 12:53PM
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,085
Bingo.

Every binding I've ever bought feels like trying something new and learning where it will release, but the metal tend to be comfy at 10 and plastic around 12. But I arrived at both of those by starting lower, skiing hard, and adjusting a little at a time as I saw what would cause them to release and what wouldn't.


Oct 28 2011 1:15PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
are you kidding?? whne did i say i needed to have anything to do with full tilts? or anything about cool gear? im not a trendwhore at all and buy my stuff based on my funds and weather or not it works for me, not if its popular!
Oct 28 2011 1:52PM
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snocompton
Posts: 2014 - Karma: 268
dont really see what the problem is with the din as your shop should be testing and setting it to the industry standards and because of liability. 

like my shop wont even consider setting din to someones preference as we are help completely 100% accountable for any binding work for up to 5 years. 
Oct 28 2011 3:28PM
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Casey
Posts: 7847 - Karma: 24,308
Yeah I was kind of kidding, sorry
Oct 28 2011 4:38PM
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hotdog.garbage
Posts: 1854 - Karma: 10
bullshit. if you even are a ski tech, you sure havent been doing it for '7+ years'. By now you would know how to deal with people who arent professionals like yourself. You wouldnt complain about kids parents requesting bigger boots. selling boots to most people is like teaching special ed. People are welcome to fuck with their DIN settings after they leave the shop. you dont make any decisions, you just set it up according to their stats. And if people really want to get proper release values, you should have your bindings calibrated. Just because your bindings are set at 12 doesnt mean theyll release at 12.
Oct 28 2011 10:14PM
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SNOWPARKCHlLE
Posts: 2047 - Karma: 6,727
lj
Oct 28 2011 10:22PM
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Thenowhereman42
Posts: 5682 - Karma: 65
My DIN at expert is set to 8 but my damn skis kept coming off so i cranked those bitches to 12. Maybe the 13 year old's damn skis kept coming off?

Do people ever bring you beer? Cause when I need work done I bring the guy a 6 pack to skip the line and get it done right then.
Oct 28 2011 11:59PM
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SFBv420.0
Posts: 2539 - Karma: 3,124
[rant]MY NEW ASSISTANT PEED ON MY BENCH[/rant]
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never trust a clean shop and the best ski techs haz chinese eyes
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Oct 29 2011 8:08AM
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idskithat
Posts: 1314 - Karma: 154
whats foreward pressure? and how can adjusting din mess it up?
Oct 29 2011 8:37AM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
lol at kids on this website who think that a boot having 4 buckles makes it a race boot.
Oct 29 2011 9:23AM
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B.Lyfe
Posts: 624 - Karma: 116
its always funny to hear others stories of idiots in shops. +K too all


Oct 31 2011 12:26PM
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,054
no kid on here needs to ski with their din higher than 11. i used to think i needed to be at 15 at all times, and an acl and two meniscus tears later i now ski at a 10.

unless you're doing a comp and want your skis to stay on no matter what. aside from that, do your day to day riding at a lower din and save your knees.
Oct 31 2011 12:35PM
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bigolrig
Posts: 572 - Karma: 14
One think that i hate and especially makes me cringe because I'm a ski tech and have detuned 1000+ pairs of skis, is when people drag their edges across the parking lot, concrete, and inside of lodges, it will make you turn weird as fuck, it will make your skis last like half as long as they should and you probably bought a wax and sharpen before and you effectible ruined any work a tech did on your skis... like jesus fucking christ stop dragging the edges of your $500 pair of skis and take care of your equipment, the better you take care of your equipment, the better your equpiment takes care of you. its that simple.

P.s. wax your shit more than once a season, if your base looks chalky at all, wax it.
Oct 31 2011 3:32PM
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B-runge
Posts: 16558 - Karma: 361
shit^
Oct 31 2011 4:42PM
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Evilchris
Posts: 2090 - Karma: 44
So I'm 200 lbs, 318 BSL, type 3/3+ skier out in Utah for a week, I rented a set of 181 surface live lifes from canyon sports(?). They tried to set my DIN to a 6! Even my dad laughed. I had to sign a form just for them to set it as a 7. About an hour and a half into my first day I was up to an 8.5 after a bunch of stupid releases. I couldn't even imagine skiing on a 6
Oct 31 2011 6:18PM
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B.Lyfe
Posts: 624 - Karma: 116
Congrats hotdog on the most ignorant post in this thread. I've probably been a ski tech longer than mommy and daddy have been buying your after bangs. Evil Chris. There are exceptions. But in my examples they customers were clearly idiots. I ride a higher din then the chart too. Yes I release less but at the cost of increasing injury. U can ski a din of 15 your entire life. And someone could tear an acl at 5.5. But your risk chances are higher.
Oct 31 2011 7:06PM
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.RYAN66
Posts: 5381 - Karma: 235
this.
Oct 31 2011 9:42PM
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Evilchris
Posts: 2090 - Karma: 44
The shop tried to set me 1din lower than the recomend For type
Nov 2 2011 1:07PM
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Evilchris
Posts: 2090 - Karma: 44
III. by Stupid releases I mean doing things like stomping an 8th
Nov 2 2011 1:08PM
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Evilchris
Posts: 2090 - Karma: 44
An 8ft cliff with a bit of speed into slightly soft snow and just having one ski release on impact. Stupid stuff. I bumped my din up in .5 increments. I just don't understand why they would set me below the recommended
Nov 2 2011 1:11PM
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phelps
Posts: 636 - Karma: 60
.

+your name is perfect for this
Nov 2 2011 1:13PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
This thread soothes me.
Nov 2 2011 1:34PM
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Mr.Turtle
Posts: 3690 - Karma: 96
first rule of economics is theres no such thing as free lunch
Nov 2 2011 1:43PM
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andstuff
Posts: 1118 - Karma: 61
I used to be a ski tech also.

I would also have friends come in with gear and ask for high DINs. These are people charging AK lines and I know for a fact they need a high DIN, but I'd still tell them to crank it themselves because I'm not allowed.

I'd also have 120 lb. cocky little rail rats who ski with their SPKs unbuckled come in and demand their DIN be set at 15. I always had the same response to these stupid customers:

"Legally, I can only set it this way. However if you want to tamper with it when you leave the shop and destroy your body as a result, be my guest. I really couldn't care less."
Nov 2 2011 1:51PM
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Gmart
Posts: 1634 - Karma: 273
i love talking to my tech, the shit people write down, me and the guys at work enjoy talking about how stupid people are. My advice is to laugh at the stupidity of these people
Nov 2 2011 3:44PM
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BskiP
Posts: 1369 - Karma: 223
why is this ridiculous? that you are a midget fat kid that needs a 6 din?
Nov 2 2011 3:55PM
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SFBv420.0
Posts: 2539 - Karma: 3,124

YOU do know that now fat midget dude aint gonna buy 4fronts

but you made me laugh so I might

Nov 2 2011 4:01PM
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armadaski44
Posts: 481 - Karma: 15

Yeah, this. I think it should be left to my disgression what I want my din set at, ive had techs fuck me around and set it lower and Ive popped while bombing big mogul runs and nearly broke my fucking leg. Im not some fucking retard I honestly have the din chart memorized. That being said, im not going to crank my din to a 14 cuz im a jerkoff who thinks hes tough either. aka...fuck techs and retards in general

Nov 2 2011 4:13PM
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BskiP
Posts: 1369 - Karma: 223
Hey dipshit, its not any techs fault that you dont know what your din is set at in a field of moguls. take some responsibility for your own actions! especially if you "know what you are doing". That aside, the techs have to protect themselves and the shops. we set the din to the recommended setting because we have to, its a legal issue rather than how awesome we think you are. Honestly, anyone that comes in asking me to crank their din up because they "shred so hard" is a dumbass. if you know how din works, and that you need a higher one, you wont come bothering the shop guys to do it. Especially "if you know what you are talking about" have fun with a new acl taken out of your hamstring for your 13th birthday. dont be stupid!
Nov 7 2011 4:30AM
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jack.whelan
Posts: 1504 - Karma: 122
Loads of Europeans are wondering what the fuck this is all about. We get weighed, techy does his shit, that's that. If you have a problem, explain it to the guy, make changes. Simple. The real moral of the story, is that lawsuits are silly.
Nov 7 2011 6:08AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Learn to ski.
You're not gonna prerelease if you have the right technique at DIN 10 unless you're fucking fat and weigh 290 pounds.

Or maybe your binding is to wide, then you should just adjust it.
Nov 7 2011 6:27AM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6656 - Karma: 10,862
THIS.

In order to be covered by the binding manufacturer's indemnification policy, shops have to set your bindings at their recommended level. They can't and shouldn't do anything but that. If you want to change it afterwards, that is your decision. But don't blame a shop for something they are obliged to do.
Nov 7 2011 7:22AM
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