Last year, I was lucky enough to get a new pair of skis from my parents for Christmas. While they were an amazing gift I wasn’t sure if my ski boots would fit them. Before bringing them home, I wondered – are ski bindings universal?
Modern ski bindings are compatible with any pair of skis as long as their brake width exceeds the ski’s waist width. However, ski bindings will need to be paired with ski boots of the same type, either alpine, alpine touring, or telemark, to ensure compatibility.
But what kinds of bindings are there in the wild world of skiing? How do you know if you’ve bought matching boots for your bindings? This article will answer all your questions about ski boots and bindings!
Can Any Binding Fit Any Ski?
The short answer is no, not not all bindings will fit every ski.
To find the correct ski binding for your skis, you must determine a few factors:
- Brake width
- DIN
- Construction
Brake width can be reasonably quickly determined by looking up your ski brand. DIN is a little more complicated, and you might have to talk to a shop technician.
Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail.
Brake Width
If you take a look at your favorite pair of skis, you might notice two little arms or wings coming off the back of your binding. When your boots aren’t in your bindings, they point down. But as soon as you put your boots in your bindings, they spring right up!
These are referred to as your ski brakes. No, they can’t stop you on a dime if you get in trouble on the slopes, but they do have a useful function that keeps your skis from sliding away when you park yourself and decide to disengage.
When those arms swing down, they lock themselves into the snow and hold your skis in place. This way, you won’t have to go running after your skis!
The distance between these two arms is called your ‘brake width.’
If you buy bindings with too small a brake width, the brakes will obstruct your ability to attach your bindings. Too large, and you might have problems navigating around the brakes as you ski.
Your brake width is going to be determined by your waist width. No, put the tape measure away. I’m not talking about your pant size here….
In this case, waist width is the total width of your skis!
As you could probably imagine, you need to buy bindings with a brake width slightly larger than your skis’ waist width. This way, they can make contact with the snow without obstructing your mobility.
For example, if your skis have a waist width of 75 mm, you’ll need to buy bindings with a brake width of 76 mm or larger. Generally, you should not get anywhere higher than 14 mm above your waist width.
DIN
This one’s a little more complicated, and you’ll probably need a technician to help you when deciding what DIN your bindings are going to have.
DIN stands for Deutsches Institut für Normung or German Institute for Standardization. It’s alright if you can’t pronounce that, neither can I!
DIN setting is determined based on your weight, height, and skill level in skiing. As you can probably imagine, DIN will be different for everyone.
It’s best to consult a shop technician because even if a friend has equal weight and height to you, they still may have a different DIN setting because of their skill level.
Durability
Another essential factor for determining what kind of bindings you need is durability. The durability required of your bindings largely depends on what type of skiing you’ll be doing and how often you’ll be doing it.
For advanced and expert skiers, you’ll need more durable construction. Going skiing often means more wear on your bindings, which can cause problems if you want to keep skiing as often as you do.
Intermediate skiers will get along just fine with bindings of moderate durability. If you frequently find yourself on the slopes or the trail but don’t have time to do it every day, you’ll find moderately durable bindings completely satisfactory.
Finally, we have low durability. While it may sound silly to buy anything with low durability, the case changes when you’re skiing.
High-durability bindings for experts and instructors will be very expensive, so if you go skiing perhaps once or twice per winter, you’ll be fine with less durable bindings.
Types of Bindings
There are three primary types of bindings nowadays. These bindings are alpine, alpine touring, and telemark.
If you buy alpine bindings, you must have alpine boots. However, there are bindings with alpine and alpine touring interchangeability.
Type #1: Alpine Touring Bindings
The first thing you need to know about alpine touring bindings is that there are two primary types.
For backcountry skiers, frame bindings work perfectly. If you want to go to some serious backcountry, wholly unmarked and untoured, tech bindings will work better.
Let’s dig into each of those a little further!
Alpine Touring – Tech Bindings
Tech bindings are best for skiers who want to do some exceptionally challenging touring. If you’re into unmarked regions with deeply challenging terrain, tech bindings are for you.
In general, despite the differing uses, these bindings will cost you about the same amount of money as a frame binding. That being said, depending on the durability and quality, you might run up a higher price tag.
My tech bindings work great for whatever backcountry touring I decide to do and have gotten me through many challenging trails.
Alpine Touring – Frame Bindings
Frame alpine touring bindings are likely to fit both alpine and alpine touring boots, making them very versatile. These are also for backcountry touring, with significant differences between themselves and tech frames.
Frame bindings have a baseplate and frame that link their toe and heel. Their bindings pivot to free up your heels for climbing and lock in place during descents, providing you with the kind of performance you’d usually get out of alpine bindings.
These bindings are great if you want to have a smooth ride in light backcountry settings.
Type #2: Alpine Bindings
These bindings work best for in-resort skiing experiences. If you’re the kind of person who likes to hit the slopes for a leisurely downhill ski, you’ll want a pair of alpine bindings.
I generally use my alpine bindings for skiing trips with friends who aren’t as experienced in skiing and will need to stick to the slopes. I prefer the backcountry, but it’s a worthy sacrifice for a fun day with friends.
Alpine bindings have one notably beneficial function- they’re made to release during a fall based on their DIN number. This means that newer skiers having trouble staying up won’t have to worry about staying stuck to their skis during a fall.
Trust me- this is a good thing, even if you do have to go searching for your skis afterward. You do not want to feel a pair of skis wrenching your ankles forward as you topple backward. It’s a real killer.
You’ll also be satisfied to know that alpine bindings often come with adjustable platform widths to accommodate the ever-growing width of modern skis. This means that a pair of alpine bindings will likely fit your snowboard-esque skis just fine.
Just remember to consult a technician if you’re in doubt.
Type #3: Telemark Bindings
Telemark bindings are an age-old ski binding that frees the heel for a versatile skiing experience.
If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to limit themselves to one skiing environment on a given day, a pair of telemark bindings will serve you well. With a pair of these babies, you’ll be able to transfer between backcountry and slope settings with ease.
I generally use my tech alpine touring bindings on long ski-days, but that’s just because of my terrain preferences. If you like to switch or want to accommodate for less experienced friends while still having some challenging fun yourself, these are your bindings.
These bindings will usually require a particular type of boot called telemark or “tel” boots for short.
So, despite how cool they look, you’ll generally want to go with alpine bindings for alpine boots. They are, however, universal for telemark boots.
Do All Boots Fit All Bindings?
Usually, boots will only fit matching bindings, meaning that telemarks fit telemarks, and alpines fit alpines.
However, if you’ve got a pair of telemark boots, feel free to choose your telemark bindings based on style alone (well, after you’ve considered brake width and DIN).
Bindings are universally compatible in their subtype, so you don’t have to worry after you’ve got a matching boot.
There is some compatibility between alpine and alpine touring boots, as I mentioned above. You can ask your local shop technician which brands have interchangeability or do a quick search on google.
All in All
All in all, boots are universally compatible for their matching binding type.
You may have to buy new boots if your bindings aren’t in the same style, but there is some cross-compatibility depending on the brand.
Bindings are a bit trickier and require some measurements and determining factors to ascertain compatibility.
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