PSA: Mount your own fucking skis.

[John_B]

Are those two different single skis? If not how'd you end up with 2 different top sheets?

[Timberridge]

"Hey Honey! Had some time down at the slaughterhouse before the next trailer arrived so I mounted your skis"

[pfluffenmeister]

Are those two different single skis? If not how'd you end up with 2 different top sheets?

2 separate pairs.

Hello overlap (I mean back-up).

[XXX-er]

I've mounted several pairs, but this was by far the hardest and scariest due to the lack of templates. Confusingly, the heels on both ended up slightly off center, which is grating on me, but I'm pretty sure they'll ski fine.

Figure out where you want the boot center mark to be on the ski

First mount the heels DEAD center

Second mount the toe also at dead center but by ONE screw only so the boot can rotate about the screw

Lock the boot into the toe piece and click the boot heel down into ski mode

Mark the 3 or 4 holes in the toe piece, rotate the binding out of the way so you can drill then screw

Your boot will be dead center ... this does not have to be rocket biology

[buttahflake]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

[counterfeitfake]

Are you poor?

Yes. Are you a dentist?

[counterfeitfake]

Figure out where you want the boot center mark to be on the ski

First mount the heels DEAD center

Second mount the toe also at dead center but by ONE screw only so the boot can rotate about the screw

Lock the boot into the toe piece and click the boot heel down into ski mode

Mark the 3 or 4 holes in the toe piece, rotate the binding out of the way so you can drill then screw

Your boot will be dead center ... this does not have to be rocket biology

WTF, heels first? This might be a great idea but I didn't see it suggested anywhere, everyone said toes first.

[detrusor]

Are those two different single skis? If not how'd you end up with 2 different top sheets?

Wife's rock skis and new skis. Had to change out to WTR since she got some new Lange 130 free tours under the xmas tree.

[XXX-er]

Yeah so how's that working for Ya?

So I asked the local ski store owner and buddy said mount the heel dead center then the toe dead center then pivot the binding to where the boot wants to lock down which makes complete sense to me

Or you can download a piece of paper which you hope is the correct one, hope it's hasn't shrunk, hope it doesn't shift , drill some holes ... hope for the best

What IS harder to decide is where exactly fore/aft to put the toe & heel piece, so I mark boot center on the boot, clip the boot in, using a T square line boot center up with the ski center line I wana use and mark my toe position, figure out how much adj. I wana leave for the heel piece and mount the heel piece dead center

This method works well on a frame binding like the FR+ that is supposed to drop cleanly into the heel piece,

If a ski I'm pulling bindings off of was jig mounted at a shop I can save some figuring by measuring the spacing of the holes in the old ski with a tape measure

[John_B]

Wife's rock skis and new skis. Had to change out to WTR since she got some new Lange 130 free tours under the xmas tree.

Ahh. Missed that they were pairs, vs two singles.

[shoo]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

Did you not read the thread title? Why are you even in this thread?

And yes, I am technically poor (grad school). My current entire ski (AT) setup, including skis (BD currents), bindings (Fristchi Vipecs), boots (La Sportiva Spectres), poles (Komperdell T3), and skins (G3 Momix), came in at less than $750, purchased over the course of about a year as deals came up.

Paying $60-75 is a substantial cost for me (10% of the cost of the whole rig), so I did it myself, with tools I already have, with great results. I'll post a pic soon.

[ticketchecker]

Sometimes I mount, sometimes I give shop boyz beer, sometimes I pay.

It's all good

[Meadow Skipper]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

GFYS

[nyskirat]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

What happens when the only option is a box store like REI? Or when the local mountain store doesn't carry the jig required for AT bindings? Or when the shop technician has never mounted AT bindings? Or when you want to have inserts installed?

[zartagen]

I have had 100% failure rate for shop mounted skis. And 100% success for mounting myself with paper templates for ~10 pairs. We get it buttflake, you're not handy.

Mount your own fucking skis.

[zartagen]

As for tech bindings, I go toe first (loosely). Mark the center of the heel and the centerline of the ski, line up, then tighten screws. Then mount heel dead center and check boot alignment before tightening. This has worked on 5 pairs for me.

So I'm clearly the best ski mounter on the internet.

[galibier_numero_un]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

Poverty has nothing to do with it. In most (not all) situations, the person gifted the requisite number of thumbs at birth (and no more than that) will do a fine job. Yes, there's potentially a learning curve but the fact that the individual isn't "banging out production" means that they're paying attention. They care about the quality of their work.

None of this is intended to denigrate the competent ski techs, but at the same time, how do you know if the guy mounting your skis is someone whom you'd want to do the job?

Me? I get into a zen-like calm when mounting, tuning, and waxing skis. It's its own reward. If I screw up a mount (never happened, but let's allow for the possibility), I'll know it and have an exit strategy. If a shop screws up, they likely bury their mistakes and you'll find out at the worst possible time.

... Thom

[galibier_numero_un]

As for tech bindings, I go toe first (loosely). Mark the center of the heel and the centerline of the ski, line up, then tighten screws. Then mount heel dead center and check boot alignment before tightening. This has worked on 5 pairs for me.

So I'm clearly the best ski mounter on the internet.

Since I started pre-marking the template holes with a push-pin, my center-punches have been dead-on accurate, and I have minimal to zero finagling for tech binding toe orientation. Related to this, I mark my centerline over a 36" length (a meter to you guys in the civilized world) which minimizes centering issues in the area of interest.

... Thom

[buttahflake]

Pretty serious in here, amirite?

[NW_SKIER]

I read this entire thread before I ever mounted my skis. That makes me an expert.

[Kopi_Red]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

Are you serious???

Go take a lap.

[NW_SKIER]

Satisfied skier who has used my expert services multiple times ^^^

It ain't rocket science butt flake

[3PinGrin]

Or take it to a shop and have a trained technician, mount it with a jig, for $60.
Quit sweating it and miss-mounting skis at home, maggots.
Are you poor?

It's not about the money. It's about quality of work and wanting to be sure that when you are hitting high speeds you aren't looking down at your bindings wondering who mounted them and if they really gave a rats ass about attention to detail.

Mounting bindings is one of the easier things I have done in my life. Why the hell would I pay someone else to do it?

Edit to add: never look down at your bindings at high speeds

[shoo]

Pretty serious in here, amirite?

If you have to end your "joke" with "I am joking," chances are, it's not the audience that's the problem. But in any case, as promised.



The mountain adventure rig. Made to skin up to ice climbing, run ice solo laps on easy terrain, and ski back to the car before the sun goes away. 2nd home mount ever. Took a couple of resort test days to make sure the bindings didn't rip off (they didn't). Paid something along the lines of 40% of the retail price (i.e. 60% off) for all this gear over a few years. Excited to bring them out to the real mountains.

[Meadow Skipper]

^^^Nice art direction.