Field repair of pulled bindings

reports of bindings pulling out seem on the increase. On long trips this could a real problem. Drilling new holes for remounting in the field can be done (rather slowly) with "the Mountin Tool" which weighs an once or two, comes in a film canister, and is sold by Marmot in Bellevue.

pic of Mountin Tool here: www.flickr.com/photos/wotanofballard/5825997236/in/photostream

I've always had good luck with duct tape or athletic tape for downhill mode. I've done this 3 times in the backcountry. Touring mode is lost, which could be a big deal on a long traverse.

I'll have to check out that kit. Thanks!

These days I carry a "snowboard tool" along with a Posi-Drive tip, hex driven drill bit (like that shown in the kit) along with some extra screws, steel wool, 5 minute epoxy, a collection of zip ties, some T-Nuts and matching screws and a small coil of "electric fence" wire. I wrap a 1/2 inch thickness of duct tape in two places on each ski pole just below the handle (which also makes a useful "choke up" hand hold) The "snowboard tool" is ratcheted and has a comfy grip -- so if I ever did have to drill some holes it would be less tedious and easier on the wrists. The T=Nuts are the ultimate ripped out screws repair and have the advantage of not having to relocate the binding.

Funny thing is, the last time I field repaired my own gear was maybe ten years ago when I was still skiing on 3 pins mounted straight on the ski -- since I switch bindings with a four or more hole mounting pattern -- the repair kit has only come out to fix my companions bindings.

I've have busted other gear since then -- but only lift skiing -- where I ski faster, go off jumps and other stupid things and thus crash much more frequently.

A friend recently showed me a photo of a Dynafit toe reattached using a large hose clamp. Several people have posted pictures of repairs using Voile straps.

If you don't lose the screws when the toe-piece pulls out, it seems like you could reinsert them in the stripped holes and then use some sort of clamp or strap to hold the binding down. Even with the holes stripped, the screws ought to keep the binding from shifting around, which is the key thing that a strap/clamp can't do as well.

So, I've been thinking that strapping/clamping, with maybe a few extra screws available, might be the best field repair method, since it should be a lot quicker than drilling new holes. I've added more strapping/clamping elements to my repair kit. I hope I never need them.

I took the hose clamps I bought the other day and tried to see how to make them work. The photos below show the best arrangement I came up with. If anybody else has a better scheme, I'd be eager to hear it. If you pre-bend the hose clamp as shown below, this fix is very quick to apply.

The Tools:


Hose clamp before and after custom fitting to my ski:


Basic repair - hose clamp only:


Deluxe repair - hose clamp plus Voile strap:


If the boot fits - ski it!


This fix assumes that you didn't lose the screws, so you can screw them back in the stripped holes to keep the binding from sliding around.

I like the idea of using hose clamps because the ski edge won't cut them, but I'm not sure it's really that much of a problem.

I tried using a hose clamp for the rear hold-down, but could not figure out how to make it fit well using the clamps that I bought.

I wouldn't be surprised if the single hose clamp alone would get you home, but I haven't tested it.

Though it looks like the hose clamp should prevent the binding from opening, it doesn't. I can still click the boot in and out of the binding with the clamp in place.

This advice is worth what you paid for it!