Do Your Bindings Tighten in Extremely Cold Conditions

[BlizzardBabe]

Lately we’ve had single digits and subzero windchills in the early morning. I’ve been having a hell of a time stepping into my bindings, particularly on the left. My left knee is a bit strained and I thought it was due to this, but my right ski is more difficult than usual as well. This has me suspecting that it has something to do with the cold temps. I’ve never experienced this before and it has me curious.

 

[Aerlind]

While I haven't experienced this specifically, I'd guess "probably". Switch feet on your skis to see if it's independent of which ski is on which foot?

I say "probably" because I can tell you, from living in Montana, everything is harder in the cold. The latches on my gates stick. The plastic boots I use for my horse (in place of shoes) are stiffer and harder to get on. If it's extremely cold, even my car is a bit stiff, until it warms up: and if it's 30 below, the clutch hydraulic just doesn't work.....rev shifting for the win there!

If you bring your skis inside for a day or two and then step in them in your living room or whatever, do you have the same issue? If not, it's likely temperature related. If so, check for dirt or other gunk!

 

[BlizzardBabe]

If you bring your skis inside for a day or two and then step in them in your living room or whatever, do you have the same issue? If not, it's likely temperature related. If so, check for dirt or other gunk!

I brought them home with me so I could try this very thing.

 

[Verve]

It’s been very cold in VT as you know and I’ve done some release checks at my ski shop on very cold bindings. What can sometimes happen is that the binding “freezes” in the disengaged (ie. No boot position) which snow or ice packed into it. Usually, once I muscle the boot into it, snow and ice go flying out of the heel piece and it’s easier to get it back in the next time. I haven’t had a binding fail a release check for being cold - they’re designed to function at extreme temps - but I have needed warm a few up before I could work with them.

Are you able to take your skis inside at night? It’s a little extra work but if you push down and pull up your heel piece several times to loosen it up in the lodge before your first click in outside it might help?

It may not be relevant but some bindings are notoriously harder step ins (looking at you, older Marker Griffons) and these conditions just add to that as does any snow build up on your toes and heels.

 

[Jilly]

Along the same lines as @Verve is mentioning is that warm boots and a cold snow surface do not get along. So there can snow build up on the bottom of the boot. This needs to be scraped off to get the boot into the binding. This has happened to me many times this season. Doesn't go well when you're with a Rossi rep and you can't get into your binding. "it's OK, "P", I know what's wrong. Give me a minute" is all I say.

And along the same lines too, I'm having issues getting my boots off. Takes about 10 min after I get in the door. Hopefully these -20C temps are history for this season.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Thanx @Verve. I'm very meticulous about cleaning the snow and ice from my bindings once I'm done for the day. I use a long, stiff bristle brush and a towel. I also never leave my skis in the car overnight. That said, I store them each night in the garage - which is not heated. My drive up to the ski area from the house is about 3 minutes, so they don't have time to warm up in the car.

Are there hidden crevices in the heel piece, perhaps, where snow/ice can hide from my brush and freeze hard overnight? I've never dissected a binding, so I'm clueless re the actual construction. Plus, we've never in my memory had sustained low temps in Central Virginia like those we've been experiencing.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Thanx @Jilly. My first move is always to clean my boot soles. I have a heated boot bag to keep the shells as hot as I can to make Zipfit entry as easy as possible. I do get more snow adherence on the soles now, but I make sure they are always clean before I step in.

Getting boots off is another issue in this cold. Not what I'd call a "struggle" but much harder to extricate the Zipfits than it is in warmer temps.

 

[Aerlind]

That said, I store them each night in the garage - which is not heated. My drive up to the ski area from the house is about 3 minutes, so they don't have time to warm up in the car.

Not a quick solution, but I HIGHLY recommend adding a heater to your garage if you have the means to do so. Mine was built with a fairly substantial heater (the "Hot Dawg" propane kind, set to a thermostat) and I LOVE it. No cold cars even on subzero mornings. Ability to store anything, which is really nice because my kitchen pantry is pretty small. I can kick up the temperature, pull my car out, and wax skis in an environment where I don't care about scraping wax everywhere and ALSO not freeze doing so. I have it set to 46 unless I'm working in there, and honestly, the cost of heating it isn't substantial. My cabin is also heated exclusively with propane (radiant floor) and I use about 800gal of propane each winter, unless it's EXTREMELY cold, between the garage and cabin.

 

[Verve]

@BlizzardBabe I'm impressed with how meticulous you are about cleaning them off! Trust me, we see a lot of mistreated gear at the shop so always cool to see someone really take care.

What binding do you have? The usual spots would be back behind the heel - the lever moves up and down and the housing of the binding slides on a track. Since you're already doing a thorough brush off, I recommend cleaning your bindings in both positions - with lever up and down. And maybe try storing them in the opposite orientation to see if that helps? You've had them release checked recently, I am guessing?

 

[marzNC]

Are there hidden crevices in the heel piece, perhaps, where snow/ice can hide from my brush and freeze hard overnight? I've never dissected a binding, so I'm clueless re the actual construction. Plus, we've never in my memory had sustained low temps in Central Virginia like those we've been experiencing.

The bindings on my AJs froze up on me at Sunday River one time. I'd skied somewhere farther south aon the way to SR and left the skis in the car. I'd ridden up the gondola and couldn't click in. Rode back down. The repair shop tech immediately suspected ice inside the binding. I stayed inside with my skis sitting in the rental shop, using my hands to warm up the bindings. Solved the problem!

After that experience, I started taking those skis indoors overnight when it was going to be cold enough to freeze stuff in the car. In that case, the water could be seen inside the bindings so no way to wipe it dry.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

@BlizzardBabe I'm impressed with how meticulous you are about cleaning them off! Trust me, we see a lot of mistreated gear at the shop so always cool to see someone really take care.

What binding do you have? The usual spots would be back behind the heel - the lever moves up and down and the housing of the binding slides on a track. Since you're already doing a thorough brush off, I recommend cleaning your bindings in both positions - with lever up and down. And maybe try storing them in the opposite orientation to see if that helps? You've had them release checked recently, I am guessing?

The skis are the 2025 Stockli Montero AS. Purchased new during the summer. They have the system binding. My next step was a release check, but I wanted to rule out the cold/ice possibility first. I've used them all season and the step-in was easy/normal in the more "normal" temps. I had one fall earlier in the season and (at least one) of the bindings released properly.

Thanx much for the cleaning and storing suggestions! I will do that.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

The bindings on my AJs froze up on me at Sunday River one time. I'd skied somewhere farther south aon the way to SR and left the skis in the car. I'd ridden up the gondola and couldn't click in. Rode back down. The repair shop tech immediately suspected ice inside the binding. I stayed inside with my skis sitting in the rental shop, using my hands to warm up the bindings. Solved the problem!

After that experience, I started taking those skis indoors overnight when it was going to be cold enough to freeze stuff in the car. In that case, the water could be seen inside the bindings so no way to wipe it dry.

FYI, the shop at Massanutten, at least, keeps a blow dryer handy for just that situation. Ask me how I know . . .

 

[marzNC]

FYI, the shop at Massanutten, at least, keeps a blow dryer handy for just that situation. Ask me how I know . . .

The SR repair shop sent me to the rental shop. But they didn't have a blow dryer. Didn't take that long for me to melt enough ice inside the binding for me to step in . . . checked inside before going back out into the cold.