Backcountry Ski Binding Senior Design Project

University of Utah 

One look at the backcountry ski binding market by an agressive, all mountain skier, and the deficiencies will become very apparent. Many are notorious for breaking and not having a high DIN setting.

During my senior year in the mechanical engineering program at the University of Utah my senior design team members Angelo Diaz, Jeff Johnson, and I designed and built a Backcoutnry Ski Binding to address these issues.

We wanted to design a binding that could perform the following functions:

- Durable and robust to take the hardest hits skiing
- DIN range of 8-16 to reduce the probability of pre-release
- Wider footprint to handle wider skis
- Enable uphill hiking and transisition between downhill and uphill modes without removing the ski or any binding components
- A variable pivot point in the climbing mechanism for more effectient hiking and power transmission
- Maintain a 90 degree range of motion during hiking

Skiing Video

Hiking Video

Climbing Mode Features:

Collapsable four-bar linkage system. An obivous revision would be to have a single pivot point at the toe. The addition of this linkage was a requirement added by the engineering department for this project.

Locking quick release levers hold the heel down and the linkage in the uphill position.

Skiing Mode

DIN Design

TOE: Dual Symetrical Cam

- DIN Range: 8-14

- To enable greater range of motion Hiking

- Greater DIN Range

- 103mm Wide footprint for VERY increased performance with wide skis

HEEL: Race Binding Design = More travel before binding Release
 

Thanks to Bluehouse Skis  for Donating skis to test the bindings out!

Bluehouseskis.com