Ski binding plate and close-call!

Last year, I remounted on a set of Salomon skis, a pair of Look bindings originally sitting on a Dynastar Autodrive plate.

Since I could use more height and more leverage, I thought it was a good idea to keep the plate, but I had somehow discarded the old flat head screws designed to slide or “float” inside a pair of rails, when the ski was bending. I replaced them with regular Posidriv screws that I tightened to the skis.

For a full season that worked until the stress on the plate became such that the front screws pulled out at the front on both skis. A smart and attentive lift attendant noticing this at a chairlift top station told me about it and I promptly interrupted my ski day, went home, removed the plate and re-installed the binding.

Glad this guy caught the problem and happy to realize that a binding plate always need longitudinal room to adjust!