How to Mount Your Own Skis Without a Jig

In this tutorial I will show you step by step of how to mount your own skis without having to go to a shop and without a jig. Mounting your skis does not have to be daunting.
DIY ski mount. One thing I did not mention in this video is to please check the screw size that your ski recommends. It usually will say on the graphic, if it does not, please contact the manufacturer and tell them the make and model of your ski and they should be able to tell you.
When you do this, double check the measurements always, go slow, and you should be fine. Once the fear of drilling in your skis is gone, you will have more confidence to work on your skis yourself.
Music credit: Leavv - Valley chll.to/db1a35ee
0:00 Finding the Center of the Ski
1:10 Explaining the Center Line of a Boot
1:33 My Reasoning for 5cm back from Center for this ski
2:09 Mounting the Toe Piece
5:59 Mounting the Heel Piece

[@lshanny]

Nice guide! When I tell people I mounted my own bindings they usually sound genuinely concerned lol. Just takes a bit of basic carpentry know how to measure out the holes. Not everything needs to be optimized to mm specifications.
I am 100% sure I would never be able to tell the difference between my mount and a jig mount.

[@DanNoakes]

I just pinned your comment. I love everything you are saying.

[@PTMG]

This video made me glad to be a snowboarder

[@ryanonroy]

Dan you put out some great videos, but you miss a ton of stuff on mounting this ski.
if you go outside of ~2cm of the recommended mount point you're effectively outside of the sidecut and camber profile of the ski, making it behave dramatically differently than it was designed for.
Locating the centerline of the ski is fairly challenging to do, and you should outline that you took multiple measurements left to right to make sure you found the center.
For finding the correct position for the bindings for the BSL, you could have looked up, or printed out a paper template from slidewright of binding freedom.
If you use a drill bit that is the size of the holes on the bindings for drilling the holes, you're most likely going to drill a hole in the ski thats too big. This ski takes a 3.4-3.6mm diameter hole, as it doesnt have a sheet of metal in it.
For screw adhesive you should use a waterproof glue, either marine epoxy for folks who are worried about ripping out of their ski, or standard waterproof glue for most mounts. The importance of this is to ensure that you're sealing the core from any moisture getting in during regular use.

[@DanNoakes]

You make great points. The screw size I did mention that in the description of the video. That’s very important. Center line, you’re correct, you have to measure multiple points and connect them. Print out, I don’t like print outs for mounting because it’s easy to have errors from home based printers. Mounting recommendation line, you make point. I asked a guy who worked in design and manufacturing for DPS and he said that they just ski it after making it, and whatever feels right they put the recommendation line. So it’s personal preference he said. I ski a lot better when I’m closer to center.

[@touge242]

Oh look, 2 days after I mounted my new planks. Now just waiting for snow

[@federalmayhem]

Good video! Personally, I'm just going to pay someone that does it every single day with commercial equipment. I'm tired of being an expert at everything lol

[@DanNoakes]

It's daunting at first, but I would recommend trying it. It is not as hard as you think. By doing it, I think it makes you a better skier in a way.

[@17hughsie17]

Jeez.. You don't just measure a ski centre by halving it's length.!.. Not taking rocker and rise, taper etc and ignoring the recommended centre mount point (which takes the former into account) you are just messing up a ski.. Youre are now +6 cms.. Put the bases together and now look how far forward you are on any effective edge negating any benefit of buying such a ski

[@DanNoakes]

82.5 cm was true center. Mounting on the recommended line is not recommended as it’s only a top sheet graphic and it’s often off.
5 cm back from center was the best choice for this case

[@17hughsie17]

Are you saying you adopt this method of mounting to all skis, which doesn't take into account rockers to the top nor tail... Recommended mount points etc are not just top sheet graphics 😁

[@17hughsie17]

It's a new approach to me.. Hey each to their own.. Happy skiing.

[@DanNoakes]

Exactly.
I like less nose because 1. I can swivel a bit more, and 2. I grew up riding park so I like to go switch. 3. I have found that I can ski being closer to center on almost all skis. The only one I was not able to do it on were Voile Chargers because they had a Kevlar plate towards the nose. But I did go as far up as I could toward center.
If you follow the recommendation line, and you like it, do that. Mount it wherever, skiing is more of an art than an absolute.