Cost of mounting bindings

While I will agree with you that $75 per mount is steep ($40-50 is average) there are some reasons behind it and also some benefits for you. For starters, shops obviously have to buy all of the expensive jigs and other tools required to mount bindings but mounting isn't the only thing you are paying for. Most shops are also required by their insurance company to perform a release test on your bindings even if they only doing a mount. So, they have to go through that training, testing, fancy equipment, and time as well.

Yeah just want to reiterate what onenerdy said. Have you considered buying skis or bindings from the shop in the first place. Most shops will mount for free if you buy part of the setup from there. And it may be cheaper to buy online but is it 150 cheaper? Also if you buy from a shop it's so much easier to warranty products.

If you do decide to mount yourself, heres a guide, template, and a ton of advice. Also don't even think to do it before you practice on 2x4s... Alot, specially for brand new skis

paper templates here
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/153971-Binding-Mount-Paper-Templates

video / picture guides here
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/153971-Binding-Mount-Paper-Templates/page4

Another long thread about people mounting their own skis.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/232898-PSA-Mount-your-own-fucking-skis

Okay awesome this should help. I have joysticks so there cheaper and shitter in a sense so ill probs hand mount those.

But I have brand new Batalla all mtb twins so I really don't want to fuck up those

If you know anything about skiing then you know as much as the guys mounting them. At least in my case. I just used a drill and a tape measurer and they're pretty much perfect. If you have q's PM me

Umm no not quite. At least in North America techs need to take tests to get qualified to mount bindings. Knowing a bit about skiing is not the same as knowing how to be a tech.

Last I knew mounts were $45 in Canton/Avon/Simsbury. You pay more because of the county you are in.

That's quite an overstatement... Especially in the sense of technique and experience. I'm not saying shop guys are perfect, but there is a reason you have to be certified on binding safety.

Sports authority will do it for 30 bucks.

i dont mean to thread jack but it is a somewhat related rant and doesnt need its own thread.

There is only one ski shop in my town so they charge an arm and a leg for mounts. I have had terrible experience with them in the past as have most of the people in this town.  I have mounted my own skis for many years because i had refused to let them touch my skis again. this season i am getting some guardians and i would like them to be mounted by a shop since there is more to them than mounting FKS. Now, this shop does not carry salomon bindings and so people have had to drive the 6 hours to anchorage to find the nearest shop. Thats alright with me, i trust those people.

 I went into my local shop the other day and noticed some skis mounted with guardians in the back.  When i inquired about them i was told that they have a guardian jig ON THE WAY and will be mounting them even though they do not carry any salomon gear. they said for now the tech is using a paper jig and is working on a homemade jig out of old sth base plates or something like that. i was so blown away, and on top of that they are charging the full mounting price. When i asked of the legality of a shop mounting bindings they dont even carry with a paper jig all i got was "Don't worry. He is really good. He is certified!"

can i get a decent shop tech to give me their 2cents? anyone could easily save themselves 50$ and use a paper jig. that is what i usually do, but in my garage and not at shop.


This is coming from a shop that once misdrilled all 4 holes for the heel piece, by a few mm and just adjusted the jig and redrilled overlapping holes without filling them in or telling me about it. I only found out after it ripped out.

This. Also, a mount not done by a certified shop tech may void a ski or binding warranty. Not positive on that, but I can imagine it would.

Sports authority will probably fuck it up for $30

I will admit that that's very overstated. But if you think you're mechanical in any sense, then doing it yourself is no huge deal, unless you have bindings that are particularly tricky. When my friend got his done there was a kid my age doing them watching YouTube videos on how to do it. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself then its worth saving 40 bucks, but if not you don't want to mess up a nice set of skis.

Ya my local shop charges 50$ and i need to get 3 skis mounted...

If you had a poor experience with your current shop with mounting a traditional 2-piece binding, I would be very leery of them mounting a more complicated binding like a Guardian. If the heel base plate is not mounted correctly, it can lead to improper binding function. I would therefore also not recommend mounting a Guardian with a paper jig.

Sports authority sounds good. Like last year I paid 50 at my shop then like 2 weeks later they charged my Friend 65! And now they fucking charge 75. Ill call sports authority if not me and my daddy will do it

I have never paid for someone to mount my skis. If you do it right and it works good for you! but if you fuck it up you either have to remount, and possibly mess with integrity of the ski, or you have to ski on unevenly mounted skis all winter. All it comes down to is, do you want to risk messing up your skis?

They actually hire an outside company who comes around with certified technicians, so its pretty legit. I use them because here in south Jersey the only other shop that mounts skis wants to charge $75.