Ever heard of Indemnified Ski Bindings?
“Indemnified” does not seem like a word that would inherently go with “ski bindings” but if the concept isn’t on your radar, we’d love to put it on there for you!
Indemnified vs Non-Indemnified Bindings
Let’s break it down.
Ski bindings. They hold you onto skis as you slide down a mountain.
Ski bindings need to be mounted onto skis by a professional technician to ensure that it is done properly. Incorrect mounting can lead to severe injury and death.
(So your ski tech is actually an important person in your life. Thank a ski tech next time you meet one!)
Indemnified. A term that means to be legally insured against liability.
Binding manufacturers permit ski technicians to work only on specific models of bindings each year. So if you bring old (5+ years) bindings to a ski shop for mounting or adjusting, there’s a good chance that they will not be able to work on them.
If your ski shop won’t work on them, then you’ve got a useless pair of bindings and your ski trip may in fact be ruined.
Buying
Used Skis and ski kits is an awesome way to get into the sport at a lower price than buying brand new. Geartrade prides itself on providing everything you may need for the upcoming season in all conditions from demo skis, to the pair that Jo Blow did his first terrain park shred sesh on.
For items that folks send in for consignment, meaning that the Geartrade crew evaluates and creates the listing, we do not accept non-indemnified bindings. We use a variety of methods to determine if the bindings are indemnified or not. One main way is finding peer published lists of current indemnified lists. Unfortunately, companies do not pass out these lists to the general public, so we do our best to work with the community to get an accurate list.
Pro Tip: If you have a pair of skis that you would like to consign but the bindings are pretty old, go ahead and remove the bindings and send us the skis! As far as what to do with old bindings, you may be able to find winter sport recycling events in your area.
Psssst, we are working on a special project related to gear recycling so stay tuned.
The only sure-fire way to know if the bindings are fully indemnified is to take them to a shop or call and see if they will work on them. This is why we put a disclaimer on all bindings and skis with bindings when creating the listings in house.
Now things are different over on the peer to peer marketplace side of Geartrade.com. There, we are unable to know the details and monitor bindings being listed by independent sellers. Which means that the more you know, the more you can make educated purchases.
Since
Geartrade is in the business of providing used gear, we find it important to educate our community about this conundrum with ski bindings to avoid any safety concerns.
Properly mounted bindings can mean the difference between you having one of the best days of your life, and one of the worst. So always be sure to let a professional work on your ski bindings.
Kalie Lovell: self proclaimed hiker-trash, fiction and non-fiction writer, video content creator, cheese, ramen, and dog lover. As a regular UnNew-repper, she is constantly sharing gear care, maintenance, and repair tips in order to keep her gear in tip top shape for all of her hiking and backpacking adventures. Kalie dreams of an even more accessible, inclusive, and welcoming outdoor industry and wants to share her love of the outdoors with all who are willing to tag along!
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Geartrade. With our new
Consignment Selling option you can finally reclaim your gear closet. Send it in. We take care of the rest.
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