STEPPING IN

There is a bit of a learning curve when first stepping into the Telebulldogs...but it only takes a few tries and then you’re flying! Here are a few tips:

Use your ski poles for balance, lean forward on your poles and pick your heel up high, slip the duckbill into the binding until it hits against the boot stops (upright bars in the front of the wings). Step down gently at first and feel for the pins aligning with the holes. Once they’ve aligned, step down briskly using the ‘ball’ of your foot to engage the locking mechanism. When you lock in properly, you will see the front release lever snap back snuggly against the binding housing. Remember: the bindings are asymmetrical (right and left), make sure you are stepping into the correct binding!

PROPER FITTING

Boot soles tend to vary in thickness. Sole thickness sometimes varies even within the same pair of boots. We have spent a significant amount of effort and time in our design to accommodate for this. The raised ridge of metal across the pin plate and under the top crossbar keep the boot tight despite varying sole thickness. Most ski boots fit into the binding without needing adjustment. If needed, though, here are some adjustments that can be made to fine tune the "fit".

TOO THICK: difficulty latching in place when stepping down due to excessive boot thickness. If this is a minor problem, you may try to wear the boots in and ski on the bindings a couple days being careful to step down hard with the ball of your foot to properly latch the binding each time you step into it. Latching can be made easier by filing material from the rear crossbar or the underside of the spring pin. Do this in small increments, you can’t put material back if you’ve taken too much off. Also, the notch in the rear cross bar can be rotated or filed down to increase clearance for the spring pin. Remember, as your technique for stepping in to the binding improves and your ski boot adjusts to the binding, the boot sole may not be too thick after all!

TOO THIN: too much play under the top crossbar (the one with TELEBULLDOG engraved on it). After locking the ski boot into the binding, flex the boot forward as if in a deep telemark turn and see how much play there is under of the crossbar (measure at the edges of the crossbar since the mid underside has been machined thinner). If there is more than the thickness of a dime, then add either a yellow (thin- 0.02")) or orange (thicker- 0.03") shim under the pin plate. To do this, simply loosen the four screws that hold the pin plate in place and slip the shim between the screws. Don’t remove the screws completely because the plastic center block is under spring tension and may shift when the screws are completely removed.

SET SCREWS

You will also notice set screws in the ‘wing tabs’ that can be tightened down from above. Tightening these screws increases the ‘bite’ on the duckbill of the ski boot. These can be adjusted up and down with a screwdriver, or they can also be removed completely. They can also be used in conjunction with a screw through the duckbill of the ski boot for the ultra positive 'lock in'.