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HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Giray Dadali and Chris Trunek | Daymaker Touring

(2016) 
Chris Trunek (Chris@daymakertouring.com) pictured left, is a skier, biker, and an industrial designer from Cleveland Ohio. 

Giray Dadali (Giray@daymakertouring.com) pictured right is a professional skier, and mechanical engineer from Bristol Valley, New York.


Both our Engineers and owners are die-hard skiers with a history of skiing the Utah backcountry and utilizing all sorts of touring setups since 2008.  In a weather-driven sport, it's absolutely crucial that one is able to switch between their setups to have an appropriate ski for the conditions. Through this time in Utah they questioned the huge void of a reliable, cost effective alpine adapter.  

A PRODUCT WITH A DESTINY

Daymaker Touring started in a garage in Salt Lake City Utah. Conceived after one too many days wrecked by inadequate equipment that failed to perform, we set out to build and develop a new alpine touring solution that would deliver where other products fall short, It had to be durable. It had to be lightweight. It had to be transferable. It had to be easy to use. It had to make your day.

We mountain bike in the summer and see alpine touring as the analogous winter-time experience. We were inspired by mountain bike's tuned suspensions that provide more efficient climbing, stiffer handling and better weight distribution. We knew we could apply those same principles to alpine touring bindings to create a  system that addresses all of the problems we were experiencing with the available equipment. We wanted something that allowed us to use our dependable DIN bindings and hard charging alpine boots. We didn't want something mounted to the ski or installed on our boot lugs. It needed to be removable so our skis would be low profile and light weight on resort days and so we could switch between setups depending on conditions at hand. As we began, we knew we wanted to develop a step-in adapter. While there have been some similar products on the market, it was those same products that earned the name "Daywreckers". The flaws of those products can be traced back to the fact that they all rely on compromised single pivot designs.

 

After a few long nights developing the location of the links using LEGOS, we understood where the links needed to be in order to create the motion we wanted to achieve. Once we took the design into Solidworks, it became clear there were other variables we needed to design around. We wanted the stack height flat and as low as possible. This positions the boot directly on top of the binding clamps, leaving no room for forward or rearward movement. We were able to tune the position and movement in the toe link to shift the boot back slightly as it lifts,  allowing it to clear the toe binding, The rear link is aimed at the ball of the users foot. Together they operate like an elliptical machine to create the most natural stride possible in ski boots!

We took the finalized geometry to the shop and literally hacked out the prototypes above. They were a little rough, but the function was undeniable. We ended up putting a few thousand vertical feet on those prototypes to prove the concept while we worked on the metal prototypes below.

 

The Daymakers