Alpine Bindings for Smaller Folks: Pivot 14 vs. 18
After a few years skiing nothing but tele, I think I'm going to be on an alpine setup for more of the season next year, in part because I've been doing more touring on AT gear this spring and it's friggin' sweet. I'm thinking about bindings- I'm 5'6", 145 lbs, and have a BSL of 319mm or so. This puts me at 7-8.5 DIN for III/III+ on the charts. I've been skiing on a DIN of 8 on my tech bindings, and I think that's where I'll start next season. Prereleased a few times on the DynaFiddles in the resort, but I was really giving them a test workout on bumps and ice, so I think it had nothing to do with DIN.
I'm currently debating between the Pivot 14 and the Pivot 18. Differences between the bindings have been discussed here before, and I think I'm drawn to the bomber construction of the 18, all else held constant. But of course it starts at a DIN of 8. I'm aware that there are some who say that you shouldn't ski a binding on the highest DIN setting, but what about the low setting? Am I dumb for considering this, should I just accept the fact that I'm small and go for the 14? What are other people in the same height/weight/BSL range doing?