The Official Salomon S/Lab SHIFT MNC Thread -AMA

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Originally Posted by kid-kapow

seems like shifts will be pretty good, if not perfect, for their primary use..

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Launching a 1000 liftline convesations...

"Yeah they're called touring bindings... the guy in the store said that I could buy skins and just walk uphill for freshies... I haven't yet"

yup - true dat - Shifts are the perfect FOMO bindings for lazy resort based skiers like myself ;) Just bring some skins and you're set no matter what.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

It seems like nobody who designed this binding actually does any actual serious ski touring.

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This is such an odd statement. I mean, you know who helped design them, right?

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Originally Posted by Norseman

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Seem to be a little over the top with the complaints there AK considering you haven't actually toured with it

Haha. That's amazing.

Tahoe Mountain Sports update...

Greetings to all our Salomon Shift pre-buyers-

I know you are all anxiously awaiting your brand spanking new bindings
so wanted to make sure you had an update. We just got word from Salomon
after many emails and calls to nail them down and the answer is that our
pre-order shipment will arrive here in Truckee, CA sometime mid-late
November. They said they are running late and they do apologize for
that. Please know this is completely out of Tahoe Mountain Sports' hands
as we are not the manufacturer, just the retailer responsible for your
orders.

Funny enough, we do have the jig already so we will be ready to do any
mounts for any local or regional customers once the bindings do show up.

As soon as the bindings arrive, we will contact you all again, get final
payments, adjust any brake sizes and revise any shipping addresses.

So, hang tight for a few more weeks and look for an update from me later
in November.

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Originally Posted by meter-man

Sounds like you figured out why Salomon made this binding: to appeal to 6/7ths of the potential market.

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Totally agree with this statement. I'm going to hold off on these for the second generation which I'm sure is gonna be a great binding. But if I'm spending $650 on a binding I don't want to feel like I'm going to break it running through basic binding functions (I was seriously worried I was gonna break it in the shop) and I want a 13° climbing bar so it's usable in the places that I commonly ski where I would prefer 18°.

I am however intrigued by it as use when traveling.

On a side note, pretty happy I can troll two of my favorite skiers on the internet :fm akpm is back baby.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Finally got to play with these bindings....

It seems like nobody who designed this binding actually does any actual serious ski touring.

The major usability problems:
The climbing bar is ridiculously low, despite the fact that it would have been really really really easy to put a higher bar on (like I'd put 50/50 odds that salomon will sell a bigger climbing bar before the end of the winter). Maybe there are some people who use the low bar on their tours, I do not know them. This is a total deal breaker for me.

Changing from tour mode to ski mode makes me feel like I'm going to pinch my fingers and/or destroy the binding. I can't imagine doing this on a cold day with gloves on. Again an easy fix exists, there is absolutely room for some kind of handle or lever. This also seems like it could be very prone to icing. Not a deal breaker, but this would certainly keep me from putting them on a primarily touring ski.

Smaller deals:
The brake lever feels like it's made from cheap plastic. Locking the brake is nowhere near as smooth or easy as the MTN binding every time I do it I feel like I'm going to break the binding, and this is in a ski shop with no snow or cold.

Getting into the binding in tour mode you have to depress the lever (like the G3 orix) seems like its gonna be a huge pain in the ass. You may be able to step in with a few boots that have that little ramp into the toe fitting. Not sure how salomon could fix this. It's a livable inconvenience.

I have been extremely impressed with salomon bindings for my entire life, I think the MTN is the best tech binding on the market by a long shot so needless to say I'm pretty disappointed with this binding. It is a fantastic concept, but I think (hope) the second generation is better, much like the duke got better. I have never felt more like I was going to break a binding just playing with it in the ski shop. All of salomon's bindings have had pretty stellar construction and durability, so I'm inclined to trust their engineers and athletes who vouge for the durability of this binding, but it feels like a child's toy (plus side is it's pretty dang light).

Overall takeaway: Salomon can make this the best binding on the market with a few suuuper easy fixes, but right now I couldn't imagine using one.

Who this binding is good for:
-Sled skiers who do a bit of touring to get to their lines
-rich people who want new gear
-people at resorts with easy tours out of bounds
-people touring low angle terrain or who like doing looooots of switchbacks.
-people with knee problems who want to tour on a din binding without the weight of dukes.
-people looking for a one ski quiver (pending durability) ala duke/baron users. This binding is a huuuuuuuge improvement on the duke concept.

Who this binding is not good for:
-Serious ski tourers who are using legs as their primary means of elevation gain

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I think akpm's post is a good example of the hazards of looking at gear in the showroom floor with zero real world use, having not a lot of experience with other comparable gear and ascribing personal preferences to an overall judgment.

Other than that it's perfectly fine

I’ll put this out there, for some reason mine feel way more solid when mounted to a ski than the ones we have mounted into the plastic displays at the shop. Probably due to the fact that the ski is significantly more rigid.

I will be interested to see how the transition back to ski mode goes when cold outside and trying to do it with gloves, seems a litte fiddly. But I’ve also been running cast for awhile so it shouldn’t be any worse.

Climbing bail wise, shouldn’t be very hard to add your own higher climbing bail, theres a weight saving hole in the stock one that you could attach a second one onto pretty easily.

My main gripe is the brake holder seems super plasticy and feels like it’s gonna break every time I release them. Not sure on a home fix for this other than hope they don’t fail and if they do hope solly/atomic has a good warranty program.

Tecton heels feel pretty flimsy out of the box, but seems to be holding up fine.

Question for the collective re shift. Which brake with for a Lotus124 tour 1
110 or 120. Thanks. CAT

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Originally Posted by F#*k You Cat

Question for the collective on what brake with for a lotus124 tour 1

Sent from my Pixel 2 using TGR Forums mobile app

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Others can probably chime in better than me, but when I tried placing the 110 brake on mine it didn't quite seem to clear it when released, but I could fit the released brake over the ski.

I think it will fit with minimal bending. That said I would go with 120 on mine if I didn't decide to do a vipec Evo 12 instead. I can send picks of the brake on my 111 underfoot and try taking a picture of them stacked later today if you think it'll help.

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Wait
Patrick is a serious distance ski tourer?


Why is he still fat?


. . . Hugs

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Originally Posted by F#*k You Cat

Question for the collective re shift. Which brake with for a Lotus124 tour 1
110 or 120. Thanks. CAT

Sent from my Pixel 2 using TGR Forums mobile app

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See the pictures for a 110 on Icelantic nomads which are sitting on top of my unmounted lotus124 tour1.Attachment 252540Attachment 252541

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Sweet - thanks. 110 it is

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Just posting to share a decent deal on these if you want to order from Europe. I have never used this website for an order so do your own inquiry, but the price they have on shifts is reasonable (although shipping is high) and here's a coupon: https://www.snowcountry.eu/catalogse...=shift+binding € 30,- coupon, code: WTR3018 Applicable on all orders over € 300,-

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Originally Posted by garuda

Just posting to share a decent deal on these if you want to order from Europe......

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Caution re this as the Amer warranty is country of purchase specific.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Finally got to play with these bindings....

It seems like nobody who designed this binding actually does any actual serious ski touring.

The major usability problems:
The climbing bar is ridiculously low, despite the fact that it would have been really really really easy to put a higher bar on (like I'd put 50/50 odds that salomon will sell a bigger climbing bar before the end of the winter). Maybe there are some people who use the low bar on their tours, I do not know them. This is a total deal breaker for me.

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I'll respond here instead of snarky response on Instagram...;) I know this has been a major point of contention here and with a lot of people. Thing is, you're gonna have to trust us on this, much like I trusted Greg Hill when he taught me the finer points of skinning. The thing is, if you're using a 14 degree lifter, you're touring too steep. As I guy that grew up on the ridiculously steep skin tracks of Tahoe, it was a hard adjustment. But then I started following Greg and saw how much longer in the day I could go, how much less fatigued my legs were and how much more fun I was having setting a mellower track, not gassing myself and skinning from sun up to sun down. I know people have said, "Yeah but Greg is a super human". He sure is, but my skinning, endurance and fun has all exponentially increased learning techniques from Greg and I ain't no super human when it comes to endurance, I'm a 190lb pound skier with the build of a Junior Varsity linebacker.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Changing from tour mode to ski mode makes me feel like I'm going to pinch my fingers and/or destroy the binding. I can't imagine doing this on a cold day with gloves on. Again an easy fix exists, there is absolutely room for some kind of handle or lever. This also seems like it could be very prone to icing. Not a deal breaker, but this would certainly keep me from putting them on a primarily touring ski.

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Perhaps we need to educate people better on this but there is a trick to getting the tab back up from tour mode (down position) to ski mode (up position). Squeeze the wings! Seriously, try it, squeeze the wings of the toe piece together and you'll see the blue tab lift itself up giving you a good finger-with-a-glove-on wide gap to lift the tab back into place.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Smaller deals:
The brake lever feels like it's made from cheap plastic. Locking the brake is nowhere near as smooth or easy as the MTN binding every time I do it I feel like I'm going to break the binding, and this is in a ski shop with no snow or cold.

Getting into the binding in tour mode you have to depress the lever (like the G3 orix) seems like its gonna be a huge pain in the ass. You may be able to step in with a few boots that have that little ramp into the toe fitting. Not sure how salomon could fix this. It's a livable inconvenience.

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Your "seems like" in the shop is far different than in reality. I've found it to be the easiest entry into the pins of any single pin binding I've ever used. Like 5 times easier to get into the pins than the MTN binding. Seriously, it's so damn easy.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

I have been extremely impressed with salomon bindings for my entire life, I think the MTN is the best tech binding on the market by a long shot so needless to say I'm pretty disappointed with this binding. It is a fantastic concept, but I think (hope) the second generation is better, much like the duke got better. I have never felt more like I was going to break a binding just playing with it in the ski shop. All of salomon's bindings have had pretty stellar construction and durability, so I'm inclined to trust their engineers and athletes who vouge for the durability of this binding, but it feels like a child's toy (plus side is it's pretty dang light).

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Well thats good you're impressed, I haven't always been. But this one I am. Again, your "seems like" in the shop, couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, plastic and the carbon composite that makes up a majority of the binding could break, but we didn't have one single athlete, patroller, tester break one last year. And we skied them as hard as possible. Oh and that lightness...yeah exactly! We wanted to make it as light as possible so the gram counters wouldn't whine as much...though they still whining.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Who this binding is good for:
-people looking for a one ski quiver binding

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You were right on this one. That's what it's built for, to be a one-binding quiver. If you're going to tour for more than 4-5 hours, a pin binding will be your call. But for everything else, literally everything, from resort to touring in that 4-5 hour realm, it's a one-binding quiver. I've said it before, I used to travel around in my truck with six pairs of skis. Two models with three different bindings each. Last year, I traveled with two pairs, both with SHIFTS. It may not be everyone's solution but it's the best one-binding solution on the market by a long shot.

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

Finally got to play with these bindings....
It seems like nobody who designed this binding actually does any actual serious ski touring.

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Oh and I gotta at least make a separate post for this because...are you serious? Like have you paid attention at all to who is on the team? Greg Fuckin Hill...the guy that toured 2 million vert in a year. Chris Rubens...the guy that has an allergic reaction to ski resorts. Tony Lamiche, Alex Pittin...legendary Chamonix guides, Pete Gaston...a friggin randonee racer. Hell, even I have summited and skied Denali, skied in the Himalaya and done multiple human powered only film trips in AK and BC. I'm not upset by the ignorance, more amazed really. Then again, this is the internet where basic knowledge doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for expressing drastic opinions.

FWIW I made my own higher rise bails out of a bike spoke and some bolts that came from our bin of rack hardware. Unfortunately people in the tetons like steeps skin tracks in certain spots. This prototype is very rough, but marginally functional. Will continue to attempt to make something work for others knowledge.

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This was supposed to be the second picture

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Originally Posted by Alkasquawlik

Oh and I gotta at least make a separate post for this because...are you serious? Like have you paid attention at all to who is on the team? Greg Fuckin Hill...the guy that toured 2 million vert in a year. Chris Rubens...the guy that has an allergic reaction to ski resorts. Tony Lamiche, Alex Pittin...legendary Chamonix guides, Pete Gaston...a friggin randonee racer. Hell, even I have summited and skied Denali, skied in the Himalaya and done multiple human powered only film trips in AK and BC. I'm not upset by the ignorance, more amazed really. Then again, this is the internet where basic knowledge doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for expressing drastic opinions.

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Ya, but...AKPM is the best skier on the mountain.

[emoji1787]

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Originally Posted by ak_powder_monkey

On a side note, pretty happy I can troll two of my favorite skiers on the internet :fm akpm is back baby.

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mermaid restraining order expired?
that fish in your insta hero shot
eat another pegged bead below a bobber?

Alkasquawlik > AKPM
Congrats on the product accomplishment. 2 pairs en route..