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Salomon S/LAB Shift binding

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
120mm crampons arrived this morning. They have an internal width of 126mm for those wanting to try and squeeze them on a fatter ski. Super tough anodized alu so they are highly likely to crack of you try and bend 'em.

100mm not arrived yet but it's not unreasonable to assume that they'll be 106mm.

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@spyderjon, good news on the early arrival , any updates on the 100 mm wides ??
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100mm are due to ship early Dec
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@spyderjon, email sent re crampons
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@spyderjon, will the 90mm brake version fit a ski of 88mm? Not too tight? Would the 100mm brake be needed instead as well as the 100mm crampon?
Better to have 100mm for both?
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90mm brake will definitely fit an 88mm ski, probably fit a 98mm ski
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@Meltus, really!
Didn’t realise that there was that much give in the measurements.
Great thanks
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Shift brakes run wider than their stated size. They come in 90mm, 100mm, 110mm & 128mm widths but measured from inside face to inside face of the plastic feet their actual widths are 8mm wider that their stated widths. However there's a reason for this and it's due the way the levers deploy so to ensure reliable depolyment, particularly on ski designs with less sloping sidewalls &/or a square junction of the sidewall/topsheet, I'd not fit them to skis that are more than 5/6mm wider than the stated brake width - & even then a bit of profiling of the plastic feet may be necessary to ensure that they don't catch. So that means a 90mm brake will work on 95/96mm ski.

Bending of the brake levers should be done with caution (ie plenty of support at the elbow) as if the top end of the levers are altered it will effect their ability to lock-up when in tour mode.
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@spyderjon, expert information as always thank you.
Any experience of how the Marker Alpinist behaves downhill? I know it’s a different sort of binding and more tour orientated
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Thanks @spyderjon. Just in time for the first powder alert!

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@spyderjon, with the shift do I set the boot length adj / forward pressure first then the afd gap Puzzled
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Dabber wrote:
@spyderjon, with the shift do I set the boot length adj / forward pressure first then the afd gap Puzzled

Yep, always the FP first but make sure there's sufficient toe height to start with to get your boot in to start with, ie don't go trying to jam an AT boot in the toe when the AFD is up high for an alpine boot etc.
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@spyderjon, cheers mate , off to canada tomorrow , set up the new skis/shifts , then a nice mellow tour on Friday to try them out , nowhere steep and icy that requires crampons mind Toofy Grin
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Skied my Shifts today for the first time. Mounted on my Down CD114Ls, which previously had Marker Barons, but with new boots.

Honestly, when skiing them, I couldn't distinguish between them and an alpine/frame binding (I have Barons, Guardians and Wardens).

I'll post more once I've had more time on them, but so far they really do seem to finally be the touring binding that skis like an alpine binding.
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@spyderjon, don't suppose you have any gen on whether the hole pattern bears any resemblance to the MTN hole pattern?
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Maybe worth noting on this thread that some boots may need a little fettling to work with the shifts - my Atomic Hawx XTD 120s definitely do.
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clarky999 wrote:
Skied my Shifts today for the first time. Mounted on my Down CD114Ls, which previously had Marker Barons, but with new boots.

Honestly, when skiing them, I couldn't distinguish between them and an alpine/frame binding (I have Barons, Guardians and Wardens).

I'll post more once I've had more time on them, but so far they really do seem to finally be the touring binding that skis like an alpine binding.


Whats the stack height like if any issue at all?
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mgrolf wrote:
Maybe worth noting on this thread that some boots may need a little fettling to work with the shifts - my Atomic Hawx XTD 120s definitely do.


Oh... what did you have an issue with? what did you have to do ? I thought this was good with all sole types?
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Rubber from the WTR sole, rather than the hard plastic plate, making contact with the AFD. It'll need a little grinding/trimming to fit. Nothing major, just a few mm, but annoying nonetheless.
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mishmash wrote:
clarky999 wrote:
Skied my Shifts today for the first time. Mounted on my Down CD114Ls, which previously had Marker Barons, but with new boots.

Honestly, when skiing them, I couldn't distinguish between them and an alpine/frame binding (I have Barons, Guardians and Wardens).

I'll post more once I've had more time on them, but so far they really do seem to finally be the touring binding that skis like an alpine binding.


Whats the stack height like if any issue at all?


No issue for me, but I also didn't have any issues with stack height on Barons or Guardians.

It really was just a case of click in and forget about them - which is probably the biggest compliment you can give a pair of bindings!
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Thanks - is it sliding AFD a la Baron etc or fixed? I used to find the Duke had a bit of height and preferred the direct contact in a Pivot personally.
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@mishmash, yep sliding. Yeah I've heard people say that, and also others say that a bit of stack height helps when edging wider skis... Personally I seem to be sensitive to some aspects of binding design but have never really noticed that one!
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offpisteskiing wrote:
@spyderjon, don't suppose you have any gen on whether the hole pattern bears any resemblance to the MTN hole pattern?


The heels are a totally different pattern but the MTN toe pattern is a 40mm wide x 38mm long rectangle and the middle toe holes on the Shifts have 40mm centres. This means that if you are planning to do a dual insert mount for both bindings that you might get really lucky and find you can share the Shift middle toe holes with the rear toe holes of the MTN. The rest of the holes aren't going to conflict (especially as there's a lot of length adjustment on the Shift heel so it'd be easy to avoid a conflict) so it would be great to be able to swap out the Shift for a lightweight distance touring set-up like you can with the Kingpin and Alpinist.

Demand here for the MTN's is so low that I've not bothered getting a jig, especially as with them having rectangular patterns at both ends it's a doddle to free mount them. And I don't have a ski in the shop mounted with MTN's at the moment so I'm afraid I can't test my above theory. I know a guy on TGR who has MTN's (hopefully he's still goth them) and who now has Shifts as well so I'll ask him.
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@offpisteskiing, the TGR guys have responded and yes the locations I've detailed above can be shared but the boot centre locations will be about 10mm off from each other (they didn't say which way) which is just doable.
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clarky999 wrote:
@mishmash, yep sliding. Yeah I've heard people say that, and also others say that a bit of stack height helps when edging wider skis... Personally I seem to be sensitive to some aspects of binding design but have never really noticed that one!


just any excuse for me basically !!
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@spyderjon, thanks - food for thought there. Definitely interested to be able to switch between an 'alpine -style' tourable binding and a proper tour binding on larger skis...
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just a few initial thoughts on the shift after skiing them for the first time out in whistler.......

ski mode ... they ski very well indeed and I honestly think I like them more than most of the alpine bindings I've skied , the step in is super easy and they release well giving full confidence to commit

transition .. simple as anything even in deep cold wet snow didn't encounter any problems , the act of just clicking in alpine style on the top of your line is simple and secure

uphill ... they walk really well obviously a little heavier than the full tech alternatives but on the shorter 2-4 hr tours done so far they are great

I have them mounted on the new sally qst99 and which is the best all mountain ski I've owned , so I think its the perfect setup for everything apart from very long full day or multi day tours

so I think game changer is not an exaggeration Very Happy
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Think these are lòoking like next purchase
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Me too!
I’d also looked at the Salomon QST 99 skis as they are on the BASI Pro offer (as are the Shifts).
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being a bit thick here....

What makes these any different than say a Fritschi Vipec Evo12 or his bigger brother the Tecton?
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Pin binding and free heel for the uphill but full alpine binding (no pins) for the downhill ...
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PROJECT_MANAGER wrote:
being a bit thick here....

What makes these any different than say a Fritschi Vipec Evo12 or his bigger brother the Tecton?


You only use the pins going uphill. They tuck away for the descent to make a standard alpine toepiece type thing.
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@VolklAttivaS5, seeing a lot of this set up already in Whistler , just had a pretty descent 30cm snow day and they were pretty amazing in the deep fresh stuff , as wide as I’ll need for anything less than heli skiing Toofy Grin
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im a sucker for new stuff, but i just dont see what you gain other than weight over the vipec or tecton.

I am poking here.... but also im open to new ideas, except at the moment i genuinely dont see the appeal for the shift
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Dabber wrote:


uphill ... they walk really well obviously a little heavier than the full tech alternatives but on the shorter 2-4 hr tours done so far they are great

I have them mounted on the new sally qst99 and which is the best all mountain ski I've owned , so I think its the perfect setup for everything apart from very long full day or multi day tours

so I think game changer is not an exaggeration Very Happy


Glad you said that as I have just purchased a pair of the QST's
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PROJECT_MANAGER wrote:
im a sucker for new stuff, but i just dont see what you gain other than weight over the vipec or tecton.

I am poking here.... but also im open to new ideas, except at the moment i genuinely dont see the appeal for the shift


They feel and release like an alpine binding. No more bone-jarring chatter and weird ski feel (which tbf not everyone notices when skiing on pins, but plenty of us do). Basically one binding to do everything from piste to pow to bumbs to touring - more of a frame binding killer than light weight tech binding killer, really.
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@PROJECT_MANAGER, it is tuv certified to alpine rather than touring norms. It looks like it will ski a lot better. It has a ton more elastic travel in both the toe and the heel than the vipec.

I like the vipec much more than any other pin binding. It feels more secure than my vertical sts where the feeling of imminent explosion is never far away. But the vipec still feels like a pin binding on firm snow and I am reluctant to push it on piste or in firm off piste conditions. That makes sense as the vipec isn't really designed for that. For someone that travels to ski, wants to fly with one pair and tends to tour primarily from the lifts, the shift makes a lot of sense.

I'm hoping this is the do it all solution for lift access and short tours that neither frame bindings or pin bindings really offer.
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How much more does it weigh than a pin binding?
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@Gordyjh, depends which pin binding wink Obviously it is itself a pin binding! But roughly 100g heavier than Kingpin, for example.


Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 11-12-18 17:48; edited 3 times in total
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I believe these are per binding, so you need to x2
Shift Binding = Heel 440 grams, Toe 444 grams, Inc Brakes, total 886 grams
Fritschi Tecton Inc. brakes, total 678 grams
Fritschi Vipec as above 500grams.

its not fair to compare with the minimalist pin bindings as it not the same product or market. So i havent bothered looking at those.
IE if you want a bare bones binding you wouldnt bother looking at any of these.
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