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Shift Sunday

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Time to check out the Shift’s uphill capabilities on a classic tour from Mont Fort down to the bottom of the Barrage des Dix at Pralong. Return via the Etygeon bus to Les Masses for a quick 4 valley rally back to Verbier

Sundog views from Mont Fort


The tour goes down there, and up there!


Take the mellow route backside of Mont Fort


Trying to keep up with Millsy the mountain goat. Would have helped if I’d locked the brakes and cut the skins for the new skis!


Looking back up to the Col



http://youtube.com/v/KxzH8rndZsE

Fun first tour of the season and Shifts were great once the brakes were locked! Fab conditions for anyone skiing this week...
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@BobinCH, fabulous, just fabulous. Thanks, as ever, for sharing your exploits with those who can never hope to emulate them.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Looks wonderful
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Hurtle wrote:
@BobinCH, fabulous, just fabulous. Thanks, as ever, for sharing your exploits with those who can never hope to emulate them.


Thanks for the comments. Although IMO with modern equipment exploring the off piste and some gentle touring should be within most people’s capabilities!
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"shift Sunday" got a nice ring to it!
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Looks awesome!

Might have to copy you with a Shift Saturday post wink

Curious to hear your thoughts on the Shift - especially the riser height?
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
clarky999 wrote:

Curious to hear your thoughts on the Shift - especially the riser height?


IMO they ski beautifully with both my alpine and freeride boots (alpine sole). Cant say I notice a difference to the Marker Alpine bindings on my fat skis. Uphill was also nice once I locked the brakes (which did unlock a couple of times - perhaps because i’d jammed snow in the mechanism by starting with them unlocked?)

How are you finding them?
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@BobinCH, like you - ski just as well as an alpine binding for me.

Had a bit of an icing issue on Sat, where one binding wouldn't lock the toe (into tour) and released several times just along a flat skin track. I think it was more a problem with a boot insert getting filled with ice though, than anything on the binding side.
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clarky999 wrote:
ski just as well as an alpine binding for me.


Surely marks the death of frame bindings. The skimos and weight weenies will still look elsewhere but for anyone touring for the downhill the Shift has set a new, very high, standard!
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clarky999 wrote:
Looks awesome!

Might have to copy you with a Shift Saturday post wink

Curious to hear your thoughts on the Shift - especially the riser height?


lots of chatter about the" lack of" a high riser , but for me I avoid the sort of skin track set by the folk on a high setting , Ive had a few days on them in varying conditions so far and really like the 0' & 10' settings . like everyone else took a while to work out the best way to lock up brakes properly , now carry a small modified toothbrush / pick combo for cleaning out snow from binding and tech inserts . on the down I really can't fault the shift and actually prefer them to my old jester /griffon bindings
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The lack of a high riser was a bit of a problem when touring in Furano last week.
I was following a guide who was hitting some steep angles. Not being able to press down easily on the back of my skis caused a bit of slippage. Nothing bad but I could have done with some extra height.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
@FoofyNoo, surely possible for them to make a clip on accessory to the riser for steeper climbs?
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Re high rises and improved brake storage while in skinning..... They need to leave some areas to improve for the mark 2 version realesed in 20/21 season and justify a price increase Laughing
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I was in Gressoney last week on a trip organised by 'Off Piste Performance' which was mostly lift-based with a bit of touring, and so I got to try out my new Shift bindings for the first time. The bindings were purchased from and expertly mounted with quiver killers by spyderjon - thank you, Jon!

I was skiing on a pair of Black Crows Daemons; these skis are so much fun - very playful and super easy to turn, yet very stable. They're also not that heavy and so I'm glad the Shift came out when it did as it's really a perfect match for this sort of ski and trip.

After a week on the Shifts (which included a couple of short tours), I'm a big fan of them; they really are an alpine/downhill binding that you can tour with. I found the single riser absolutely fine (I've toured a lot on the Dynafit Radical 2.0 binding, and have never really used the highest riser on those). I didn't have any problems with the brakes deploying when touring either.

The only (very minor) niggles were finding that I miss not being able to clean the soles of my boots on the toe piece of the binding. I also needed to use the Shift crampons last week, and found that it would have been helpful for the pivot point for the crampon to be a little further back from the pins to allow more space for the crampon to lift up to make it a bit easier to glide the ski when not using the riser, though this isn't really possible as the AFD is in the way.

All in all, very happy.

Photo below was taken at the Colle Superiore Bettolina

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9skbqb2xF5xvhTr77
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FoofyNoo wrote:
The lack of a high riser was a bit of a problem when touring in Furano last week.
I was following a guide who was hitting some steep angles. Not being able to press down easily on the back of my skis caused a bit of slippage. Nothing bad but I could have done with some extra height.


I'm amazed at that, must have been a conscious decision at the design concept stage, in that the target audience will never be the type to end up kick turning in steep terrain Laughing
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Weathercam wrote:
FoofyNoo wrote:
The lack of a high riser was a bit of a problem when touring in Furano last week.
I was following a guide who was hitting some steep angles. Not being able to press down easily on the back of my skis caused a bit of slippage. Nothing bad but I could have done with some extra height.


I'm amazed at that, must have been a conscious decision at the design concept stage, in that the target audience will never be the type to end up kick turning in steep terrain Laughing


Nope, conscious decision from Cody Townsend and the design team that a 10° skin track is optimal for efficiency - quite a bit of talk from him directly on the TGR thread about that. Wish someone would tell the some of the old timers around IBK who insist on going as steep as possible uphill to prove something.
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@clarky999, sometimes you just do not have the luxury of not going steep, however, the main issue which I see a fair bit is less experienced people (often unfit) going to max heel raise when other more seasoned tourers have not even thought about raising their binding, though I do raise mine early to ease pressure on my Achilles tendon.

So maybe that's the issue?
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I'm looking at buying the shift binding and mounting on a set of icelantic pioneer 109s. as they are 109 underfoot would you get the 110m brake or 120?
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110 (which is more like 116mm clearence)
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ok great thanks. can you just wear normal alpine boots with no pin inserts with the shifts? i will have the skis and bindings but will be waiting to buy new boots but would still like to test out the skis.
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mk28 wrote:
ok great thanks. can you just wear normal alpine boots with no pin inserts with the shifts? i will have the skis and bindings but will be waiting to buy new boots but would still like to test out the skis.


Yep.
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@Weathercam, same here tbh - I'd prefer a higher riser too.

@mk28, you only need inserts to go up. Your normal boots are fine to ski down in, but you won't be able to tour without inserts.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
thanks @Tom Doc, @clarky999, i thought that would be the case
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BobinCH wrote:
clarky999 wrote:

Curious to hear your thoughts on the Shift - especially the riser height?


IMO they ski beautifully with both my alpine and freeride boots (alpine sole). Cant say I notice a difference to the Marker Alpine bindings on my fat skis. Uphill was also nice once I locked the brakes (which did unlock a couple of times - perhaps because i’d jammed snow in the mechanism by starting with them unlocked?)

How are you finding them?


I was in Verbier last week (although not on quite as impressive routes as yours!) and did a few uphill sessions - no issues with the brakes coming undone, but regular snow/icing on the front of the Shifts when going from uphill to downhill mode - I suspect that SpyderJon's recommendation of a sharpened toothbrush being added to the rucksack will resolve that next time! Likewise on downhill performance, I couldn't differentiate the Shift's from my Marker Duke's. I don't miss a higher heel riser - an unnecessarily steep ascent will usually leave me too tired to downhill, so what's the point...

The only improvement that I could suggest would be to make it easier to change the heel from walk to ski mode (it's tight with a bare finger and impossible with a glove on!).
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oui4ski wrote:
BobinCH wrote:
clarky999 wrote:

Curious to hear your thoughts on the Shift - especially the riser height?


IMO they ski beautifully with both my alpine and freeride boots (alpine sole). Cant say I notice a difference to the Marker Alpine bindings on my fat skis. Uphill was also nice once I locked the brakes (which did unlock a couple of times - perhaps because i’d jammed snow in the mechanism by starting with them unlocked?)

How are you finding them?



The only improvement that I could suggest would be to make it easier to change the heel from walk to ski mode (it's tight with a bare finger and impossible with a glove on!).


I find using the brakes to release the first lock on the change from walk to ski makes it much lighter and more manageable with gloves on , still goes with a snap mind , speaking to some folk who've had them for longer than me , seems like the springs on the front and back do loosen off with use
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Another unexpected (for me at least, I'm inattentive/easily pleased!) bonus of the brake locking mechanism is no need for brake retainers when tuning! Madeye-Smiley
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
oui4ski wrote:
......I suspect that SpyderJon's recommendation of a sharpened toothbrush being added to the rucksack will resolve that next time!......

You're not the first customer to source my magic brush after having problems rolling eyes wink

oui4ski wrote:
.....The only improvement that I could suggest would be to make it easier to change the heel from walk to ski mode (it's tight with a bare finger and impossible with a glove on!).

Grip ski with both hands (one hand on each side of the ski) just behind the binding and with the ski base away from you, then simply push down on both brake levers with your thumbs. No need to go anywhere near the actual brake latch etc.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
spyderjon wrote:
oui4ski wrote:
......I suspect that SpyderJon's recommendation of a sharpened toothbrush being added to the rucksack will resolve that next time!......

You're not the first customer to source my magic brush after having problems rolling eyes wink


Do I sniff a forthcoming product launch? Spyderjohn's MagicBrush™ ©
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
rogg wrote:
spyderjon wrote:
oui4ski wrote:
......I suspect that SpyderJon's recommendation of a sharpened toothbrush being added to the rucksack will resolve that next time!......

You're not the first customer to source my magic brush after having problems rolling eyes wink


Do I sniff a forthcoming product launch? Spyderjohn's MagicBrush™ ©

Nah, I can't be arsed. It's a strictly DIY product: https://www.thepisteoffice.com/index.php/2013-09-09-17-07-34/touring-binding-de-icing.html
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Or man up with an 18 DIN binding! https://casttouring.com



Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 12-02-19 6:30; edited 1 time in total
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Double riser

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Snows not good but the weather for a nice walk is amazing #shiftsunday

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Dabber wrote:


Lots of chatter about the" lack of" a high riser , but for me I avoid the sort of skin track set by the folk on a high setting , Ive had a few days on them in varying conditions so far and really like the 0' & 10' settings . like everyone else took a while to work out the best way to lock up brakes properly , now carry a small modified toothbrush / pick combo for cleaning out snow from binding and tech inserts . on the down I really can't fault the shift and actually prefer them to my old jester /griffon bindings


First day on my Shifts yesterday. Only downhill as I’ve not got the skins cut until later on today but so far I’m delighted. That’s good advice about the toothbrush for when I try the uphill tomorrow!
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I haven’t got access to a B&Q here to get one of those Stanley brushes and doctor it.
A toothbrush would be the next best thing would it? With the handle sharpened?
What about an eyebrow brush/eyelash comb? They are small with quite stiff bristles and it’s got an end which might work as a poky tool?
I’d have to tape the end on though I think to make it a bit stronger as some of them come off the stick if you pull it.
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@VolklAttivaS5, I just use a small tooth brush ( like the ones they hand out on planes ) and just sharpen the end a bit , the Brush end helps but mainly use the pointy end to clear stuff out .
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@Dabber, I managed to find a pack of 3 toothbrushes for €1 yesterday and luckily they had narrowish ends on them to be a poky tool so I’ve stuck one of them in my rucksack.
Didn’t need to use it today when I tried the uphill.
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spyderjoni wrote:
Grip ski with both hands (one hand on each side of the ski) just behind the binding and with the ski base away from you, then simply push down on both brake levers with your thumbs. No need to go anywhere near the actual brake latch etc.


Thanks - I will try that next week, but it didn't feel like the sort of engineering solution that I should try at the time!
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@VolklAttivaS5, cool , how did your go uphill feel ???
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@Dabber, I only had time to try it briefly yesterday but it seemed fine. I went up the side of a steep red piste and the high setting seemed to do the job.
Will try it properly when I go and do a proper skin on Thursday.
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https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=134462&start=160#3372158

I have put my feedback after today’s first proper skin on this thread above
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