Salomon MTN Lab's

[lemonhead]

I've done quite a bit of touring on them. I love a performance fit. All of my boots need multiple punches due to my jacked up feet. Me and my boot fitter go through the same process every new shell.

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[JackSkier]

Any ideas how the fit of the MTN labs compares to the old Quest BC 120s? I'm young and poor so can't afford to see a boot fitter. The Quests fit me well but would like to get something stiffer with a better walk mode.

[Spats]

MTN Labs have more forward lean than many modern ski boots. If your pintech bindings have a lot of ramp, like older Dynafits, you might have stance issues. I've concluded that I'll have to shim the toes of my Comforts to really get my stance dialed in: I've tried shimming the leg but can't get enough out of it.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

Spats, they're 13 degrees. It is more forward than many but also more upright than many. If I had to say they were more one way than the other I'd call them more upright than most boots.

[swissiphic]

MTN Labs have more forward lean than many modern ski boots. If your pintech bindings have a lot of ramp, like older Dynafits, you might have stance issues. I've concluded that I'll have to shim the toes of my Comforts to really get my stance dialed in: I've tried shimming the leg but can't get enough out of it.

Found that due to their brick wall like forward flex, the stance angles that they afforded were far too upright for me.

Got em to work somewhat by heel lifting and adding a rear spoiler. Skied with Dynafit higher ramp Vertical St bindings and a pair of skis with vertical heel/low tech toe with even higher ramp angle.

Sweet spot achieved but only for static turns on smooth snow; no love in dynamic boot flex required skiing and sold boots.

Conclusion: IME,O; Marketed numbers of degrees of forward lean are a good starting point but kinda useless...skier anatomy will ultimately dictate how much or how little ya want/need for day to day skiing ski stance love and bliss.

[margotron]

My comments having not read the thread:

If you can't drive the tip, you're ramp angle is too large. The kingpins + mtn prolly have higher net ramp delta than the alpine setup.

At play is boot board angle, binding angle and boot angle (ie does the boot board sit perfectly flat in the shell or does the shell have some ramp built in)

Fixes include: shim the binding toe, gas pedal the boot board, be aware of the shell.

Once you correct net ramp, you'll be able to pressure the tips but may feel back seat. Now is the time to adjust forward lean of boot. Ramp should always be addressed before forward lean but nobody does it

[Meadow Skipper]

IME Salomon MTN Explore = cure for stiff flex of the Labs. Kind of lack the gnar rep/factor though. <shrug>

Love mine after a little punch work across the mets. I have a hella high instep, average heel, slightly wide forefoot.

[margotron]

Side note: my modded Lupo 130 ski as good as any inbound boot. Consider them. Albeit heavy

[jmars]

The WC booster was a game changer for me in the MTN Lab. No more dead flex

[Adrgha]

The WC booster was a game changer for me in the MTN Lab. No more dead flex

Yup, same experience here. Feels like a different boot. Huge (positive) difference!

[margotron]

If u want the feel without the weight or cost, try XL voile straps. I own boosters and voiles and prefer the voile feel

The WC booster was a game changer for me in the MTN Lab. No more dead flex

[Adrgha]

The only downside for me with these is the heel hold. I put Intuition Pro tours in mine, which improved heel hold greatly. I toured all winter without blisters. Unfortunately, when spring and warmer weather arrived I now once again experience blisters on the inside of my heels.

[jmars]

Heel wrap should help that I’d think. I get very sweating in the stock liner on warmer days...and when this happens I find the liner to get a bit sloppy.

I’m thinking of grabbing the Pro tongues to toss in mine

[FlimFlamvanHam]

IME Salomon MTN Explore = cure for stiff flex of the Labs. Kind of lack the gnar rep/factor though. <shrug>

Love mine after a little punch work across the mets. I have a hella high instep, average heel, slightly wide forefoot.

I'm in same and really, really like them. Super narrow foot with super high instep: zero work and Intuition Protour HV and mine are super comfy and warm.

We got all twisted up on ramp/delta when last questions was regarding fit compared to old Quest BC 120s.

On the subject of ramp, which I am hyper sensitive to, my MTN's with Verticals now feel identical to my Full Tilts in FKS155 (after removing the custom 2mm shim I used to run under the heels of all of mine). For what that's worth...

[sruffian]

Found that due to their brick wall like forward flex, the stance angles that they afforded were far too upright for me.

The WC booster was a game changer for me in the MTN Lab. No more dead flex

+1 for both of these. booster strap changed the flex, now I feel like I get something out of the boot both skiing centered and driving them.

[hafjell]

+1 for both of these. booster strap changed the flex, now I feel like I get something out of the boot both skiing centered and driving them.

I'm confused. Wouldn't adding a booster strap increase stiffness or decrease flex. Wouldn't it be one more strap/buckle keeping the boot tight and from flexing?

[jmars]

No, you are technically not stiffening the boot.

The boosters strap allows for a much nicer linear flex without the hard dead stop that the stock strap creates. Since there is no more forward “give” once the stock strap is “maxed” out with shin/body weight pressure you hit a hard point not found with the Booster.

The elastic of the Booster also helps to rebound the boot/leg through the edge to edge transition.

Give a Booster a shot if you never tried one.

[margotron]

I think boosters create progressive flex actually. Softer then stiffer. Think about a rubber band. Incrementally more force is required to stretch. On a graph the line would be curved not straight

[jmars]

Maybe I’m using linear and progressive incorrectly....

Either way booster is awesome

[hafjell]

No, you are technically not stiffening the boot.

The boosters strap allows for a much nicer linear flex without the hard dead stop that the stock strap creates. Since there is no more forward “give” once the stock strap is “maxed” out with shin/body weight pressure you hit a hard point not found with the Booster.

The elastic of the Booster also helps to rebound the boot/leg through the edge to edge transition.

Give a Booster a shot if you never tried one.

Aha. I just assumed they were to make it more stiff. Great tip. Thanks.

[margotron]

Qft!

Maybe I’m using linear and progressive incorrectly....

Either way booster is awesome

[Spats]

On the subject of ramp, which I am hyper sensitive to, my MTN's with Verticals now feel identical to my Full Tilts in FKS155 (after removing the custom 2mm shim I used to run under the heels of all of mine). For what that's worth...

FTs have a LOT of ramp. I think my stance problem with MTN Labs might be the combination of forward lean (I generally prefer a more upright stance) and too much ramp. Unfortunately I can't gas-pedal the boot board since there's not enough room above the ball of my foot, and I've already shimmed the tongues as far as I can.

[Sashko]

Any other options for aftermarket liners for 50/50 use? What about Scarpa liners? 22mm shel fit.

[Self Jupiter]

Bumping this thread to ask, can the boot soles (heels and toes) be repaired or replaced?

[lucknau]

Bumping this thread to ask, can the boot soles (heels and toes) be repaired or replaced?

I've been digging around trying to answer that, too, and I think the answer is no, on replacement, unless they were to strip and re-glue, which I haven't seen any options for.

Are yours falling apart? Mine are separating little chunks off the heel and toe. I have a friend who's got a pair, too, and same thing's happening to his. I've only bootpacked in them maybe a mile total, and toured 15 days. He's got even less time. Not sure what to do about it.