They say if you are lucky enough to live in the mountains, you are lucky enough. Well, living in Tahoe makes me lucky, but having connections to Daron Rahlves -- U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Famer, Olympian, Hahnenkamm winner, great dad, and all-around good guy -- makes me even luckier. We reached out to Daron earlier this week to see if we could talk about Atomic's new Shift MNC 13 alpine/touring binding. As part of the development team, he was more than happy to spend some time with us. We agreed to meet up at Sugar Bowl so we could play with the binding and get his thoughts on it. What was to be just an interview and short video session turned into an on-snow test. But that's the way Daron rolls. Again, lucky us.
First, I don’t have any tech-compatible boots to test with; at some point we will get someone with tech boots to test these, but until then we will talk about the binding's alpine function and performance. Second, is the Shift MNC 13 the be-all, end-all of bindings, a unicorn, the solution to every question since the dawn of both releasable bindings and backcountry touring? Damn. I am not qualified to answer that, but other than running a race course on a plated ski, I'm not sure what it won't do.
For at least the past decade, major binding manufacturers (including Atomic/Salomon) have been reengineering their existing bindings in order to add a hike mode. They have used the toe from one and the heel from another, connected them with a frame, even combined tech toes, but every one has necessitated a compromise in weight, performance, or safety -- sometimes all three. None were were able to accommodate all boot soles -- DIN/alpine, WTR, GripWalk, and tech -- in the manner they were designed, until now (or at least until next September, when the Shift will be released). How did Atomic/Salomon do it? Well, it was willing to do something no one had done before: start with a completely clean sheet of paper, not just go through the parts bin to see what it could use from its other bindings. It was a risky move, but one that looks like it will pay off.
No, this binding is not for me; I don’t climb, that's what lifts are for. No, it is not the lightest binding for going uphill; others are significantly lighter, but they don't have near the performance and safety that the Shift provides. Daron spends as much time in the backcountry as inbounds now, and after using this binding for over a year, he feels there is no loss in safety or confidence compared with traditional alpine bindings. While there might be a slight compromise in uphill performance, the added safety on the downhill far outweighs it. Dave Dodge has a good video talking about the risks of skiing a tech binding inbounds; when the Shift is skied in alpine mode, it addresses his safety concerns.
On snow: We had fast and firm conditions at Sugar Bowl, just the ones in which I wouldn't want to push the limits of a typical tech binding. We also added some extra hoops for the binding to jump through: the Shift MNC 13 was mounted on wide skis, 107mm skis that would have preferred to be in the snow rather than on it. Why does this matter? Well, for years we have said that lateral rigidity is what separates a better binding from a lesser one. Putting a 107mm ski up on edge on firm corduroy and hard wind buff should show any weaknesses, but I felt absolutely no lateral flex. I simply did not believe that I was in a compromised binding. All that was left for me to do was to chase one of the fastest men on skis, Daron Rahlves; I can say with confidence that it was not the binding's fault I couldn't keep up with him.
How it works: Simply, it works as expected. Can you ask for anything more than that? Like I said, the only real shortcoming is that it is not the lightest offering out there, so weight weenies won't be thrilled. The Shift will not take any current Atomic/Salomon binding hole patterns, either. Plus, some people are just naysayers -- you know, the type who back in the day questioned whether bread should come sliced. I will defer to what Daron said about the hiking aspect of the binding and refer you to the video. Alpine mode has an adjustable AFD for all the different sole options. The heel has a micro-forward pressure adjustment that makes a solid metal "click" when you engage it as compared to the plastic-on-plastic of some manufacturers' offerings in this segment.
I hope to add a pair of these to our long-term test fleet; ideally, a lucky member will be able to use it for an extended period of time. If you are interested, we are accepting applications [cough] and bribes [/cough] (PM me for Paypal information).
Full gallery HERE.
On snow: We had fast and firm conditions at Sugar Bowl, just the ones in which I wouldn't want to push the limits of a typical tech binding. We also added some extra hoops for the binding to jump through: the Shift MNC 13 was mounted on wide skis, 107mm skis that would have preferred to be in the snow rather than on it. Why does this matter? Well, for years we have said that lateral rigidity is what separates a better binding from a lesser one. Putting a 107mm ski up on edge on firm corduroy and hard wind buff should show any weaknesses, but I felt absolutely no lateral flex. I simply did not believe that I was in a compromised binding. All that was left for me to do was to chase one of the fastest men on skis, Daron Rahlves; I can say with confidence that it was not the binding's fault I couldn't keep up with him.
How it works: Simply, it works as expected. Can you ask for anything more than that? Like I said, the only real shortcoming is that it is not the lightest offering out there, so weight weenies won't be thrilled. The Shift will not take any current Atomic/Salomon binding hole patterns, either. Plus, some people are just naysayers -- you know, the type who back in the day questioned whether bread should come sliced. I will defer to what Daron said about the hiking aspect of the binding and refer you to the video. Alpine mode has an adjustable AFD for all the different sole options. The heel has a micro-forward pressure adjustment that makes a solid metal "click" when you engage it as compared to the plastic-on-plastic of some manufacturers' offerings in this segment.
I hope to add a pair of these to our long-term test fleet; ideally, a lucky member will be able to use it for an extended period of time. If you are interested, we are accepting applications [cough] and bribes [/cough] (PM me for Paypal information).
Full gallery HERE.