{"id":23181,"date":"2018-09-02T12:29:38","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T19:29:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=23181"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:20:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T06:20:49","slug":"salomon-offers-sneak-peek-at-new-game-changing-slab-shift-binding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/salomon-offers-sneak-peek-at-new-game-changing-slab-shift-binding","title":{"rendered":"New Salomon S\/Lab Shift MNC Binding Offers Uphill, Downhill Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note on September 2, 2018:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>This article was originally published on December 22, 2017. The Salomon S\/Lab Shift MNC Ski Bindings are now available for pre-order at REI<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

It used to be that as a skier who enjoyed both backcountry touring and inbounds skiing, you had to own two entirely different sets of equipment: a touring setup with lightweight alpine touring boots and an uphill-oriented tech binding, and another with stiffer, heavier alpine boots and a DIN-compatible alpine binding for resort skiing. But in recent years, these two worlds are starting to blend.<\/p>\n

The latest example of that: a new touring binding from Salomon, called the\u00a0S\/Lab Shift MNC<\/a>. In December 2017, the company offered a preview of the binding at on-snow demos for key industry insiders, including REI\u2019s own.<\/p>\n

\"Salomon

Photo Credit: Salomon<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt has the feel and safety of an alpine binding, with easy conversion to a pin binding for the uphill,\u201d said Nathan Grothe, REI Co-op\u2019s category merchandise manager for skis, boots and bindings, after a day of testing the binding on the hill. \u201cIt truly is a one-quiver binding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The binding combines the lightweight construction and 90-degree range of motion of a free-heel pin binding with the stability and power transfer of an alpine binding. Flicking a lever in the toe piece lets users easily switch from touring to downhill mode.<\/p>\n

The idea for the Shift binding came out of meetings in 2012 with Salomon\u2019s freeride athletes, including Cody Townsend, Greg Hill and Chris Rubens. \u201cWhen we first started discussing the concepts and ideas years ago, I honestly thought it was not even possible to build,\u201d Townsend said. \u201cIt was a moonshot idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Salomon engineers attempted to create the athletes\u2019 vision. Since then, the binding has gone through five new shapes and 20 different prototypes. They\u2019ve spent the last three years testing and refining the binding to its current form.<\/p>\n