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Philpug

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Yeah, @Ron skied them. He would be best to comment on how they were compare to their alpine counterpart.
 

Ron

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I demoed them for about 3 hours on a variety of snow. 3" fresh with wind loaded pockets, scraped off groomers, piled up fresh and even a bit of softer bumps. the Mind Bender boots felt just like the Alpine Recons. their performance was just as good as the amazing Recon. I could not detect any fore/aft slop as the walk mode mechanism is really solid. If you read my long term review of the Recon, I would say all the same things about this boot. I demoed the LV 130 btw. I am still gathering some info about the boot since there's a lot of tech in the boot but feel free to ask any questions you might have, It's also a great looking boot. I had several folks attending the SIA who complimented the look of the boot.

uNmKQ2TnRUSunV8bVUNHWg.jpg
 

SBrown

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I tried on a pair of the women's 110s, skied one run. I didn't put my footbeds in, so that was odd, but it seems like a promising boot. There is a LOT of room in the toe area, and there was some discussion that some people have downsized in it. But the ankle and heel were really nice and tight. Overall, it felt a bit more substantial than my 110 Lange XT Free (different plastic I believe, and a little taller cuff) but not super different. There was a lot of room in the instep area, and I have a fairly high instep, but again, I didn't have my footbeds in. Definitely would try again (would like to try the 120 flex, but they didn't have my size).
 

neonorchid

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I tried on a pair of the women's 110s, skied one run. I didn't put my footbeds in, so that was odd, but it seems like a promising boot. There is a LOT of room in the toe area, and there was some discussion that some people have downsized in it. But the ankle and heel were really nice and tight. Overall, it felt a bit more substantial than my 110 Lange XT Free (different plastic I believe, and a little taller cuff) but not super different. There was a lot of room in the instep area, and I have a fairly high instep, but again, I didn't have my footbeds in. Definitely would try again (would like to try the 120 flex, but they didn't have my size).
Thx @SBrown, they look like a nice 50/50 boot, solid tour mechanism, acceptable 50º ROM, but a lot of room in the instep area for someone with a fairly high instep is a red flag for me. With the way my search has been going this will be one less boot to spin the CC on ordering for fit come Fall 2019 in my non-existant serious 50/50 boot market area!
 
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SBrown

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OH ... one other thing that was super interesting to me is that they accept Cantology stuff.
 

Philpug

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OH ... one other thing that was super interesting to me is that they accept Cantology stuff.
The tech fittings are veeeeery close to the top of the toe lugs. You might be able to get .5* but I know would not risk my router to do any.
 

Ron

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Thx @SBrown, they look like a nice 50/50 boot, solid tour mechanism, acceptable 50º ROM, but a lot of room in the instep area for someone with a fairly high instep is a red flag for me. With the way my search has been going this will be one less boot to spin the CC on ordering for fit come Fall 2019 in my non-existant serious 50/50 boot market area!

this shell is heat moldable so dont assume it won't work for you. I plan to be in this boot next season.
 

neonorchid

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this shell is heat moldable so dont assume it won't work for you. I plan to be in this boot next season.
Sure only I get the idea @SBrown's tried an out of the box pair. I'd think heat molding would not reduce instep volume without expanding it in another location, every action equal and opposite reaction thing. However if I come across a pair in the ski shop I will give you benefit of doubt and try them on.
 

neonorchid

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The tech fittings are veeeeery close to the top of the toe lugs. You might be able to get .5* but I know would not risk my router to do any.
Yep! I have a .5* cant on my left boot. seamless integration with the Alpine lugs.
I'd think that modification would render the boot useless to tour with traditional pin-tech and the new-fangled hybird pin-tech Salomon Shift bindings.
 

Ron

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I have a low instep and they fit great. Even without heat molding. Keep in mind susan did not have her footbeds in. We wre both skiing woth the stock bed.
 

Philpug

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I'd think that modification would render the boot useless to tour with traditional pin-tech and the new-fangled hybird pin-tech Salomon Shift bindings.
With the ability to adjust the AFD on the Shift, you might be OK, but I would suggest not doing it.
 

neonorchid

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With the ability to adjust the AFD on the Shift, you might be OK, but I would suggest not doing it.
To date I been ok with stock boot cuff angles and haven't had the need for such work.

Without physically toying with the gear, I'd intuitively think don't mess with that type of canting to a boot with tech fittings in the "Alpine heel" type pin-tech bindings such as Fritschi Tecton, Marker KingPin.
Changing the angle of the boots DIN duckbill toe and heel spur and consequentially no longer having the pin-tech toepiece pins connection on the same plane as the boot sole resting on an AFD. The bindings AFD would still be aligned horozontaly parallel with the tech fitting's dimple connx point.
How much of a difference 5º makes with such an interface, IDK?

Not sure if it would be an issue with the older low-tech type pin-tech bindings which suspend the boot via their pins, probably not.

^Come to think of it, canting 5º probably shouldn't be an issue with the Salomon Shift since the boot will only be connected to the pins when skinning on the up, ^^and assuming the new angle wouldn't cause the toepiece tech fitting to interfere with the "Alpine DIN toepiece".

Paging @Doug Briggs ... @Doug Briggs, what say you?


^https://www.wildsnow.com/25598/tech-fittings-ski-touring-names-dynafit/

^^https://www.wildsnow.com/25538/scarpa-ski-touring-boots-and-the-salomon-atomic-shift-binding/
 
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neonorchid

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With the ability to adjust the AFD on the Shift, you might be OK, but I would suggest not doing it.

-
^Come to think of it, canting 5º probably shouldn't be an issue with the Salomon Shift since the boot will only be connected to the pins when skinning on the up, ^^and assuming the new angle wouldn't cause the toepiece tech fitting to interfere with the "Alpine DIN toepiece".

Paging @Doug Briggs ... @Doug Briggs, what say you?


^https://www.wildsnow.com/25598/tech-fittings-ski-touring-names-dynafit/

^^https://www.wildsnow.com/25538/scarpa-ski-touring-boots-and-the-salomon-atomic-shift-binding/
I take back what I said WRT canted soles and the Shift binding. Probably wouldnt work so well. Lowering the adjustable AFT to the lowest point of the sole when the pins are engaged with the boot in tour mode would create a sloppy gap between the AFD and boot when in (Alpine DIN toe) ski mode.
 

Doug Briggs

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If you need canting with tech boots, you can always cant the binding. I don't know how that might affect touring mode. I have canted customer's touring bindings, not Shifts yet, so I presume it would work ok.

I don't have a set of Shifts to look at at the moment, but isn't the AFD out of the picture in touring mode so a cant in the sole wouldn't need to be accommodated by altering the AFD for touring?
 

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