The Salomon MTN LAB backcountry boots have gotten a lot of press lately. From Outdoor Retailer, SIA, and ISPO, the boots have won awards and are probably soaking wet from all the people salivating over them. What’s the big deal? Word is that these boots have blurred the line between light weight touring boots for the up, and freeride chargers for the down. Well, we got to go on a backcountry tour with a pair of the MTN LAB on our feet for this “first look.”
Putting on the Salomon MTN LAB, the first thing I noticed is how narrow they are. With a 98mm last, they felt good on my low-profile feet, though I felt I would benefit with a bit of liner cooking. I run a 25.5 or 26 on most touring boots, but the smallest sample size available was a 26.5. As a result, the boots felt long in the toe, but just perfect width-wise. The boots are crazy light (1550 grams) and have far less bulk than past boots I’ve toured in, especially since they have a 2-buckle design. I say they are svelte. So how on earth does a light weight, 2-buckle boot ski like a freeride charger? I took them frontside at Alta to give ’em a ride.
The morning was cold, and the snow was firm. Skiing on Voile Chargers mounted with Dynafit Radical FT bindings were not an ideal setup for ice, hardpack and frozen death cookies. But despite those conditions, the boots were steady, stable, and the 120 flex felt true – in all, I couldn’t tell them apart from a resort-oriented boot (though stiffer skis and alpine bindings would have been nice on that particular run.)
With that out of the way, it was on to the backcountry for some uphill testing. From the top of the Supreme lift, we traversed to Rocky Point and slapped on the climbing skins for an ascent of Sunset Peak. Upon the first step, the light weight of the boots was noticeable. Going uphill in the MTN LAB was pretty cushy, and the 47-degree range-of-motion is better than average. I never felt like I needed more unless the grade got really steep.
Atop Sunset, going from skin to ski mode was a breeze. Having just two buckles makes the process less time-consuming, and the walk/ski switch on the back can be engaged when you tighten the top buckle. You simply swipe your hand from the buckle and hit the horizontal switch in one motion. I also really dig the cuff strap. They’ve done away with velcro and instead went with a buckle. It keeps the strap as tight as you want it (I think velcro comes loose too easily) and it’s much easier to loosen when you want to transition to tour mode. Simply push the buckle down and bend your knee.
Now for the big test – how do the Salomon MTN LAB ski? We chose a north-facing run into Snake Creek that had variable snow from sun/wind crust to recycled powder. The boots performed better than they had any right to. All reservations about a two-buckle boot keeping my foot snug enough for freeride lines in variable snow were put to rest. These boots ski as well as, if not better than, my Scarpa Freedom SL, Garmont Adrenaline and Black Diamond Quadrant boots of the past.
While it’s tough to get the whole picture about a new boot in just one day of touring (especially when the boots are a size too big) I think it’s safe to say that Salomon is onto something big here. Considering that Greg Hill (you know, that guys who climbs trillions of vertical feet in a season) helped design these, I’d say if they’re good for him, then they’ll be spectacular for an average ski-touring junkie like me. Hopefully I can get even more time on the Salomon MTN LAB boots, because they’re pretty much a joy to ride.