3rd buckle to the Mtn Lab mod

[goldengarbageman]

I have the Salomon Mtn Lab boots and after a year of use (20ish days... the liner is in good shape and not packed out) I really like them although I have a low instep and I am getting some heel lift. I have heard of some mtn lab owners adding an ankle strap to eliminate heel lift. One person mentioned scavenging the ankle strap off of some of the Scarpa models.

Any beta/photos/thoughts on this mod?

And before anyone tells me to buy new boots I will say this... no new boots, these are comfortable-ish, warm, light and the blue brings out my eyes.

[mntlion]

[goldengarbageman]

Your Mtn Labs sure look different than mine...

What is the buckle off of? You drilled out the pivot and bolted strap in?

[XXX-er]

that is not a mtn lab its a Dynafit TLT5 with an instep buckle mod, you can see where buddy filled the old buckle holes with RTV

2 years ago I was sit n in a hut with the salomonfreeskitv athletes all wearing mtnlabs, the boot was pretty new but one of them already had an instep buckle mod, they are a cool bunch ...maybe text them to find some info ?

[nyskirat]

that is not a mtn lab its a Dynafit TLT5 with an instep buckle mod, you can see where buddy filled the old buckle holes with RTV

2 years ago I was sit n in a hut with the salomonfreeskitv athletes all wearing mtnlabs, the boot was pretty new but one of them already had an instep buckle mod, they are a cool bunch ...maybe text them to find some info ?

I think it was Cody that had done this? He is a TGR member that does post on occasion. Maybe PM him then post results here?

[mntlion]

Your Mtn Labs sure look different than mine...

what XXXer said (they are my boots)

What is the buckle off of?

TLT5 toe strap that I moved.

You drilled out the pivot and bolted strap in?

yes, drill out the toe strap, find longer straps etc, drill out the cuff bolt, replace with toe strap and longer cables

[goldengarbageman]

that is not a mtn lab its a Dynafit TLT5 with an instep buckle mod, you can see where buddy filled the old buckle holes with RTV

2 years ago I was sit n in a hut with the salomonfreeskitv athletes all wearing mtnlabs, the boot was pretty new but one of them already had an instep buckle mod, they are a cool bunch ...maybe text them to find some info ?

I was kidding about the boots not looking like mine.

I'm sure I can get through to Ruebens through a friend or two. So that might be a good option. Thanks!

[XXX-er]

I think it was Cody that had done this? He is a TGR member that does post on occasion. Maybe PM him then post results here?

He wasnt there I think it was Anthony Bonatello but here we got 5 guys, 5 sets of feet, all wearing the same new blue MtnLab boot, so I asked how are the boots and they all said " oh yeah they are good! "

and thats when i noticed one set of boots had the instep strap mod

[goldengarbageman]

what XXXer said (they are my boots)



TLT5 toe strap that I moved.



yes, drill out the toe strap, find longer straps etc, drill out the cuff bolt, replace with toe strap and longer cables

Thanks!

[nyskirat]

He wasnt there I think it was Anthony Bonatello but here we got 5 guys, 5 sets of feet, all wearing the same new blue MtnLab boot, so I asked how are the boots and they all said " oh yeah they are good! "

and thats when i noticed one set of boots had the instep strap mod

I think he may have done it too on his? I remember seeing an instagram post of his with the straps.

Could be my imagination.

But OP, please, fill us in if you get an answer.

[XXX-er]

what XXXer said (they are my boots)

Hmmm you are rocking a pair of Con'formables which are rather unusual, I tried to buy a pair of intuition when I was working in cow town 10-11 yrs ago so I went to see Lou but he didn't do intuition so instead he sold me a pair of the black and blue Con' formables with no laces/not much of a tongue

[jhole98]

Seems like a solid idea you might be able to use krypton dynalink buckle.

[Lindahl]

You can always shim the footbed to take up vertical (and instep) height.

[XXX-er]

You can always shim the footbed to take up vertical (and instep) height.

yeah I was gona mention this ^^ and suggest a good apres market foot bed if your heel is lifting

Try a Superfeet or the Sole work best for my flat foot

[JRainey]

I took this screenshot off something cuz I'm a geek. Can't remember where...

[goldengarbageman]

I took this screenshot off something cuz I'm a geek. Can't remember where...

Thanks for the photo! I was wondering if I was going to have to move the buckle on the forefoot to make room for the ankle strap. This should give me a starting point.

[goldengarbageman]

You can always shim the footbed to take up vertical (and instep) height.

I have thought of shimming but having skier's feet (big ass bone spurs) my punches are pretty specific and the the rivet for the forefoot strap won't allow me to punch any higher

[robnow]

I was just in Revy and stopped in at Skookum who are doing everbody's mods (~$100-120 incl. parts). The pic above I'm pretty sure is Stan Rey's setup.

- reverse front buckle and get rid of that double attachment deal
- Scarpa buckles (I've seen some bolted right into pivot and some just below like on Stan's in the pic)
- drill into where material is thicker (i.e. the 'w')
- use T-nuts
- plug old holes

I think I'm going to do the mod tomorrow. 2 seasons on the Labs and they just haven't been working out well for me, but I just don't know what it is exactly. Lately I'm noticing more heel lift which this mod should help. Also, I use two liners, for the resort some Nordica GP cork liners, and for touring the stock liners.

[nyskirat]

I was just in Revy and stopped in at Skookum who are doing everbody's mods (~$100-120 incl. parts). The pic above I'm pretty sure is Stan Rey's setup.

- reverse front buckle and get rid of that double attachment deal
- Scarpa buckles (I've seen some bolted right into pivot and some just below like on Stan's in the pic)
- drill into where material is thicker (i.e. the 'w')
- use T-nuts
- plug old holes

I think I'm going to do the mod tomorrow. 2 seasons on the Labs and they just haven't been working out well for me, but I just don't know what it is exactly. Lately I'm noticing more heel lift which this mod should help. Also, I use two liners, for the resort some Nordica GP cork liners, and for touring the stock liners.

Interested to hear what your issues are. Just heel hold?

[goldengarbageman]

I was just in Revy and stopped in at Skookum who are doing everbody's mods (~$100-120 incl. parts). The pic above I'm pretty sure is Stan Rey's setup.

- reverse front buckle and get rid of that double attachment deal
- Scarpa buckles (I've seen some bolted right into pivot and some just below like on Stan's in the pic)
- drill into where material is thicker (i.e. the 'w')
- use T-nuts
- plug old holes

I think I'm going to do the mod tomorrow. 2 seasons on the Labs and they just haven't been working out well for me, but I just don't know what it is exactly. Lately I'm noticing more heel lift which this mod should help. Also, I use two liners, for the resort some Nordica GP cork liners, and for touring the stock liners.

Good to know. That's a really reasonable price to do that mod. Thanks!

I definitely like the idea of the strap attachment point being the pivot point even though that might lead to problems in the future, but it seems like it might have better ankle hold from that angle.

I like how the boots ski and I am relatively happy with the tour although the forward ROM is really lacking, but that can be solve by undoing all the buckles completely. The biggest issue has definitely been heel lift. IT seems to be a common issue which I hope Salomon addresses with a stock ankle strap if there is a 2.0. Done right and that isn't too much added weight.

[buenonda]

[buenonda]

[goldengarbageman]

Is this photo just to show the attachment point of the ankle strap?

[buenonda]

yes and to show salomon is working on a mtn 2.0 with the same idea of 3 rd buckle

[plurpimpin]

yes and to show salomon is working on a mtn 2.0 with the same idea of 3 rd buckle

Are they really working on a MTN 2.0 though? The boot just came out a year or two ago, that'd be a real quick design cycle. I remember seeing pics of the pro's boots (Specifically Cody Townsend) with the third strap before the MTN boots were even available to the public. I always assumed it was a just a mod folks were doing.