what about this removable tongue deal? does it ski o.k. with the standard tongue/cuff?

I always ski the Performance version with out the tongue. On the Mtn version I like the tongue in place if there is any serious down hill. The Mtn is pretty soft without the tongue. But no big deal to add it before the down.

The removable tongue system is brilliant. It is obvious there are no two way solution to both flexible and stiff boots, so adding a removable stiffener works really well. You can add or remove the solution very easily. I want to emphasis this because I beleive this would be the design crux; making it useful. One day when I was so tiered I forgot to replaced the stiffener, I rode without noticing it. It skis like the Scarpa Spirit 3 without the tongue, and skis like a four buckle boot with it. It's pretty wild really.

You can ski with or without the tongue. For anything other than rando-racing (or maybe a really flattish tour), I would certainly recommend skiing with the tongues. The cool think is that you can remove the tongues for a super long up and put them in your pack, and then add them for the way down. That method adds a modicum of comfort and reduces moving weight slightly.