I use the rear brake as a drag brake and have done OK with black compound, but want better wet weather performance and looking at going to the salmon compound. Anyone have experience running Kool Stop Salmon Canti pads Eagle Claw 2 on a loaded touring rig in the mountains? Specifically I am thinking about wear characteristics. Do they handle the heat alright? Do they wear faster than a black compound pad?

I have, but how you brake is going to be the determining factor here, not the pads.
The fact that you say "drag brake" gives the impression that you brake for long periods of time, which is going to go through pads much faster than periodic hard applications of brakes using both brakes, with the majority of pressure on the front.

Ive used salmon pads for many years, but while I havent used them a ton in mountains, I tend not to brake much, and when I do, its a short, hard application using mostly the front, and I as a rule never drag my brakes, so over the decades, my brake pads last a long time.

I know I'm not giving you an exact answer, but I can say that when I started using them, I thought they might wear quickly, but in the end, they have not, and I am very happy with the increased stopping power they give me compared to the stock pads that one bike came with. My other bike with them doesnt see much brake use, its my winter rider, and I am hardly ever going more than 35kph, and I mostly am going slow, so have minimal braking, so the salmons on that bike are ancient.

I have not worn out any Salmon pads yet, have only been using them for a few years. But one person I know says that the rims last longer with those pads than with harder pads. For that reason I am slowly switching to Salmon pads for my bikes. Now I have to figure out what to do with the unused pads that I have bought that are not Salmon.

I do not have a lot of long distance braking experience, but I can say that on Going to the Sun Road going down hill westbound, I stopped twice to check my rims for heat, once they felt warm enough that I decided to wait for about 5 or 10 minutes for them to cool. That was not with Salmon however. That was the only time I can think of when I dragged my brakes for a long distance, as that was a few thousand feet of elevation.

They are not very expensive, carry a spare set. I often carry a spare pair of pads for one wheel when I tour. My next tour, my pads are worn enough that I am bringing spare pads for both wheels.

Yes. They work fine in the mountains and elsewhere. Just had a new set put on last week.

They'll wear out, but not quickly. IIRC the Eagle Claw are the thick pads, right? I've also got a canti setup that takes V brake pads, which I wear out in a year or two. The bike with the thicker pads gets most of my riding, and lasts for 2-3 years of normal commute plus weekend riding. Although I don't do a lot of downhill drag braking -- the road I do the most on is closed because it's sliding off the mountain.

Who's Black Compound pad ? Kool stop has made black, salmon and pads with both molded together

as rubber ages it gets harder also..

Magura got kool stop to mold their compounds , like salmon for them , shipped To germany

I have used Magura's black stock pads , then got the Salmon. But I dont ride the bike daily

used KS black & salmon on my cantilever braked Touring bike , of similar age they seem of equal hardness ..

With slip in inserts you probably can find room for spares to bring along... with the tiniest bags..






,,,..

It is called stab braking when you drive big trucks. You use your brakes to slow down firmly. You then wait until you need to slow down again. This allows for a cool down of the rims and brakes. The salmon pads are better than others I have used. I have an Araya drum brake on my Burly tandem. I use it as a drag brake.