G3 2018-19 Gear Sneak Peek - VIDEO
G3 has always been one of our favourite brands here at Backcountry Skiing Canada. They've been at the forefront of innovation and continually push design boundaries with their skis, bindings, skins, and poles.
G3 is it again for 2018/19 with their new Zed binding which builds on the success of the Ion by reducing weight and adding in several new features. G3 questioned each and every part of the Ion and pushed the envelop to come up with a fully featured binding at the lightest weight possible. The Zed bindings will ship with a newly designed leash and brakes can be purchased separately should you want them. The Zed Bindings weigh in at 310g or 10.9oz per binding w/o the brakes and has a 30mm length adjustment and a 5-12 DIN setting.
G3 has also built on the success of their FINDr skis (which we awarded our Gear of the year last year) and come out with the new SEEKr skis. These skis use a lightweight version of G3’s FLYRIDE + carbon construction with an all mountain shape/profile and reduced camber underfoot to provide a playful, lighter cousin to the FINDr. Available in a 164, 172, 180 and 188cm lengths the SEEKr Skis are 139 at the tip, 110 underfoot and 127mm in the tail. They weigh in at only 1.37kg or 3lb per ski for the 164 length. They are also available in a 100mm version and of course a women’s specific version.
As if this wasn’t enough G3 has also revamped their entire climbing skin line. They will now offer five different skins, each designed for specific uses in the backcountry. There’s the ALPINIST Universal for any locations and conditions, the ALPINIST GRIP for maximum grip and traction, the ALPINIST GLIDE for optimal glide, the ALPINIST SPEED for increased glide and speed and the ALPINIST POW, for those who ski primarily deep snow. Each skin in the ALPINIST family has a different plush fabric made from either nylon or mohair, or both. The ALPINIST POW and UNIVERSAL skins both use a nylon plush but the POW has a larger SCALA-like plastic tip to help break trail more efficiently. The ALPINIST SPEED is 100% mohair while the GLIDE is 70% mohair and 30% nylon for added durability.
While we have yet to ski any of these new products, we hope to get our paws all over them at the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Show in Denver in a weeks time, so stay tuned for more information and expect a full review of each at some point in the spring.