New G3 Tech Binding
Aside from a website address, http://www.genuineguidegear.com/2014-ion/, I don’t know much about this binding aside from it looks very sexy in photos.
According to G3, it features “Game changing forward pressure, wide mount and refined toe jaw dynamics plus unique step-in and brake features yield superior freeride performance in the lightest set up you can ask for.” Available on 08.01.2014, as in August of next year.
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Help support StraightChuter.com and trim your skins in eager Ion anticiption with a G3 Trim Tool from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…
Category: Gear Reviews
Awesome. May quality continue to rise as prices drop and Tech bindings become a commodity.
It would be nice if they showed up with a version at the OR show.
I actually saw the binding in use last weekend touring behind Whistler. Some of the G3 crew were out on a photo shoot. About the same weight as a dynafit radical and with improved elasticity of the heel. One new feature that the guys were very happy with was how easy the entry to the toe is. One of them was, with great amusement, stepping in, out, in, out,…. obviously there was super easy alignment/engagement. So that sounds like a nice improvement. Hopefully they turn into a nice product next year.
[sounds like G3 will have a bigger selection of super light, fat skis coming too…]
I’ve seen & handled it. Beautiful, solid and simply confident. A slam dunk, imo. I was told there will be demos mounted & ready to drive at OR. Excited to try them.
Any word on the hole pattern?
Neat, I’m really impressed that they figured out a way to release a binding without releasing a binding. Now that is some impressive pr work. And really ” someone” is bagging a peak with this binding right now! We’ll I bagged a peak this morning and yesterday and quite a few peaks over the last quite a few years with bindings that have a been used much more than the ion. This attempt to capture market share is ephemeral as the ion consists of less than 50 actual units. Are we supposed to believe that when it is available that the bugs have been worked out and it will be as solid as the tech bindings that have been skied on and refined over the last 18 years. Bd made a headlamp called the ion it was a cheap piece of crap with a half life of one week. But nobody remembers that like nobody remembers the last piece of crap g3 tech binding, what was that pos called?
Billy Jack – you are probably referring to the G3 Onyx binding. I’m not sure why G3 would announce the Ion binding so far ahead of time, but if they do indeed have 50 or so models in existence which are being tested this season, they probably figure the cat is out of the bag and it will be “discovered” by someone, somehow, so they might as well announce it themselves. I’m guessing they’d use this season to field test them and also work out all of the manufacturing and pricing details. Conversely, I’d rather see an extended introduction and a fully dialed binding, rather than rushing to get a pos binding to market which breaks, has a weird hole pattern (which screws up a nice pair of skis when/if the binding is recalled), etc..
Some sexy. Looking forward to the new offering from diamir as well. Haven’t been overly happy with my radicals. Hope I can sneak out one more season on them without something on them breaking…again.
I think it is simple. Diamir/Black Diamond are coming out with the Vipec 12 in Jan. The G3 announcement plants doubts in potential buyers and makes them consider waiting until all the options are on the table in 2014 – It holds open market share til G3 is ready to compete.
Snowy – that’s a very likely theory.
Fritschi Diamir Vipec 12 Details are here:
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/ski-bindings/fritschi-diamir-vipec-12-binding-BD1012780000ALL1.html
from what i heard, 300 units have been produced for demo and testing before it hits the retail market next season. i’ve seen it in person, it’s quite impressive.