G3 el Hombre
Dimensions:
136/105/124mm.. Lengths: 170, 177, 185, 192cm...Weight: 8 lbs 12oz (our 185cm pair)
August, 2007-- The el Hombre represents something
of a departure from the expected for G3 ski line product developer
Paul Parker. Over the course of his illustrious career in the
telemark and backcountry ski gear industry, a career spanning
more than two decades, Parker has always seemed to us to work
more in increments, adding a little here, taking a little away
there, tweaking this or that to sweeten the ride. Until now with
the el Hombre, G3s ski line would appear to support this view.
G3s 3 big guns last season (the Rapid Transit, Reverend and Ticket)
all have tip widths within 8mm of each other (128, 126, 120).
Now along comes the el Hombre, itself a full 8mm fatter than
the biggest boards G3 had in last year's line. It's an even bigger
leap up in waist width, at 105 the Hombre is a full 12mm wider
in the middle than the next fattest board in G3s fleet, the Reverend.
The numbers may tell the story, and yet simply put, G3 has jumped
into the modern, big mountain, fat ski arena with both feet.
And for those of us who ski a lot of soft snow both in and out
of the area, this is really good news.
Tim and I have been fans
of the G3 skis since their introduction in 2004, in particular
we have been really enjoying their versatile and powerful Rapid
Transit, especially at the resort, where it's at home pretty
much all over the mountain. And yet there are days, hopefully
plenty of days, where we like a fatter platform underfoot. Once
you have experienced 100mm+ under your boots on a big powder
day in steep terrain, it can be tough to go back. The el Hombre
is a relatively light (for a 136mm tip ski) way-fat that we can
take on mid-winter and spring big mountain tours with full confidence
that the boards will handle just about any conditions we are
likely to encounter, and with aplomb. We are not the human-lung
type of aerobic masters who seem to levitate up the mountain.
For us, getting to the top is a lot of work, a labor of love
to be sure, but still a labor. As a result, we want to make sure
our ride down is as much fun as possible. These days, more often
than not, this means we ride skis with waist widths of 100mm
or more in the winter backcountry, saving the skinnier boards
for spring corn, and other tours where we are confident in our
knowledge of the day's snow conditions.
In the el Hombre, we got
just what we have been wanting from G3.
Of course the el Hombre
is a blast in fresh powder, and the mass of these big boards
makes them a stable ride in many kinds of funky snow as well.
Crud, mank, even breakable crust, these big boards are great
at wrestling even the nastiest challengers into submission. The
vertically laminated wood core also delivers solid edge hold
by way-fat standards, especially with a fresher tune, making
it easier to get out of the occasional hard-snow and ice jam.
The el Hombre's smooth,
round, and not too stiff flex makes it easy to bend the ski for
shorter radius turns, despite the moderate amount of sidecut,
and yet these boards are just as at home making long radius,
surfy style turns, at which they excel. Stable and powerful,
they make skiing soft snow of all types more fun, and with less
effort, allowing the skilled driver to find the groove faster
and remain there longer. The up and coming will likely find the
stable ride to be a real game-improver as well.
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Conclusion: G3 has been making interesting
skis that can be counted on to deliver various kinds of fun and
never boring rides for a few seasons now. The el Hombre fits
right into their line, filling the needs and desires of a lot
of modern backcountry skiers and in-bounds big mountain riders
of both tele and AT gear. The el Hombre would not be our first
choice on most days for general resort skiing, but it is now,
and will likely continue to be one of the very first pair out
of the roof top box on sweet powder days, as well as on big days
in the backcountry, as such they have taken their place among
the most special skis in our quiver, the ones we really hope
to spend the most time with, but never seem to get quite enough
of....
Two tips up for another
terrific pair of solid, dependable and fun skis from Paul Parker
and G3. The el Hombres deliver all one could hope for, and more,
from 136/105/124 class
skis. |
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