G3 Launches A New Line Of
Telemark And Backcountry Skis
G3 founder Oliver Steffen puts recently
hired product developer Paul Parker's extensive experience and
ski design expertise to good use in bringing four distinct ski
models to market this fall, engineered for use by both tele and
AT skiers.
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October 7, 2004--
At their annual sales rep meeting tonight in Vancouver, Canada,
G3 unveiled a new line of skis in what was described as an early
launch for the 2005/2006 season. All are fat skis, with waists
between 81 and 93 millimeters. In another meeting last month
in Denver, Paul Parker expressed to Telemarktips his enthusiasm
for the skis in G3's initial line up, "One of the most exciting
aspects of coming to work at G3 was being able to start with
a clean sheet of paper," said Parker. "Experience is
the best teacher, and this was an opportunity for me to work
with the excellent team at G3 to capitalize on everything I've
learned through the years. To build a new ski line from the ground
up," Parker continued, "gave us a chance to bring new
materials, improved construction and a completely fresh design
philosophy together to create, what I believe are easily the
best skis I've ever been involved with, by far."
Asked why G3 made the decision to get into
the ski business, G3 President and founder Oliver Steffen said,
"We've had a lot of requests for skis from our hardcore
G3 user base, and have been working on this for quite awhile.
With Paul Parker coming on board, and other resources we've added,
we finally decided we had everything in place, allowing us to
produce a selection of skis that benefit from from years of market
research, development and testing."
The new skis are called the Reverend,
Baron, Siren, and the Ticket . The cores
are are all vertically laminated wood with double torsion box
construction. They utilize a sintered base and, staying true
to G3's backcountry focus, all come with holes in the tips to
facilitate emergency sled building, or for hauling skis up steep
couloirs. The holes will come with removable plugs installed.
Somewhat surprisingly, none of G3's new
skis come with binding inserts. An approach begun last year by
K2, who chose to use the hole pattern popularly referred to as
the "G3 pattern," which is also used in Black Diamond's
O-series bindings. |
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When we asked Parker about this he explained
that G3 debated the idea of using inserts extensively, but in
the end decided they didn't want their skis to be perceived as
being for telemark skiing only, "all of our skis work well
for either tele or AT-style skiing," said Paul.
.
Reverend:
Dimensions: 126/93/114....... Lengths 177,
185....WWeight: 4.0 kg, 8.8 lbs (185 pair)
"The Reverend has attitude, smooth
as a Cadillac, the Reverend rides comfortably." so begins
G3's product description for their wide-body, big-mountain offering.
That line made us laugh so we just had to put it in here but
we also asked Paul Parker to explain further, "The attitude
of this ski gives it a special character, it's a fat board for
go-fast skiers who ride a lot in softer snow locales. Not a powder
specific ski, the Rev is rather a wide ski that rides high in
soft snow, though it hasn't lost its edge, like some in its category."
Truly fat skis are a blast; we were stoked to see that G3 has
included a promising looking model of their own in this initial
lineup. And the graphics are certainly entertaining!
.
Baron:
Dimensions: 116/81/104....... Lengths 170,
177, 184....WWeight: 3.5 kg, 7.7 lbs (184 pair)
The Baron is the ski in the G3 line designed
for going places. Parker tells us it's the most versatile in
the bunch, light for backcountry travel but burly enough for
resort use. The pair we handled seemed to have a medium range
flex and G3 says it has good edge hold at speed. At 81mm the
Baron has a healthy width waist that should make for a solid
platform in variable backcountry snow.The Red Baron style graphics
looked sweet, with a number of little surprises to hold the eye
upon closer inspection.
.
Siren:
Dimensions: 121/88/109....... Lengths 157,
166....WWeight: 3.3 kg, 7.2 lbs (166 pair)
This one is for the ladies. G3 describes
the Siren as a big, wide, aggressive and fun ski that was developed
specifically to be manufactured in women's lengths. "This
is not a shorter men's ski with a girly graphic," says the
G3. This one also had what we would characterize as a medium,
round flex, with a tail section that even lighter weight women
should be able to load up nicely. The Siren is said to be most
suitable for proficient women skiers who need a pair of skis
that can keep up and won't let them down.
.
Ticket:
Dimensions: 120/81/109....... Lengths 174,
182....WWeight: 3.7 kg, 8.2 lbs (182 pair)
The Ticket, as in "ticket to ride,"
is the most unique ski in the G3 line. An asymmetrical sidecut
gives the skis a tighter turning radius on the outside edges.
"The more aggressive turning radius on the outside edge
helps pull you into the turn sooner for improved edge hold and
faster transitions," says Paul Parker, who has tested the
Ticket extensively. Developed with advanced and aggressive skiers
in mind, the Ticket has a noticeably stiffer flex than any other
ski in the line, relative to other skis we would say it is "medium
stiff." With a fairly wide waist, the Ticket should be versatile
enough for the backcountry and fun in the fluff, but with that
burly flex. and unique sidecut they could be a truly outstanding
resort ski. We can't wait to try them.
.
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So there's the rundown on what was
the best kept secret in telemark. Here's a few other details:
All of G3's skis are being produced by a European ski maker at
a factory in Tunisia, yes, Tunisia, that small nation in North
Africa, right off the toe of Italy's boot. "There is a skilled
work force in Tunisia and the factory is state of the art,"
said Oliver Steffen. When asked if the new G3 skis had any connection
to designs he had been working on at Tua before the Italian ski
maker's bankruptcy, and specifically about the oft-repeated rumor
that he had somehow acquired the Tua molds, Paul Parker laughed
and shook his head saying, "no that didn't happen and these
skis are totally new designs in every way, including the utilization
of completely new manufacturing methods." |
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A first full production run has already
been completed and G3 skis will begin to to be shipped to dealers
early next month. Prices (MSRP) for the four models are as follows:
Reverend, $625, Baron, $559, Siren, $549, and the Ticket, $620
.
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