G3 Infidel Ski

[1000-oaks]

Just picked up a pair of 185 Infidels, almost as stiff with a lot more sidecut and a little less rocker than Highball (which is very stiff and has less tip rocker than the Empire 115). The mount line (located 3cm behind center of sidecut) is pretty centered though, and is 3cm forward of the line on 185 Highball. So much tail...maybe G3 was hoping to attract some park rats, but don't they prefer soft skis so they can butter?

Can't find many reviews or experiences with this ski, but preferring traditional mounts I might split the difference and mount at -1.5 or -2 and see how that works. DPS locates their lines with the ball of foot on the center of the sidecut (about 7cm behind the waist for a size 26 boot), which would put me at -4 on the Infidel. That's a little too much deviation from the G3 mounting line.

[wag]

I just snagged some of these from STP. I would be super curious to hear what you decide to go with. I generally like mounts a little in the negative, so I can't see wanting to put these on the line. Maybe try to snag a pair of used demo bindings or some schizos?

[swissiphic]

Warning; thread drift but kinda applicable. Tried a new ghetto system for temporary mount of fore/aft binding mountpoint testing.

Jigsaw cut a coupla mounting plates for toe and heel of dynafit old skool test bindings out of 10mm+/- thick cutting board plastic. drill a whole whack of fore/aft holes for toe and heel pieces. Meticulously flatten then sterilize both mating surfaces with whatever cleaning stuff is kicking around the house... with ghetto precision eyeball mount the whole works onto ski using two layers of wall to wall double sided carpet tape after warming both surfaces with a hairdryer. Clamp all the pieces overnight. Go skiing, move binding fore/aft using all the predrilled holes on hill and play with the sweet spot. Settle on a happy place, go home, warm up skis, heat mounting plates/ski topsheet with hair dryer and carefully pry off the mounting plates. I was REALLY surprised at how much attachment integrity they had...hard to pry off.

Not saying it's foolproof and any failure could result in embarrassment, injury and/or death but....worked for me for three medium length days of touring in warm wet spring conditions where I was quite certain that in the least, touring uphill would torque the toe plates loose. Didn't happen. Skied mellow and smooth terrain inbounds or just immediately sidecountry just in case of test failure. Some hard crust and chattery stuff so the mounts were tested a little bit.

A bit of a dick around but beats swiss cheesing a brand new pair of boards trying to find the sweet spot. If I coulda found a longer cutting board i would have just cut long planks for each binding set but found a shorty on sale for 6bucks...so went for el cheapo.

[wag]

Warning; thread drift but kinda applicable. Tried a new ghetto system for temporary mount of fore/aft binding mountpoint testing.

Jigsaw cut a coupla mounting plates for toe and heel of dynafit old skool test bindings out of 10mm+/- thick cutting board plastic. drill a whole whack of fore/aft holes for toe and heel pieces. Meticulously flatten then sterilize both mating surfaces with whatever cleaning stuff is kicking around the house... with ghetto precision eyeball mount the whole works onto ski using two layers of wall to wall double sided carpet tape after warming both surfaces with a hairdryer. Clamp all the pieces overnight. Go skiing, move binding fore/aft using all the predrilled holes on hill and play with the sweet spot. Settle on a happy place, go home, warm up skis, heat mounting plates/ski topsheet with hair dryer and carefully pry off the mounting plates. I was REALLY surprised at how much attachment integrity they had...hard to pry off.

Not saying it's foolproof and any failure could result in embarrassment, injury and/or death but....worked for me for three medium length days of touring in warm wet spring conditions where I was quite certain that in the least, touring uphill would torque the toe plates loose. Didn't happen. Skied mellow and smooth terrain inbounds or just immediately sidecountry just in case of test failure. Some hard crust and chattery stuff so the mounts were tested a little bit.

A bit of a dick around but beats swiss cheesing a brand new pair of boards trying to find the sweet spot. If I coulda found a longer cutting board i would have just cut long planks for each binding set but found a shorty on sale for 6bucks...so went for el cheapo.

Wow! thats some ingenuity. Sounds exciting to ski around on as well

[1000-oaks]

^ Dig the ingenuity. Given the crud-busting stiffness and rocker of the Infidel, I'm guessing a stout alpine boot/binding setup would be the way to go.

[galibier_numero_un]

Brilliant and innovative!

Cheers,
Thom

[Jacques Sheer-Rocko]

I mounted mine on the line and am not wild about it. Might move them back a touch... What did anyone else go with? Happy?

[wag]

I mounted mine on the line and am not wild about it. Might move them back a touch... What did anyone else go with? Happy?

I mounted mine 2cm behind the line and they're great. I tend to like mounts back a touch tho

[johnnyg82]

I mounted mine 2cm behind the line and they're great. I tend to like mounts back a touch tho

Awesome, that's where mine are mounted too, but I haven't skied them yet.

[ludwigk]

I've had my G3's for sale for a year now and no bites... tell me what's wrong with them?? I don't think they're overpriced as no one has even made an offer???

[wag]

I've had my G3's for sale for a year now and no bites... tell me what's wrong with them?? I don't think they're overpriced as no one has even made an offer???

How much are you asking?

[ludwigk]

Here's my advert but I'm open to offers... I really like the skis but I need to thin out my quiver: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ght=g3+infidel

[1000-oaks]

Unfortunately it's a 2012 ski and STP recently sold a while bunch new for less than you're asking. You might be able to get $200 flat, with shipping included.

G3 skis are great through, love my Empire 127's.

[wag]

Here's my advert but I'm open to offers... I really like the skis but I need to thin out my quiver: http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ght=g3+infidel

I don't know whats out there at the moment, but I got mine brand new shipped from STP for $108. I would say $200 is too high

[Jacques Sheer-Rocko]

Finally got around to remounting 2 cm back. Pleasantly surprised, much better! And yep, mine were cheapies from STP last summer. $96 I think.

[mall walker]

G3 skis are great through, love my Empire 127's.

You have the white and orange ones, correct? I have some Manhattans of the same year (white/blue) and similarly love them. And they've taken a pretty hearty beating, being my every day ski inbounds and out for a couple years now.

[1000-oaks]

Yeah, been skiing the white/red-stripe 183's the last two years, love 'em as long as there's at least six inches or so of soft snow. The stiffness makes 'em stable at speed, while the mega tip rocker keeps them quick in the pow. Ironically dust on crust at high edge angles is worse than bare hardpack, because they'll load & unload while crossing thin/deep transitions and hitting the hardpack throughout a turn. Still, they don't require any concentration in any conditions other than unpredictable dust on crust, and are worlds better on groomers back to the lift than Lotus 138's. (Not that 138's are that bad, but you do have to pay attention.)

Also have a pair of the 127's in the big-boy 193 length that I haven't drilled yet, couldn't pass them up for less than $200 from STP. (Paid almost $500 for the 183's, and they're worth every penny.) Probably a bit much in trees for my 170 lbs (they're stiffer than XXL's), but they should be a blast anywhere else.