G3 ION tech binding

[Captain Itchy, HMS Lollypop]

Thought I had the genius set up this year. Bonafides, ions and some K2 Pinnacle boots. Chase the kids round the hill, slither out for some slack country cones every now and again, and click in to a pair of mean as race skis with downhill bindings that I got from the dump for fifty bucks whenever I felt the need to scare the shit out of myself. All without changing my boots. Whady'a know, the tech/DIN sole on the Pinnacles isn't thick enough to fully depress the brake platform on the ions. I await a reply from my did-you-have-a-brain-fart related queries to K2. In the meantime, unless you like skiing round with your brakes partially deployed all day - I suggest you avoid the ion/Pinnacle combination.

To the G3 designers who snoop around on this forum: my suggestion would be to set your brake platform up so that the brakes are fully retracted with less depression than the platform currently requires. Pinnacles work fine with Dynafit brakes. Brake arms that swing in like the Dynafit brake arms would be a nice touch too. As would a fitting on the binding that takes a crampon without needing some extra bit of jiggery pokery. Otherwise, good job. Rock on.

[1000-oaks]

AT boots have slightly taller heels than alpine soles, so the Ion AT binding is correctly designed for AT boots. To make them fit your alpine boots, you could epoxy a spacer to the sliding AFD on your pair of bindings. The Ion's brakes do swing inward at the end of compression, your alpine boot just isn't getting to that point. Adding a spacer will fix that too.

[eskido]

Apologies if this had been covered but, waited too long to pull trigger on these and now I can only find 130's... sticks are 115, anyone had any issues bending brakes a bit on these? Anyone know of anywhere that still has any 115's in stock? Thanks in advance!

[geoffers]

The brake design ( https://www.wildsnow.com/13196/g3-ion-binding-review-3/ ) looks very similar to the onyx brakes - if so you can easily swap the brake arms for ones from a narrower set. So maybe try getting hold of some smaller onyx brakes and swap the arms.

[eskido]

dig the idea of just swappin em out, I'll see what I can find, Thanks! Anyone else have any helpful info? Like to have a warm and fuzzy before I cough up a bunch o dough I don't have.....

[1000-oaks]

The brake arms are the same as the Onyx, but swapping them isn't easy.

Warning: DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS YOU'RE A MECHANICAL ENGINEER, OR HAVE THE MIND OF ONE.

You have to remove the turret from the post, then remove the spring-loaded adjustment rod, then slide the brake assembly forward off the track. Then you need a tiny T10 Torx wrench (available on eBay) to disconnect the aluminum flap from the underside of the brake pedal, then snake the arms out of the housing. Putting everything back together is the tricky part though, because you have to position the preload spring backing nut at 5-6mm from the heel post stop tabs at the exact moment the rod engages the threads in the brake housing. It'll drive you nuts until you figure it out. If you set the spacing too short, you won't be able to turn the heel enough to engage climb mode. If you set the spacing too long, the heel could slide back a bit with every step in climb mode (and probably auto-return to ski mode) or wear prematurely.

Not a project for someone who isn't mechanically inclined. While my brake assembly was pulled apart, I used a die grinder to slot the arm holes so I can now swap brake arms without pulling apart the whole binding. (Early production Ions had fewer screws under the brake pedal and larger brake arm holes, so they didn't require disassembly to remove the arms: see the brakeless pair on Wildsnow.)

Again, if you aren't HIGHLY mechanically inclined, you'll likely have to send your box of loose parts to G3 for reassembly if you want your bindings to work properly.

[eskido]

Thanks Oaks, that just saved me a lot of time. Any thoughts on just bending em a bit without screwin anything up?

[mall walker]

I see they're selling the Ion LT's now, anyone brave enough to risk the 1st gens? I'm thinking about it...

[1000-oaks]

The LT is probably 98% the same as the regular Ion, just without the brake.

[NW_SKIER]

The LT is probably 98% the same as the regular Ion, just without the brake.

Can I remove the heel pad and brake arms from my regular ions with no ill effects? It appears from looking at pictures that the LT model does not have the sliding AFD on the heel?

[el hefe]

Thanks Oaks, that just saved me a lot of time. Any thoughts on just bending em a bit without screwin anything up?

I just cut the end (about 1cm) of the brakes off with a razor blade and made them have less drag against the snow. Seemed to work fine, I have cochise's for boots.

[Pudge.]

Anyone got any time on the LT? I understand the similarities, still looking to hear some beta. It's either the LTs or the Speeds for me. Any strong feelings one way or the other?

[1000-oaks]

Can I remove the heel pad and brake arms from my regular ions with no ill effects? It appears from looking at pictures that the LT model does not have the sliding AFD on the heel?

The LT has a nice flat piece for the boot heel during flat skinning, so if you remove the brake arms and pedal from the Ion 10/12, the boot heel will rest on the sharp center fin of the brake housing during flat skinning. It's probably okay, prior to this year that housing is aluminum, I think it might be plastic for 2016. See photo: https://www.wildsnow.com/wp-content/..._3517-copy.jpg

The challenge is still removing and reinstalling the brake housing though (it's a necessary part of the "forward pressure" system), unless you bend the arms to get them out, or cut them off with a cutoff wheel - no turning back.

[Wapow]

The lifter spring on one of my Ions failed this weekend. You can't stay in the highest position without it. I have less than 10 days on them, all touring. Anybody know if the lifter spring is repairable?

[neck beard]

I sent one of my heels pieces in and it came back with a new spring under the heel riser.

[Wapow]

I sent one of my heels pieces in and it came back with a new spring under the heel riser.

I am really hoping not to have to send it to G3. I've never had an issue w/ the many pairs of Dynafits I've owned, that couldn't be fixed w/ a part. Taking it to the shop this afternoon. Will update w/ my warranty experience.

[neck beard]

MIne just went back to the distributor/shop. I think it was a pretty quick simple fix with a new part.

[Huckleberry]

Wapow, I think I had a similar problem. The black plastic leaf spring under one of the heal risers snapped before I even skied the bindings. I contacted G3 and they said to bring them in to the shop for a warranty replacement. Apparently some of the plastic used was too brittle.

But instead I made my own replacement spring. I bought a small "constant force spring" like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085ZXEXW
and cut a short section just the right length to replace the original plastic leaf spring. I wanted a curved piece of spring steel. Slide it under the the heal risers and it's worked great so far. I think G3 should have used metal here from the beginning.

[Wapow]

You're smarter than me Huckleberry. I took my Ions in for warranty 3 weeks ago, to Sturtevants in Bellevue, WA, where I purchased them, because G3 will not let me go direct with warranty claims. I've now been without my new/best skis (Volkls Vwerks Katanas) for 3 weeks and 4 days of killer pow touring. Sturtevants has been pretty good, but G3 blows AFAIC. They could have told Sturtevants to pull a heel piece from their stock, but instead insisted on having it sent in. Considering I got less than 10 uses (closer to 5), there is no way a lifter spring should have failed. Seems like the customer friendly approach would be to just give me a new heel, so I can get back to skiing. What's more, it appears that the function on one of the bindings isn't working properly. In flat tour mode, the heel is binding. Didn't happen previously, which means it either moved forward (shortened BSL) or the gizmo they included in their design to have the heel move backward in touring mode (specifically to prevent such binding with the boot heel) isn't working properly. I'm stuck with these POSs (at least for the moment), and I'm pretty sure that the other heel unit is going to fail as well. My proposed solution is to purchase a spare heel unit, so I do not have to go through this warranty BS again. I'll report back on whether that is a total PIA as well (i.e., did they make me pay retail, how long it takes etc.). Given my experience to date, along with the other issues reported on this string (e.g., rusting, DIN backing out, etc.), I'd strongly recommend against buying these bindings, especially if Dynafit is an option.

[Wapow]

Update to my last post. G3 claims that they cannot sell me a spare heel piece, because they have made a signifiant number of fixes to this year's model, and they are no longer compatible with last years model. They also said that the heel pieces were "tuned" to their individual baseplate. What a bunch of BS!!!! They are obviously standardized (no ad hoc elements in design or manufacturing). Their proposed solution is to fix my binding (i.e., it's not even fixed yet) and send me a spare plastic heel lifter spring, for when my other heel piece fails. Apparently, they are well aware of the lifter spring failure issue, but have done nothing affirmatively about it. Their solution won't work for me because (1) it does not address the heel binding in flat mode issue, and (2) sending me a part for an anticipated failure is the lamest thing I've ever heard. Stunned they would even suggest it. I want my skis so bad, and lacking any other reasonable alternative, I am actually going to be forced to buy a pair of this year's Ions and remount the heels onto my skis. This really sucks, because it's going to cost me $500+ (they're not offering any discount at this point) and will involve removing and remounting the binding screws.

PSA - DO NOT BUY THESE BINDINGS!!!!!!!!

[samthaman]

your heel is binding in flat mode? have you checked that the forward pressure is set properly?

[Wapow]

It didn't bind during the first several days of use = something changed. That's the issue. They haven't even confirmed that the heel piece that was fixed (lifter spring) was the one that was binding. Just know that if you have an issue with your Ion, there is no local rep in the pacific NW, so your warranty will have to go through Canada. For me, that resulted in 3+ weeks without my new skis during a storm cycle. I bought Radical IIs tonight. Ditching the Ions. Make me an offer. Cheap!

[adrenalated]

I hate to break it to you, but that's how warranty works with pretty much any brand.

[Lindahl]

Don't put your eggs all in one basket.

[Wapow]

I hate to break it to you, but that's how warranty works with pretty much any brand.

Ummmm, bullshit. Dynafit warranty would have been way faster. Their area rep was in the store when I was there yesterday. And they would have sold me an extra heel piece. And I expect they would have also responded to my emails. G3 never did. IMO, these bindings aren't worth the risk/hassle. Now, who wants to buy them (when they finally show up)?