Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: G3 Empire Team

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rossland BC
    Posts
    1,879

    G3 Empire Team

    https://ca-store.genuineguidegear.co...e-team-edition

    I don’t need a stiffer version of the Carbon Empire, but G3’s fully rockered skis were/are super fun, so good on em for stepping up with a niche product.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    1,899
    re: o.g. carbon empire:

    If you drive the tips, how's the float in bottomless and upside down conditions? Took a pair for a ski touring day a few years back and dropped a few steep chutes featuring bulletproof frozen suncups for a good portion of the run. Was super impressed with both the edge grip and damping. Never skied em in pow though and that dramatic taper in the tips dissuaded further consideration based on similar designs being bottomfeeder tip diving machines in bottomless and upside down conditions.
    Master of mediocrity.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Rossland BC
    Posts
    1,879
    Quote Originally Posted by swissiphic View Post
    re: o.g. carbon empire:

    If you drive the tips, how's the float in bottomless and upside down conditions? Took a pair for a ski touring day a few years back and dropped a few steep chutes featuring bulletproof frozen suncups for a good portion of the run. Was super impressed with both the edge grip and damping. Never skied em in pow though and that dramatic taper in the tips dissuaded further consideration based on similar designs being bottomfeeder tip diving machines in bottomless and upside down conditions.
    I rarely get to ski truly bottomless or upside down conditions, but for the full range of snow I’m usually encountering I have nothing but praise for G3’s fully rockered designs (Empire 115 and Synapse 109), and I find their predictability in funky snow conditions to be one of their strengths. In my experience both DPS Lotus 138s and Volkl Kuros are pretty exceptional in bottomless conditions, and given you can’t get much more of a contrast (all vs none) in tip taper perhaps it’s not as important as you imagine.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    28
    I have a pair of the 2013-14 Empire 129 in 193 (156-129-140) and although they look a bit funny with all of early rise and rocker they ski very well. The real surprise is groomed runs back to the lift on a powder day, just put them on edge and away you go. I was lucky and talked to the G3 rep before I purchased. He told me that three of the guys on the design team were resort skiers so they had to work on resort snow for them. No way I could have anticipated the performance by looking at them.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    The 2013 Empire 127 is an awesome pow ski, stiffer than an XXL but with tons of tip rocker and almost no tail rocker. Blasts through chop yet turns on a dime. I'm on the 183 length at 170 lbs, the 193 is even beefier.

    Had the Empire 115, but it has a more centered mount so I prefer the 127.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Posts
    28
    Yes I am 215 lbs so the 193 is perfect. I let a Pro Patroller use mine on a resort pow day, every time we stopped he kept saying he was "Soaring" he had never skied anything that wide before. Another one of those under the radar skis, not sold in a lot of shops, had I not talked to the rep whom I knew and trusted I never would have looked twice.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    1,899
    Quote Originally Posted by kootenayskier View Post
    I rarely get to ski truly bottomless or upside down conditions, but for the full range of snow I’m usually encountering I have nothing but praise for G3’s fully rockered designs (Empire 115 and Synapse 109), and I find their predictability in funky snow conditions to be one of their strengths. In my experience both DPS Lotus 138s and Volkl Kuros are pretty exceptional in bottomless conditions, and given you can’t get much more of a contrast (all vs none) in tip taper perhaps it’s not as important as you imagine.
    Good points, KS. Actually, I gapped the fact that the empires were full rocker. Just checked out their reverse camber profile...given that the widest point of front sidecut is projected quite far forward towards the tip, looks very auspicious for tip dive proofing. Opinion amended.

    fwiw: Previous experience ski touring with a buddy with dps lotus 138's the tips dove in upside down coastal thigh deep. He noted similar issues in true bottomless conditions as well. Don't know what construction/year they were or mount point he was at though. I suspect issue is due to the widest point of sidecut is pulled too far back from the tip/combined with the flex pattern tuning? Dunno, haven't fondled them. I had similar issues with a custom ski produced with a similar shape/rocker profile to the dps's but with wider dimensions, 148mm waist.

    Personal experience with volkl kuros; definitely no tip dive even with full weight leaning on the front of the boots, but the skis throw me in the back seat...still haven't figured them out.
    Last edited by swissiphic; 07-15-2019 at 10:50 AM.
    Master of mediocrity.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    ^ There are huge differences between Lotus 138 generations, in fact the current "138 Spoon" gen should have a different name IMHO. Also the recommended mounts vary from gen to gen. There's a thread about the differences of pre-spoon models.

    The white/bamboo rocker-1 and black/bamboo rocker-2 gens are probably the most similar to the white Empire 127, except the E127 has legitimate sidecut for groomers and is substantially heavier for charging variable.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Calgary, Canada
    Posts
    899
    I love my empire 115s. Took them, rustler 11s and Volkl confessions out back to back to back in Revy last spring as I was thinking about new boards but was happiest on the empires. I’ve got the 190 heavy non carbon version.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Wasatch
    Posts
    7,239
    I have a pair of white empire 127 in 183 with one mount for fks/pivot at 310 bsl. Great condition and killer deep day ski. $200 local in SLC and can ship if you pay. Will put in GS but figured I’d throw in this thread.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Posts
    3
    Only 30 pairs available to the public. Would have loved to demo these.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •