G3 Targa Ascent Telemark Binding

I have to wonder, did G3 even test these bindings? It's hard to believe a binding this flawed made it to market. The tour mode switch is poorly designed and unpredictable. Icing, not engaging completely, etc. And the heal lifter, although nice and easy to pull up, is a little more than annoying when it continuously falls down. Oh, and it's nice when you've finally reached the top of your skin up, switch to ski mode, start down on a beautiful powder run only to be totally thrown when on your third tele turn, the binding pops out of ski mode and into floppy tour mode. I've cursed these bindings for two seasons too many. I'm buying the switchbacks and am seriously considering sending these to G3 with a friendly little note, suggesting where they can shove them. Of course, I love the tour mode, but this is nothing unique to this binding. All the brands have it now, it's just G3 failed miserably with their execution.

I got these before the Switchback came out and now wish I had waited, although I do like the way they ski downhill. On the plus side, the free pivot really works, the extra height hasn't been a problem, and the ski crampons are easy to fit and remove. However, the switch frequently/usually clogs with snow to a greater or lesser extent, making getting into ski mode challenging, and meaning that I don't bother switching modes as often as I'd like. Note that I have not had the bindings freeze solid, rather the problem is that small ice/snow particles get into the mechanism and prevent the lever from moving. This is made worse by the stiffness of the detents, and the lack of leverage from the short lever. I've had no problems with the heel lifter - apart from the fact that there's only one height. G3 could do a better job of explaining that the Ascent climbing wires don't add a second height, they just make the lifter taller. Swapping them in and out requires ski removal and tools, and so isn't practical to do whilst out skiing. Given the jamming and the reported breakages, I am somewhat dubious about taking these too far from a ski shop, so I suspect that Switchbacks will be on my skis when I go to India next year. I really wanted to like them too... :-(

This pains me to say this, but after 40+ days on this binding, I will officially be switching from G3 to Black Diamond 01. I have always been a G3 fan, and still love the way this binding skis- it is classic G3. However, the walk feature, while efficient, has too many problems to work out. First, the snow jamming is a problem- not all the time, but enough to make you question the design. Second, and most importantly, after several days on the binding, the climbing wire/heel-lifter design is supported by a little rubber band that begins to loosen slightly after much use. As the band loosens, the heel-lifter will fall down with the regular movement of a steep climb as the binding is in walk mode. In fact, my heel-lifter now drops down approx. every 15-30 ft on a typical ascent. This is annoying, and will cause anyone to explode on a long day. In order to keep the plate from falling, I have had to resort to wrapping the base of the lifter with a strong rubber band. This works, but is problematic during rolling sections of a climb when you want to lift and lower the heel plate. Another solution is to find a heel plate that is a similar height with a standard climbing wire. Until the bugs of this binding are worked out, I am switching to the BD 01. I hope G3 figures it out- as I still prefer the way G3 skis over the BD.

First, I like this binding. The free pivot makes a big difference. I've had some problems with icing and not being able to switch modes without picking ice out of the binding. I've also had problems keeping the heel riser up--especially with the additional climbing wires. G3 service has been excellent--they've sent be two new pairs of heel risers--the last of which seem stiff enough to keep the riser up while climbing.

Do not expect to get the lever from tour mode to ski mode by your self and without a screw driver or other sharp prying device In cold wet weather. Your in trouble if you need to get down in a hurry. The BD binding works 100% better in this situation. Just thought I'd give my 2 cents after a first hand experience with this.

The difference between skinning with the Ascent (in tour mode) and a normal tele binding (even a 3 pin without cables attached) is like night and day. I always get heal blisters, but on a 7 day trip, skinning nearly 35K, my feet were blister free. Had a couple issues: 1. Heal lifts did not want to stay up. Contacted G3 who indicated this was a known (but isolated) issue with some lifters. New ones came in the mail 3 days later. 2. Need to insure snow doesn't ice up under binding prior to forcing the lever from tour to ski mode.

I've got about a week's hard skiing on my Ascents. First off, there's no doubt that free-hinged bindings make backcountry travel far more efficient: once you've tried them, you'll never go back. Also, because of the free-hinge, you can use stiffer springs and have a more active binding without experiencing any negative effects (otherwise, very "active" bindings are a lot of extra work when skinning). I opted for the X-race (red) cartridges, and really enjoyed the extra power and earlier engagement (from the slight toe ramp). The new heel-piece is certainly slick (although I can't figure out how to get the bails to tuck behind them so they don't flap around when you carry the skis!) Many people are fretting about the durability of the binding, but mine seem solid, and I can't believe that a reputable company like G3 would put out a fragile, unreliable product. And if the bindings do start failing, I'm confident G3 would offer replacements. The Ascents are *significantly* (13oz) lighter than Black Diamond O1's, but switching to and from tour mode is not nearly as slick as the O1. I suspect the locking mechanism is more prone to icing up, too: I've had to clear out the ice with my ski pole to re-lock the binding. The binding also sits significantly higher (40mm vs 30mm) than the O1 -- I don't really know whether that's good or bad! But I can say that I'm very happy with the bindings: they ski great and combine the familiar feel of the Targas with effortless touring.

I've had these bindings(x-race) for about a month, on two totally different sets of skies. And I'm impressed! To begin with, they are amazing for climbing. Especially when it's steep and/or powder. I was prepared for the ski/walk function to get stuck, but I've had no problem with that. Even not at at trip starting with rain, and ending in -20 over several lakes with over-water. So they definitely passed the test! Second, as far as I can tell, they keep the skis under control. And third, the heel-lifter is genius! Much better than the wire-heel-lifters in all ways!(easy to flip with the ski-pole, and feels better under the foot)

On the second resort day of riding the Targa Ascents, the toe plate failed (on both bindings!). I am a big rider at 6'5'' and 210lbs, but wholly moly...I'm going with the Hammerheads next. The aluminum literally ripped off the riser plates (and acsent/decent mode mechanism). There were four screw holding it down, the top two stripped out of the plastic riser and the other two held fast although the aluminum ripped from around them. Of course, G3 was cool and they are replacing them and giving me some steel toe plates. Until that moment I was pretty happy with the performance.

I have experienced some significant frustration with snow/ice build up under the plate that makes it nearly impossible to change the binding out of touring mode to ski mode. In cold weather (single digits) snow packs the locking apparatus where it literally takes two people to get the binding to lock down. Definitely a disadvantage when you are standing on the summit in inclement weather with other people waiting for you. It’s a great concept, but enough of a problem that I have reservations about the binding.

I picked up a pair of these bindings in early April. I've put in 5 days touring with them and find them to be top quality tele bindings. My x-race bindings are stiff and powerful enough for my needs, and perform flawlessly on descent (no big surprise!). The switch to ascent mode is pretty easy with a ski pole and the difference in climbing ease with the pivot under-foot is HUGE. My feet don't get nearly as sore climbing as with other tele bindings (I have T2X boots) and the ski tips don't dig into the snow on steep ascents. The only drawback is that when ascending in new wet snow, the plate under the binding gets crammed with snow, sometimes making it impossible to switch back to "descent" mode without first removing the ski and cleaning the snow out from under the binding.