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Bought the G3 Alpinist SB skins earlier this year. Been happy with them, until yesterday. One of the plastic tip connectors snapped while removing the skin from the board during a transition.

The plastic broke near the rivet for one of the nose clips. The skin that broke now has 1 nose clip...

Has anyone else had this issue? It seems like it might be a design flaw of the G3 plastic nose clip setup...

I know G3 has a solid warranty policy- we'll see how they handle this one.

BK

How did they perform before the clip failed? I was reading on here that there were some issues with them perhaps not being as grippy as the standard Voile Tractor skins. I find the Tractors to be bulky in the pack and would consider the G3 or others if they were a little lighter and/or smaller in terms of volume in the pack.

Definitely smaller in terms of volume, the plush isnt as thick so a little less grip but better glide. Its a trade off and both have their advantages.

My experience was similar with the reviews you're reading. The integrated tail clip system is smooth and much better than having no tail clips or having to alter a set of skins. As far as grip goes, I did find myself slipping a few times, on steep icy climbs, where I would have expected to have grip with the old Volie skins.

This is my first year with a rocker/ flat underfoot board, before I was riding a traditional camber Volie... So, I'm not sure how much the camber/ rocker profile is playing into the grip issues I experienced. Thus, I don't feel safe assuming the skins are the only contributing factor to the grip issues I experienced. It would be best to do a side-by-side comparison with the same board. I know others on the forum have done this.

When I compare the G3 hair length to the Volie/ BDs and to my girlfriends skins from Climbing Skins Direct, the G3s are much shorter and overall much less bulkier.

Still no word back on the warranty...

BK

I thought about your post on every transition yesterday.... Careful, Careful now.

I'm loving these skins. I'm on a full rocker (Skate banana), slipping has occurred but I've learned to lean way forward on steeper / slicker sections. Feels awkward at first but seems to grip better. The glide is awesome, My Akbash pulls me along with ease.

From my experience, I think leaning forward while skinning on a steep slope is going to exacerbate the slipping situation. I am consciously trying to lean backwards and put weight on and behind my heels. If it's too steep / hard to do this - you may be better off booting / verting up, imo. Or find a different route

I am also on rocker (NS Heritage) - but with camber at the tip and tail, more like the C2BTX vs. just BTX, so my approach may not work as well for you.

Cheers
Ivo

I agree Lernr for the most part. I read your post before yesterdays tour and played around with different techniques. Still found leaning forward to provide better grip, but I think it's specific to this set up, ( Which is worlds different than my Mojo).

The board is a 156 and I ordered skins based on G3's sizing that in my opinion are too short, leaving to much base exposed. I believe this is the reason for slipping when I weight the rear of the ski as I do with my other set ups. Also the BTX is more or less a kink in the middle of the board as opposed to a continuous rocker reducing surface area to half the ski. I mounted the touring bracket 1 1/8" forward of the balance point, (This may have been a mistake on this board) I think I would back that up on any future BTX splits.

My next split will be a J. Lynn c2btx which I'm expecting to be a better touring board, but less float I hate trade offs.

Weathers changing, have fun and be safe!

b. Any updates on warranty support from G3? I would expect a failure like this would be covered.

I just received a set of replacement skins from G3 in the mail. Overall, they provided great customer service and were very fast to respond. I'm very satisfied with how they handled this issue and will not hesitate to purchase G3 products in the future.

FYI, if you have a warranty issue with G3 a product, you must go through the retailer you purchased the product from, instead of contacting G3 directly.

Cheers,
BK

B. Thanks for the update, I am glad to hear that G3 came through-I wonder if the failure was due to a design flaw, or a bad batch of plastic in manufacturing. I have some experience in the past with plastics, and if QC is not perfect, occasionally bad plastic will get through, which does not have the specified properties for performance at various temperatures.
I just purchased some G3s, taking advantage of the sale price at Dogfunk. While I generally do not believe in tail attatchments, because of the rocker on my Furberg, I suspect that a tail attatchment may be a benefit for it.

G3 stands behind products - when my wife broke my Onyx bindings (heel lifts, etc.) G3 took care - yes, through the retailer, Marmot Mt Works. MMW gave me a free fax for the wait (couple of weeks).

I use G3 tail attach on BD skins and haven't had any issues with it (my tours are mellow).

Barrows - didn't know you already have a Furberg - I am off to check the boards section thread to see what's up

Cheers
Ivo

Have not ridden it yet, still have to slice it, and then set it up as a split. 173 furberg, I am really looking forward to riding it on the really good days-I expect it will be a super fun powder ride.

Do the new G3 skins have the rip strip down the middle of the adhesive surface like their versions do for skis, and also like the the Tractor skins do?