Genuine Guide Gear

I went to the 2009 Coldsmoke Powder Festival down in Nelson with the intention of trying as many of the new skis as humanly possible. I was fairly psyched to step into a pair of G3's new Zen Oxide's, along with their new Onyx binding. I had viewed the online demos of these skis/bindings for the better part of a month, and was itchy with anticipation.
The warm weather, combined with some fairly low snow levels made for tough conditions to try out any ski. But how very amazing to see some of the line-up offered by various companies! I was a kid in a candy store!
Sure enough, i had taken out at least a dozen pairs of skis, and was enjoying myself immensely. Two sets of skis remained for me...G3's Tonic - which i really knew nothing about - and K2's Coomback - which i had contemplated buying for my set-up here in Revelstoke. From the moment i stepped into the Tonic and skated away to the lift i felt something different; this ski was, well, intuitive! I jumped off from the top of the lift, and from my first turn fell instantly in love! This ski was so incredibly responsive, making any and every turn-shape imaginable, all with the littlest of input! I was in control, and whooping down run after run...not willing to take these skis back to the G3 booth! So impressed was i, that i actually felt excited to try the K2 Coomback's! Heck yes! A ski that makes you want to ski so much, that you'd be willing to try ANY other ski as well! So, from the moment i dropped into my first turns with the Coomback's on my feet, i felt a sadness...here was a ski that so many reviewers gave glorious scores to, and yet was chattering like a naked/drunken college student thrown outside in the cold! The Coomback was - i have to admit - inferior. I couldn't wait to get back to the vendor booths to hand back the skis, and see if i could somehow manage to wrangle the Tonic's out for some more runs.
So i am convinced...these are the new skis for me! Whether i head up for some runs on our mountain here (Revelstoke Mountain Resort), or out to the Pass for some touring, I'll be dreaming of one day soon...when i save up enough cash to purchase a new set of the Tonic's, along with a set of the Onyx bindings, and feel the smiles again plastered to my face.

Thanks G3, for giving me a stiff double of the greatest Tonic I've EVER tasted!

I haven't had the chance to try out the Tonics yet and am flip-flopping between these and the ZenOxides for my new skis this year. One disappointing thing that i do not understand is the price difference between the tonic and the zests... they appear to be the same ski but there is a substantial difference in the price... why is this?

It is also interesting to read a marginal review in backcountry magazine for the tonics and see a great review for the zests...

The Tonic and Zest skis are constructed slightly differently and use a different core material. This accounts for the price difference. They also ski quite differently - try them both out!

Why don't you guys post sidecut radius on your webpage? I need to know!

We have always said we do not like to talk turning radius, and we are sticking to it. The reason we don’t is that we do not use a simple arc when we design a ski sidecut. This makes it impossible to offer meaningful sidecut radii. G3’s unique sidecuts have a curve that continuously changes in radius along the length of the ski. We could give you an approximate radius, but this value would not accurately position the arc on the ski and would not tell you how and where it merges to a tip and tail transition. Thus, giving you a sidecut radius or turning radius alone is relatively meaningless. Many other factors like width, torsional rigidity, flex distribution, snow conditions, skier ability, and weight also contribute to how a ski performs and feels.

I'm sold on the skis, but what length? 177 seems too small and 185 too big. I'm 170 lbs. and an intermediate advanced skier in all conditions. I skied the 177 El Hombre and I liked them, but with the rockered shovel I wonder if they will perform differently.

Love the Tonics! I can hammer fast groomers, the chop and the deep pow with ease. Loving the ride of these skis. They are super light weight also and when your a fat bastard like me you need all the help you can get!

I spent a day at Red Lodge Mtn in Mt on the Tonics with the Onyx binding. After 13 yrs of telemarking my 45 yr old knees have had enough. The Tonic is a thoroughly enjoyable ski. The conditions were not what the ski was designed for (no fresh pow to be found) but the ski performed well. Easy to initiate turns in the thick stuff, good edge control on the ice, and low swing weight for the bumps. I think it would make an excellent backcountry ski. Haven't skiied a lot of new boards for comparison, but I liked this one.

If you live in the NW, you know that it's been a touch and go season this year with very little fresh stuff. So my new Tonics have been sitting in corner while an older (skinnier) pair of boards have been seeing the action. This week they got to come out and play outside of Ymir BC at the Wildhorse Powder Mining Co. (cat skiing and backcountry hut operation). I've enjoyed some of that great terrain before, but the Tonics made my grin that much bigger. Most of the runs through the trees were in great shape, but we caught a little crust here and there. No problem on the Tonics. They float, fly, and slice their way through anything. Super nimble for a wide platform. I think these may be the perferct tele ski for a guy like me (6 ft, 185lbs), yet they're soft enough that I could imagine them working across a broad range of weight and experience levels. Super versatile. OK. I'll stop rambling and raving. Great skis.

You mention that the Tonic Ski's differently than the Zenoxide, how do they differ.

My brother Andy and I had a fun trip to Stevens Pass, Washington,to battle it out at the Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle. We competed on our Tonics and onyx bindings,charging hard on moguls,steeps,crud,ice and powder.A few mistakes left us off the podium .We found redemption by winning first place for the fastest hike on[ Andromeda]
In some sections we pushed the Tonics and Onyx bindings over 40 miles per hour on unforgiving terrain.

Cheers!

Mike