G3 ZED — On Snow Ski Touring Binding Test

(This post sponsored by our publishing partner Cripple Creek Backcountry.)

The gear nerd in me loved spending an entire day at G3 getting deep into tech binding tech. Afterwards I was itching to get outside and actually try the new ZED binding for myself. I also was keen the opportunity for a classic Coast Range ski descent (G3 dangled some amazing ideas for our “test day.” I did get to try out the binding, and even got to experience a real Coast Range classic — rain.

The day would have been perfect to test out rainwear apparel (as I was in Canada, I showed up in the Arc’teryx shell, it worked and pleased the G3 guys). At the very least, I can confirm that the ZED is fully waterproof.

Although it was raining, I was excited to check out a new touring area: the mountains accessible from the Sea to Sky Gondola installed at Squamish a few years ago. Plus, I could try out the ZED. The binding looks sexy and is enticing on paper. But it’s always nice to give gear an on-snow (or in-slush, in this case) test.

We skinned steadfastly into the rain for a few hours, but eventually turned back when the call of cold beers at the Howe Sound Brewery became impossible to resist. The binding test was indeed brief, even for a one-day demo. But I did a number of mode switches as well as fooling around with the brakes — all enhanced by slushy snow. WildSnow plans additional field assessment of the ZED, as soon as we receive our long-term evaluation pair.

The binding I was on was a pre-production version I’d call “99% finished.” During our day here’s what I noticed:

ZED’s lightness, especially combined with the lightweight SEEKr skis, is immediately noticeable.

When using the heel risers, ZED moves slightly backward with each step, due to the flex compensation spring being compressed. This is one of the major functional differences between the ION and the ZED. This isn’t an issue as to uphilling (though it does use a miniscule amount of calories), but could cause some wear over many many ski days.

As a consequence of the near zero ramp angle (see our chart and scroll to right), the heel risers on the ZED are noticeably lower than other bindings, particularly the ION.

The brake worked well, with no icing or sticking during our brief test.

I’ve been quite a fan of the ION over the past few years, in particular because of its resistance to pre-release. Overall, the binding felt much like an ION. The toe clamps shut with the same reassuring “mousetrap” snap.

As with ION, ZED is mounted with near zero tech gap (space between binding and boot heel). As with all engineering, this has consequences. Some good and some not so good. For example I noticed that when a skier stomped down to enter alpine mode, if the ski was flexed and thus brought the heel unit closer to the boot heel, the boot could hit the binding rather than snapping down into the pins. ION behaves this way as well, but has a small inclined area that leads your boot heel down into the binding. With ZED, this could be a minor quirk that makes it into production — or something they’ll solve as with ION. Jury out.

Comments and questions welcome.