diff --git a/ionic/components/item/item.ts b/ionic/components/item/item.ts
index a4c4d0c27a..5b2aa45f2c 100644
--- a/ionic/components/item/item.ts
+++ b/ionic/components/item/item.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {Component, ElementRef, Renderer} from 'angular2/angular2';
+import {Component} from 'angular2/angular2';
 
 
 /**
@@ -24,10 +24,13 @@ import {Component, ElementRef, Renderer} from 'angular2/angular2';
     '<ng-content select="[item-right]"></ng-content>' +
     '<ion-item-content>' +
       '<ng-content></ng-content>'+
-    '</ion-item-content>'
+    '</ion-item-content>',
+  host: {
+    '[class.item]': 'isItem'
+  }
 })
 export class Item {
-  constructor(elementRef: ElementRef, renderer: Renderer) {
-    renderer.setElementClass(elementRef, 'item', true);
+  constructor() {
+    this.isItem = true;
   }
 }
diff --git a/ionic/components/nav/nav-controller.ts b/ionic/components/nav/nav-controller.ts
index 774dc8ed65..3a23dfa5a3 100644
--- a/ionic/components/nav/nav-controller.ts
+++ b/ionic/components/nav/nav-controller.ts
@@ -269,7 +269,6 @@ export class NavController extends Ion {
       return;
     }
 
-
     opts.direction = opts.direction || 'back';
 
     // get the views to auto remove without having to do a transiton for each
@@ -452,7 +451,7 @@ export class NavController extends Ion {
     }
 
     // wait for the new view to complete setup
-    enteringView.stage(() => {
+    this.stage(enteringView, () => {
 
       if (enteringView.shouldDestroy) {
         // already marked as a view that will be destroyed, don't continue
@@ -515,6 +514,30 @@ export class NavController extends Ion {
 
   }
 
+  /**
+   * @private
+   */
+  stage(viewCtrl, done) {
+    if (viewCtrl.instance || viewCtrl.shouldDestroy) {
+      // already compiled this view
+      return done();
+    }
+
+    // get the pane the NavController wants to use
+    // the pane is where all this content will be placed into
+    this.loadPage(viewCtrl, null, () => {
+
+      // this ViewController instance has finished loading
+      try {
+        viewCtrl.loaded();
+      } catch (e) {
+        console.error(e);
+      }
+
+      done();
+    });
+  }
+
   loadPage(viewCtrl, navbarContainerRef, done) {
     let providers = this.providers.concat(Injector.resolve([
       provide(ViewController, {useValue: viewCtrl}),
diff --git a/ionic/components/nav/test/basic/index.ts b/ionic/components/nav/test/basic/index.ts
index 6b6dcfa91f..9c2ce6f806 100644
--- a/ionic/components/nav/test/basic/index.ts
+++ b/ionic/components/nav/test/basic/index.ts
@@ -14,18 +14,24 @@ import {NavParams, NavController, ViewController} from 'ionic/ionic';
         <button>S1</button>
       </ion-nav-items>
     </ion-navbar>
-    <ion-content padding>
-      <p>{{title}}</p>
-      <p><button class="e2eFrom1To2" (click)="pushFullPage()">Push to FullPage</button></p>
-      <p><button (click)="pushPrimaryHeaderPage()">Push to PrimaryHeaderPage</button></p>
-      <p><button (click)="pushAnother()">Push to AnotherPage</button></p>
-      <p><button [nav-push]="[pushPage, {id: 42}]">Push FullPage w/ [nav-push] array</button></p>
-      <p><button [nav-push]="pushPage" [nav-params]="{id:40}">Push w/ [nav-push] and [nav-params]</button></p>
-      <p><button [nav-push]="[\'FirstPage\', {id: 22}]">Push w/ [nav-push] array and string view name</button></p>
-      <p><button nav-push="FirstPage" [nav-params]="{id: 23}">Push w/ nav-push and [nav-params]</button></p>
-      <p><button (click)="setViews()">setViews() (Go to PrimaryHeaderPage)</button></p>
-      <p><button (click)="nav.pop()">Pop</button></p>
-      <f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f><f></f>
+    <ion-content>
+      <ion-list>
+        <ion-header>
+          {{title}}
+        </ion-header>
+
+        <button ion-item class="e2eFrom1To2" (click)="pushFullPage()">Push to FullPage</button>
+        <button ion-item (click)="pushPrimaryHeaderPage()">Push to PrimaryHeaderPage</button>
+        <button ion-item (click)="pushAnother()">Push to AnotherPage</button>
+        <button ion-item [nav-push]="[pushPage, {id: 42}]">Push FullPage w/ [nav-push] array</button>
+        <button ion-item [nav-push]="pushPage" [nav-params]="{id:40}">Push w/ [nav-push] and [nav-params]</button>
+        <button ion-item [nav-push]="[\'FirstPage\', {id: 22}]">Push w/ [nav-push] array and string view name</button>
+        <button ion-item nav-push="FirstPage" [nav-params]="{id: 23}">Push w/ nav-push and [nav-params]</button>
+        <button ion-item (click)="setViews()">setViews() (Go to PrimaryHeaderPage)</button>
+        <button ion-item (click)="nav.pop()">Pop</button>
+
+        <button *ng-for="#i of pages" ion-item (click)="pushPrimaryHeaderPage()">Page {{i}}</button>
+      </ion-list>
     </ion-content>`
 })
 class FirstPage {
@@ -38,6 +44,11 @@ class FirstPage {
     this.title = 'First Page';
 
     this.pushPage = FullPage;
+
+    this.pages = [];
+    for (var i = 1; i <= 50; i++) {
+      this.pages.push(i);
+    }
   }
 
   setViews() {
diff --git a/ionic/components/nav/view-controller.ts b/ionic/components/nav/view-controller.ts
index 4fd539c9c2..02470fa1d3 100644
--- a/ionic/components/nav/view-controller.ts
+++ b/ionic/components/nav/view-controller.ts
@@ -15,32 +15,6 @@ export class ViewController {
     this._destroys = [];
   }
 
-  /**
-   * @private
-   */
-  stage(done) {
-    let navCtrl = this.navCtrl;
-
-    if (this.instance || !navCtrl || this.shouldDestroy) {
-      // already compiled this view
-      return done();
-    }
-
-    // get the pane the NavController wants to use
-    // the pane is where all this content will be placed into
-    navCtrl.loadPage(this, null, () => {
-
-      // this ViewController instance has finished loading
-      try {
-        this.loaded();
-      } catch (e) {
-        console.error(e);
-      }
-
-      done();
-    });
-  }
-
   /**
    * TODO
    * @returns {boolean} TODO