Black Diamond has been killing it with backcountry ski gear in recent years, with a renewed focus and streamlined apparel and ski lines. The winter of 2017/18 looks like it will be no different as a new series of skis, updated touring shells, backcountry-specific gloves, a new touring binding, and an innovative transceiver-connected probe pole will make their debuts. It was all on display at the 2017 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market.
SKIS
The Helio skis will return unchanged for the 2017/18 ski season, but new next year will be the Boundary Pro and Route Series. The Boundary Pro skis are limited editions designed with feedback from Black Diamond’s pro athlete team. They are similar to the original Boundary skis except they are 20% stiffer due to a pre-axial fiberglass layer in the top of the ski. This leads to more torsional stiffness so you can charge harder. The effect? A BD ski that you can confidently rip in the resort as well as the backcountry. A 115 and 107 version will be available.
But the newest skis from Black Diamond are the Route Series. The best way to describe them is that they are more versatile, heavier, stiffer, and damp versions of the Helio skis. And at only $690, they are also much more affordable than their carbon counterparts. Coming in at a full 1-pound heavier than the Helio skis, these sticks are still backcountry specific workhorses that anyone from the entry-level newbie to a hardened touring pro can appreciate, especially at that price point. The Route Series will come in sizes 105, 95, and 88mm underfoot.
TECTON 12 BINDING
On the binding front, Fritschi Tecton 12 in the latest tech binding with a traditional alpine heel. Along with the heel is an innovative front lateral release – a sort of toe bumper that forces your boot to release when you go over the handlebars. Soon to be DIN certified, these bindings may well be the safest-yet-powerful in the market when they are released next fall. And while they are similar to the Marker Kingpin, they will be around $100 less expensive.
FIRST LIGHT HYBRID HOODY
The original First Light Hoody proved to be very popular in the skin track, so Black Diamond is coming out with a few new versions for next winter. They will be releasing a hoodless First Light jacket for those of us who… don’t like hoods. But the biggest development is the First Light Hybrid Hoody. What sets it apart is merino wool side panels for added breathability, Primaloft Silver Insulation Active, Schoeller stretch-woven nylon shell and woven mesh lining. Looks to be an even better First Light for dawn patrols in the Wasatch.
HELIO GLOVES
For backcountry specific gloves, check out the Helio Gloves. This is a 3-in-one glove system with a Dyneema ripstop shell with goat-leather palms and powder cuff. Inside is a tricot and fleece lining with 40g of Primaloft Gold insulation. A removeable fleece liner glove has a softshell backer and grippy palms. For the price of one pair of gloves, you get two – use the fleece liner glove for skinning, and slip the shell glove over it when you are ready for the down.
PIEPS iPROBE II 300
One of the coolest things found at the Black Diamond booth was the Pieps iProbe II 300. It is described as an automatic electronic avalanche probe that comes on when it is deployed. What comes on, exactly? A probe tip with integrated beacon receiver so you can continue to pinpoint search for a buried victim even while probing. They say this probe reduces rescue time by 20%, which is huge when time is of the essence. The receiver can detect any active beacon signal and also automatically deactivates any Pieps beacon when the tip of the probe comes within 30cm of the victim. Very innovative and cool.
Clearly there is a lot to look forward to from Black Diamond and its associated companies next year, so look for it all this fall.
I have the Helio 95 in the 183 length. My problem with the ski and also heard from others is that there is insufficient tip rise on the tip of the ski. The tip is too low profile encouraging the ski to dive while skinning and deflect in mixed conditions. Will this be corrected in the 2017-2018 models for both the Helio and Route series?
Good question. I don’t know the answer to that. What the BD rep told me is that the Route series will pretty much mimic the shapes and dimensions of the Helio series, but be made of different materials. So it stands to reason that the tips will be the same… But I can’t say if they are changing it for ’17-’18.