Some 8,000 feet later, I figured the snow couldn’t have really been that bad. So, we skied another, and another, and another. My partner and I begrudgingly skied a lap in the trees, it was ‘okay’ I thought. Strong winds the week before made for variable snow, overcast skies made for flat light, and cold air made for cold lungs.
My first day out on them was a day at Tincan in Turnagain Pass. The Helio Carbon is not a featherweight division contender like say the Movement Alp Tracks or Fischer TransAlp, but a lightweight ski that maintains a bit of the umph of a heavier setup, akin to the Atomic Backland, the Scott Superguide, or the Blizzard Zero G.
These skis feel heavier on the down, but at the same lightweight for the up. Along with a bidirectional carbon weave and ‘elastomeric’ core damping materials – yea, I’m not really sure what that means either – the new construction gives the Helio Carbon a more stable ride, smooth ‘carvier’ turn, and playful edge. The biggest change between the old Helio and the new Helio Carbon is an engineered paulownia wood core (trading out a balsa falx core).
After this winter’s redesign, I am converted. I know some lighter folks out there loved this ski (likely getting the ride I got out of the 105s), but I couldn’t quite find their lane.
Black diamond helio 95 ski review driver#
The first generation 95 was easy to ski, but not quite zippy enough for a daily driver and not quite nimble enough for objective skiing-while a jack-of-all trades, it felt like a bit of a master of none. Out of the old Helio widths offered, the old 95 was my least favorite. The most interesting thing to me about this year’s Helio Carbon 95 is that it doesn’t remind me of the earlier Helio 95. Improved balance and power transfer make it a Black Diamond ski for black belt skiers. The Helio Carbon 95 offered the chance to find out. The line got a redesign this year and I couldn’t wait to see what had changed and what stayed the same. The 105s were my daily driver, soft-snow ski for a few seasons ( reviewed and compared to the 95 here). The 88s have been my go-to ski mountaineering, long approach, techy ski for a while. I have had more days on Helios in the last few years than any other ski. The Black Diamond Helio, BDs lightweight line-up for the past five seasons, aims to allow for a burly ski feel in a light-ish package. (Interestingly, Lundgren’s 1985 major motion picture debut, A View to Kill, starts off with Roger Moore’s James Bond in perhaps the big screen’s most infamous ski chase…a story for another day). Clearly this is no secret to the folks at Black Diamond, as the Helio Carbon ski’s redesign quite similarly utilizes a foundation in top-notch engineering to pack a precision punch: hard-charging, impressively stable, and surprisingly nimble for their size.
Black diamond helio 95 ski review full#
Let me know if you want to know anything else.Sunshine in the Chugach! Photo: Taylor BracherĪnyone who’s read Dolph Lundgren’s Wikipedia page knows full well that it takes a Fulbright Scholarship at MIT in chemical engineering to fully develop one’s appreciation for the hard-hitting, yet smooth style of Kyokushin Karate. I was able to get them through trees too. They were fun when I opened up the throttle on a groomer and in some powder both on tight playful turns as well as bigger-faster turns. They were very damp which is something I appreciate when the snow is firmer. I wouldn't take them to a resort on a day I was planning on skiing mostly bumps though. I was hesitant to ski them in bumps with dynafit rotation bindings because of bad experiences I've had in the resort with touring bindings as a bigger guy but I was able to ski chop and month old chunder with quite a bit of confidence that I was very pleasantly surprised with.
Personally I think that they are plenty light despite most reviews calling them 'too heavy for a touring ski' I've skinned and skied some 2500' powder runs as well as skied some resort bumps and I'll tell you that they don't quite have the playful float of a DPS Wailer 112 as to be expected but they were plenty fun. Hey! I know it's been a while but I finally have ridden them enough to give a decent review.
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