BD SHOWS SOME WOOD: Black Diamond breaks a mold with its new ski lineup
Black Diamond’s roots are deeply embedded in the backcountry—climbing, alpinism and various earning turnisms. Which is why many skiers have traditionally placed BD skis into the telemark or AT-specific category, thinking they were skinny, lightweight tools for old bearded hippies who brewed tea from wild geraniums and aspen leaves.
Black Diamond moves to break that stereotype with the launch of a new ski line this week for the 2007-08 season, particularly with the Zealot (136/110/126; 182, 192) and the redesigned Verdict (134/102/120; 155, 165, 175, 185). I skied on these new models (the Zealot in the 182, and the Verdict in the 185) two weeks ago during a day at Snowbird when it snowed nearly two feet. The skis were anything but soft and light, characteristics often attributed to “backcountry-specific” skis. Rather, they were hard-charging machines that would toss you aside if you weren’t on your game, especially the Zealot. And I loved it. Though I skied both on a tele setup, I spent the day chasing BD athlete Billy Poole, who was bombing it on a straight alpine setup. As one who skis mostly tele, I’ve grown frustrated at the notion that says freeheelers belong on dainty sticks. Bullshit, give me the beefy burly boards that so far have been dedicated to my heel-locked brethren.
Thomas Laakso, BD’s ski category manager, believes the new skis shouldn’t be pigeonholed into one category. To paraphrase Laakso: They are great skis for great skiers, period.
The Zealot asked, no, demanded all I could give it. Same with the Verdict, which grew fatter this year by an additional 4mm at its waist. Both skis—and, in fact, the entire BD line—are now built with a wood core. The primary gripe with the 2006-07 Verdict (the orange and black model from this year) is that it was too chattery on firm snow. The new wood core is designed to dampen the ski, and it seemed to do so during the few days I tried it.
The new models are the result of Black Diamond moving its production from the Atomic factory in Europe to one of its own in China. Laakso says having their own facility gives BD the freedom to do what they want, when they want, and how they want. With what they’ve shown so far in 2007, it seems to be working.