The Zealot was the flagship model until the newly-introduced Black Diamond Megawatt came on the scene last month. Still, the Zealot is an awesome example of how Black Diamond is pushing their ski designs further and further to accommodate not only backcountry skiers who enjoy pushing their limits, but aggressive skiers of all disciplines (tele, alpine or backcountry touring).

About the BD Zealot

Built to power through the burliest terrain, but still be agile enough to turn in the trees and on hardpack, the BD Zealot can be a do-it-all ski in spite of it’s portly 136 / 110 / 126 mm sidecut (182cm as tested). Weight comes in at 9.25 lbs. per pair. No-compromise cap construction has unique split ribs from tip to tail built to give the Zealot a precise and stable demeanor. Those ribs are the result of a 3D CNC wood core. The construction of the Zealots is bomber and the skis are built to withstand years of abuse inbounds, in the backcountry or in the unforgiving Alaskan steeps that we can only dream of skiing.

These skis will return unchanged for 2008/2009.

BD Zealot Review

I had the chance to ski on the Zealots both inbounds at Sundance Resort and in the backcountry on Box Elder Peak. The most recent Utah ski conditions have been hit and miss. We enjoyed an epic January through early February, then things came back to reality with warmer temps and longer periods between storms. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the Zealots out on an insanely-deep Utah day, but I was able to get a feel for how the skis perform on groomers, crud, corn and creamy, boot-deep pow.

For the inbounds day, I dialed in the Fritschi Freeride bindings (my touring binding of choice) with my Head World Cup boots, so I could really power them on-piste. On the groomers, the Zealot’s scream for speed. If you are like me and enjoy laying down railroad tracks from top-to-bottom, be prepared for a super wide and long natural arc–so much so that I was going a little faster than the Sundance Patrol would have liked. Unless you’re at speed, these skis won’t even talk to you. Now, if you pressure them just right, you can actually pop nice medium-arc turns on groomers-which is what I did.

The sidecut isn’t as deep as say, the Scott Mission, so, to be quite honest, they aren’t going to be anyone’s favorite ski on the groomers. They can handle groomers with the best of the fat skis, but they aren’t super fun on that kind of terrain.

While the Zealots aren’t tops on the groomer list, once you take them into the kind of terrain and conditions they were built for, whoa baby! These skis are some of the smoothest and most powerful skis I’ve skied in cut-up, nasty crud and creamy, week-old powder.

Dropping into some hateful avie debris-scattered terrain and cut up, sunbaked crud, the Zealots simply powered through it without flinching. I felt like I was riding a battleship through a storm as I sliced through and floated over the type of stuff that would typically throw one ski one way and the other ski another way. They simply stayed on course and tracked with precision. I skied where nobody else dared at Sundance because I knew the skis would carve turns in the wet, manky stuff.

After cutting the Black Diamond GlideLite skins wall-to-wall, I was primed to test out how well these babies would tour. Adjusting the bindings for the lugged sole of my Garmont Endorphin boots was a snap and entry/exit was a breeze. Just a quick toe-height adjustment and I was golden.

To round out the test, I went on a 3000 vertical ft. backcountry tour on Box Elder Peak. This peak is in my backyard playground and provides some great terrain for this type of ski. Since it’s not a real popular backcountry skiing area, we were guaranteed to find untracked pow even though it hadn’t snowed in over a week.

With the extra width of the Zealots, the skins hooked up like brand new Velcro and climbed efficiently. I really didn’t notice the extra bit of weight of these skis as compared to some of the other skis in my quiver. And, the skins stayed attached on the turned-up tail just fine.

Once at the top, we were looking at 1000 vertical feet of wind-protected and shaded creamy pow. My initial turns were surprisingly-good and it continued all the way to the bottom. The Zealots simply powered through the thick, but creamy pow better than any ski I’ve skied to date. I felt like a superhero as I arced around trees and effortlessly carved through the vertical–grinning from ear to ear.

Good Zealot

• Stiff and wide to power through all conditions
• Surfy in pow
• Capable enough for a one-quiver ski if you really push ‘em
• Excellent pricepoint: $639

Bad Zealot

• Not turny enough to be grin-inducing on groomers
• Don’t play nice at slow speeds
• A little heavy

The Bottom Line on the Black Diamond Zealot Skis

I really dig these skis for backcountry touring. They are fatter and heavier than other touring-specific fat skis, but they are stable and smooth in unpredictable conditions–a great trait in a backcountry ski. They aren’t my first choice for carving up groomers, but they are some of the finest powder surfing and crud-busting skis on the shelf. The Zealots are a great choice for big mountains both in and out of bounds.

Buy Now: Search GEAR.com for Black Diamond Skis

The Low-down on Black Diamond’s Verdict

The Verdict is Black Diamond’s fattest ski, boasting a portly figure at 128-98-116 on the 180cm pair I rode. That’s quite a departure for a ski company that’s more known for its soulfulness than for its aggressiveness. But I suspect the Verdict and its svelte companion, the Havoc, are quickly changing BD’s reputation to favor aggressiveness. There’s a revolution going on, in case you didn’t know it.

I had the chance to ride the Verdict in soft Utah pow as well as on a few groomers (since those of us who are crossing over to AT still find ourselves in-bounds on several occasions). The pow is definitely the ski’s home. At 98mm underfoot, the Verdict is downright surfy, and a lot of fun to let ride.

As you would expect, its waist width lets you stomp out landings much easier than most touring-specific skis. I was able to hit a few diving-board cliffs at full tilt, expecting to bomb-hole the landings. I have to admit I was surprised to land them standing and ride away without so much as a hand down. Try to do that on other touring skis!

The Verdict also has a slightly up-turned tail for switch landings. I found it to be fine for switch landings in-bounds, but the Verdict will not handle any switch landings in the pow. When you’re in the backcountry, the Verdict becomes a directional ski.

One thing I haven’t yet touched on is how exceptionally light the ski is, given its width. I was amazed at how solid it felt in all conditions, and yet feather-light compared to other fat skis. If you want a fat ski for touring, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one with the same girth that doesn’t punish you on the uphill laps.

The Bottom Line

The one downside for the Verdict (other than the sub-par graphics, in this author’s opinion) is the effort it takes to carve on the groomed. It would start the turn all right, but would not round out the turn as well as other fat skis I’ve ridden. However, take that with a grain of salt – this is not intended to be an “in-bounds” ski. It’s for earning your turns in Utah powder. And its width & light weight make it the hands-down winner in that category. If you’re looking for a light ski for dawn patrol tours in the Utah pow, then you don’t even need to deliberate: the Verdict is absolutely your ski.

Buy Now: Search for Black Diamond Skis

A Bit o’ Trivia

For a couple years now fat-twins have been at the forefront of every serious rider’s consciousness. The Line Mothership and the Salomon Pocket Rocket christened the fat-twin category, and were quickly followed by the K2 AK Enemy, the Rossigol Scratch BC, and many others. In 2004 there is nothing new about making a fat-twin – unless it’s the first fat-twin built from the ground up for touring and hard-core riding by a backcountry champion like Black Diamond.

Now, you may argue that Karhu released the Jak last year and K2 has the Hippie Stinx (both fat-twins marketed as backcountry tools). But truth be told, those models are essentially alpine skis with different graphics. The Jak is the same design as the Mothership (both the Mothership and the Jak were built from the same design created by French ski designer François Sylvain, formerly of Geze binding fame), and the Hippie Stinx is basically the Seth Pistol with different paint.

The Ride

Black Diamond, on the other hand, has looked at the current technology and used different ideas to put together a fat-twin touring ski from the ground up. BD took some of the Torsion Bow technology from its popular Crossbow tele/AT ski and modified it into X-shaped torsion bars in front of and behind the binding area called a 3-D Densolite core. This makes for a lightweight ski that is rock-solid torsionally, making it a surprisingly great performer on harder snow. If you’ve ever had to ski a wind-scoured slope to avoid avalanche danger on the leeward side, you’ll definitely appreciate this bit of technology. But then again, you wouldn’t expect less than the best in technology from an Austrian-built ski that comes out of the same factory where Atomic makes its world-class race skis.

The great hard-snow performance surprised our testers because the ski has an extraordinarily lightweight feel while touring and while airborne. We tried the ski on hard, early-season snow in Colorado and we rode it in the deep, light snow that dumped on the Wasatch during December and January. There is no condition where this ski doesn’t shine.

Black Diamond Havoc Dimensions

In addition to the torsional rigidity and relative light weight of this fat-twin, the Havoc has another endearing quality. Its width dimensions are pretty close to ideal: 120mm tip/88mm waist/113mm tail on our 183cm model. Some might argue that 88mm underfoot is too narrow to be called a serious fat ski, but do you really need a super-fat, Alaska-only ski like the K2 Kahuna, Line Prophet, or the fabled Rossi B4? I would compare it to cars in this way: Sure, the original Hummer can do more than the H2 in hairy situations. But how often are you REALLY in those types of over-the-top situations? Wouldn’t you rather be rocking an H2 as your everyday ride? You’d be more comfortable the majority of the time, while sacrificing only a little of the high-end performance. The Black Diamond Havoc is the H2 of touring skis. It uses less fuel (sweat) to haul the thing around, and it can rip through almost any realistic situation you may get yourself into.

“The Havoc’s wide underfoot platform (88-mm waist) not only stomps out big-air landings, but ensures that nothing moves this baby off-mark in choppy crud.” -Black Diamond website, www.bdel.com

This statement is absolutely true, but it would be a crime not to mention how well the Havoc carves, too. Its relatively stiff tip initiates the turn aggressively and holds a smooth edge throughout, making it a blast for those on-piste runs we inevitably take while getting to and from many backcountry gates. The Havoc can lay trenches with the best of them.

Possible Improvements

For as solid a ski as the Havoc is, there are two things I would have changed about the model we had for review. First of all, our model had the Fritschi Freerides mounted toe-center which for me is way too far back on the ski. It gave the ski an “always in the backseat” sort of ride. And though turns initiated aggressively, the mounting style left the end of the turn lacking energy – it didn’t rebound readily into the next turn. Now, where the binding is mounted on the ski is absolutely a matter of personal preference. But after riding traditional twin-tips for years, which are usually mounted almost exactly boot-center to ski-center, we would definitely recommend mounting your bindings farther forward than toe-center to get a stronger finish to your turns and make riding switch a lot more comfortable. I found it very tough to land switch with much confidence when there’s not an equal amount of a tail behind the heel-piece.

Secondly, the graphics are definitely lackluster. Small thing, I know (shows you how deep you have to dig to find something wrong with this ski). But with such a sick, ground-breaking ski it’s frankly a shame to clothe it in the same, indistinguishable computer blah that every other ski on the wall has. This ski needs to pop in a strong way. I’m not talking bright orange. But I am saying it would communicate more clearness of purpose, taste, and uniqueness (because it is a unique ski) if it were a solid color. Or maybe a landscape image stretched across both skis. Or maybe even a faux-wood finish like the old Authier skis. I’m no designer, but I think a ski as innovative as the Havoc is in the AT market should distinguish itself from the rest in image as well as performance.

Or you could just slap a bunch of stickers on it after you buy it. It’s not like you’ll notice while you’re ripping big turns down a few hundred vert in the Utah backcountry. And that’s where the Havoc shows its true colors, anyway.

Fritschi Freeride Touring Binding

Mounted on these killer Havocs were a pair of Fritschi Freerides. If you don’t already know, in the course of just a few short seasons the Freeride has gained the reputation of being the ultimate alpine touring binding for hard-core riders. The “best-performing AT binding in the world,” according to Black Diamond (US importer of the Freeride).

“Why all the stoke?” you may ask. Well, here’s the breakdown – DIN up to 12 for both the toe and the heel, a light weight (compared to regular alpine bindings) of just 2.12kg per pair, and an ease of use that is almost foolproof. The idea is that you have a binding that is nice and lightweight, has a 4-stage elevator for climbing and an easy-to-use step-in design, but is just as reliable for retention and release as a regular alpine binding. So….why would you still be riding alpine bindings? If you never plan on going into the backcountry at all, then you’re probably okay with regular alpine bindings. But if you never plan on going into the backcountry at all, why are you reading this gear review?? And even if you go touring only a couple times a year, you’ll still appreciate the slim profile and the reliable alpine-style release system of the Freeride.

The main worry of many riders has been that the Freeride’s toe piece wouldn’t release as reliably as a standard alpine binding, but I have put my meniscus on the line to test that theory for all our loyal readers. Yes, yours truly was ripping down a nice glade with fresh Wasatch pow when my left ski went to the left side of a small aspen. In a brief moment I thought the end of my season had come, but then – at just the right moment – I felt the toe piece release as smoothly as any alpine binding I’ve ever ridden. So, while this binding is definitely not for racing or hitting the park regularly, you can still be confident in it protecting your knees almost flawlessly when you need it most.

One thing to note when in climbing mode: The Freeride sports only a single pivot point under the toe for climbing, so your gait is about as fluid as a door hinge. Frankly, this is a good thing on the steeps, because it keeps the pivot point right where it needs to be throughout the stride. This is an advantage over a design like the much-hyped Naxo touring binding, which has a dual pivot point. The dual pivot point makes the Naxo much smoother than the Freeride on average-angle slopes but slightly more difficult to manage on angles over 35 degrees. This is because the main pivot point is about 10cm farther in front of the boot toe than the Freeride. That extra 10cm slightly reduces your leverage while climbing steep slopes, and makes kick-turns more of a balancing act than with the Freerides. Another advantage of the Freeride over the Naxo is that the Freeride is a few grams lighter – and when you’re hauling your own butt up a few thousand vertical feet of the Rocky Mountains, that makes bit of a difference.

However, there are two weak spots with the Freeride. First is its lock-down mechanism. It is made of what appears to be a relatively soft plastic, making it vulnerable to breakage under heavy stresses. I was able to do lincolns and front flips without much worry, but I certainly would not be trying cork 7′s or misties regularly on the Freerides for fear of blowing them up. And if you’ve skinned into Grizzly Gulch to hit a 90-foot gap jump, the last thing you want to do is have binding failure and have to post-hole your way through avalanche terrain to make it back to the car.

Secondly, the cross-bar that connects the toe piece to the heel piece is made of aluminum. This is fine for regular riding, but there are definitely situations where it’s a downfall. When stomping big airs to pow most skis flex out their camber completely so that for a brief moment the ski looks like a Volant Spatula. When this happens there is definite binding pinch between the toe and the heel, and all the weight of the skier presses down hard on the center of that single aluminum cross bar and it can be bent or deformed. It sounds amazing, but there are legitimate stories of this happening on airs as small as 20 feet. And then you’re left with no option but to replace the binding. Currently I know of no solid AT binding that has solved this problem. My proposal to Fritschi for the next generation is the following: Make a new model, called the Freeride Ti or something, with a titanium crossbar that can withstand the flex and snap back to form. Or, at the very least, make the crossbar a replaceable piece that you can buy separately and carry in your pack as a spare, so you can fix your binding in the field should something like this happen to you.

The Bottom Line

The Black Diamond Havoc mounted with some Fritschi Freerides is an almost unbeatable combination for big mountain skiers looking to cross over to alpine touring. The Havoc is a lightweight and versatile fat-twin with bomber edgehold and real carving skills, too. And the Fritschi Freeride is fast becoming a fixture on at least one pair of skis for every serious skier. Get out there on this gear and you can’t help but start thinking of all the possibilities there are outside of the zoos we call ski resorts. Enjoy!

Buy Now: Search for Black Diamond Skis or Fritschi Freeride Bindings

The principle behind the Intelligence Chip System is to take forces within the ski that are created and amplify them in a form that can stabilize the ski. To accomplish this there are Intellifibers embedded within the ski and set at a 45 degree angle across the ski. Within a turn vibrations which can cause torsional instabilities create an electrical energy that is sent through a circuit to a microchip which then amplified the energy and sends it back to the Intellifibers that corrects the torsional movements of the ski. In plain English – the ski is stabilized while turning so you can focus on your next turn, on what you’re going to have for lunch, what that cute liftie is doing later…you get the picture.

Head Monster iM-75 Review

My first chance at skiing the Monster i.M 75 was at Deer Valley, the capital of the grooming world. Midway through my first run “GIDDY UP”, was my first reaction. My second was, “I thought these were mid-fats?”. Although the 75mm waist may categorize this ski as a mid-fat powder ski best suited for off-piste endeavors, these skis are very much at home on groomers.

The Intelligence Chip System and construction meant this ski was very stable at all speeds and the generous side-cut made for some great sweeping turns. The skis held on all surface types – icy slopes, soft packed powder groomers and buttery sun touched groomers. After bombing “Know You Don’t” and “Big Stick” I headed over to the North side lift and slowed down a bit to make turns of all sizes and found that once again despite the waist width I could still make small turns as well as the longer GS turns. It does require some work for the smaller turns, but they were surprisingly quick edge to edge for a mid-fat.

I was all smiles at the end of the day as I bombed “Big Stick” once again back to the parking lot.

Since I’d been to the grooming capital of the world for the On Piste I decided to take the Monster i.M 75′s to the powder capital of the world for the Off Piste. Yep, a 45-minute drive from my front door and I had arrived at Alta, Utah.

These skis are the true All-Mountain skis. They do it all and well. From “Wildcat” to “Catherine’s,” I had no problems dropping tricky entrances, carving sweet powder pillow or maneuvering my way across typically treacherous traverses. Float in powder they do. I found some nice untracked powder in “Catherine’s” and “Eagles Nest” and these skis float and love to ski powder.

In the tight entrances and narrow chutes they were quick and easy to manage. When riding the lift with my buddies who were all riding skis with 80mm+ waists, they all asked if these were the fat Monsters. After the way they skied, I could have been fooled as well into thinking these were the big daddy Monsters.

The Bottom Line: Head Monster iM-75

Get yourself onto a Monster i.M 75 this year and you won’t have to endure a lesser ski for another season. This ski is the real deal. From groomers to cut-up powder and finally to untracked powder, these skis are stout competition for the rest of the ski manufacturing world. I am surprised at how well rounded this ski is and can’t wait to get out and ski them again.

Buy Now: Search for Head Skis on GEAR.com

I wanted a twinned fat ski. If you’re living and riding anywhere west of Kansas, you need fat skis. If you’re any good, you want a twin. LINE was the first company to make a step in the right direction with the Ostness Dragon, and I personally don’t think anyone’s quite caught up with the same level of vision, innovation, and guts as LINE.

I took the Motherships up to The Canyons with some new snow and a bounteous backcountry of pow and windlips. I took the PocketRockets up to Snowbird with a few inches of fresh and some cliffs. After riding both of them in nearly ideal conditions, and really enjoying both, once again I’ll stand by LINE and put my money on the Motherships. Both Salomon and LINE finally made what I had dreamed about, but LINE hit it on the head.

Why I like the LINE Motherships

Reason One: The Motherships have a better flex for riding in pow – the PocketRockets are way fun, but are better suited to the groomed for a lighter guy like me because they are stiffer. You don’t get the same smooth feeling off-piste as you do with the Motherships.

Reason Two: The Motherships are lighter-weight. It’s way easier to tweak out an air if you don’t feel like the skis are throwing you around.

Reason Three: It seems LINE makes all their twins with equal height in the tip and tail. The PocketRocket is that way, too, but it’s got a lower-profile. Combine that low-pro tip and tail with a stiffer flex, and you have a pow ski that dives a little more than I’d like. With the Motherships I stood tall in the saddle and straightlined a pow bowl SWITCH without a care in the world. And I did it more than once. Just hopped around 180 in the middle of a turn and let ‘em run. I didn’t feel like the PocketRockets were quite as comfortable.

Reason Four: The Mothership retails for more than $200 less than the PocketRockets. Even if you like the PocketRockets more than the Motherships for whatever reason, I’m sure the price difference would make you think twice.

If you still don’t ride twins – you’ve gotta start this year. It won’t hurt you one bit (if you’re careful). And even if you never go switch, I doubt you’ll find a ski anywhere that is nearly as smooth in the pow as the LINE Motherships.

Buy Now: Search for Twin Tip Skis