The Helio Carbon 95’s lightweight and touring-specific features, such as the integrated notch in the tail to secure climbing skins, are truly designed for the backcountry. The ski is comfortable while turning on a steep grade, but still provides a smooth flex for responsive skiing in more mellow runouts. This ski balances soft snow flotation while still being capable in mixed conditions and a wide range of terrain.Įarly rise in the tip and tail keep the skis afloat in soft conditions, while a pre-peg carbon fiber layup and full perimeter ABS sidewalls provide torsional stiffness and dependability for steep terrain and couloir descents as well as variable snow conditions. Sitting in the middle with maximum versatility is the Helio Carbon 95. The Helio Carbon lineup of skis comes in a variety of widths, from the lightweight and technical Helio Carbon 88 to the powder-hungry Helio Carbon 115.Īll of them use a pre-preg carbon fiber layup to stiffen the skis, giving them strength without adding many grams to the weight like a traditional titanal layer. Ski GearĬurrently, Black Diamond makes two main lines of skis, the alpine touring-focused Helio Carbon series, and the resort-focused Impulse. Many of the materials used in both their hard goods and apparel are Bluesign-approved, meaning that the product chain, from sourcing to manufacturing, has been documented and provides transparency to improve environmental performance, working conditions, and resource consumption to create the highest level of safety for people, planet, and consumers. They are a founding member of the Outdoor Industry Association’s Climate Action Corps, advocating for sustainable recreation practices, trade policy, ethical business innovation, and increasing outdoor participation. Black Diamond is committed to complying with the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility in all their operations, from their headquarters in Utah to their vendor partners. This high level of commitment to be a champion for the conservation, preservation, and access to mountain, crag, and canyon environments, while minimizing the environmental footprint continues today. This ethos has given birth to many innovative pieces of equipment throughout the history of the company, ultimately leading to today’s award-winning climbing pieces like camalots (a spring loaded device that can be placed in a crack of a rock and hold the weight of the user to climb, then removed with no damage or markings). The magnitude of this proposal cannot be overstated-at the time, pitons were 70% of Chouinard’s sales, and yet they were telling the climbing world to stop using them. What the Clean Climbing Manifesto proposed was that any climbing equipment and protection should be removable and not damage the rock. As the popularity of climbing continued to increase, it became apparent that this method posed a threat to the natural beauty and long-term viability of climbing areas all around the world. Operating as Chouinard Equipment at the time, the company noticed that climbing routes were littered with fixed bolts and pitons drilled into the rocks, leading to scarring and permanent alterations. A great example of this came in 1972 with the release of the Clean Climbing Manifesto. Traditionally Black Diamond has been focused on backcountry-oriented products, although lately, they’ve released some skis that are suitable to be used in the resort as well as the backcountry.īlack Diamond has always been at the forefront of mountain sports innovation. Ski and snowboard equipment includes climbing skins, poles, avalanche equipment, bags and packs, in addition to skis and splitboards. Climbing products include carabiners, harnesses, helmets, ice tools, and crampons. They have since diversified to designing and manufacturing equipment for climbing, skiing, and other mountain sports. A group of employees took over the company that had been manufacturing climbing equipment, renamed it Black Diamond, and moved it to the base of the Wasatch mountains in Salt Lake City. Black Diamond was born from Chouinard Equipment in 1989.
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