Black Diamond

As expected, there was little news presented at this year's online ISPO and at individual product presentations by manufacturers. Many retailers still have stock from 2020, which is why some model ranges are carry-overs for the coming season. This mainly affects the downhill-oriented models.

Following an accident involving pro rider Nick McNutt, whose avalanche transceiver failed to transmit in an avalanche, Pieps and Black Diamond are calling on users to regularly check the functions of their avalanche transceivers, including all mechanical parts. In particular, you should check the switches of the latest generation of DSP Pro and Sport, see photo on the right. The older (DSP Pro, old version) and newer models ("BT") have different switches.

The Boundary Line Mapped Jacket from Black Diamond is a ski jacket with lightweight insulation made from Lavalan wool fibres, which is processed using the body mapping process in the areas that tend to need more insulation. This makes it particularly suitable for colder ski days.

You need all kinds of equipment for ski touring and freeriding, and often the first thing you think of is skis, ski touring boots and skins. But you shouldn't neglect the ski poles either, as these also contribute to a successful ski tour. That's why our Gear of the Week this time is the "Traverse Pro" poles from Black Diamond.

As every year, we report on the most important ISPO highlights from the PowderGuide partners. The second part is about women's one-piece suits, an avalanche backpack from a backpack specialist, extremely light insulation jackets, equally light ski touring bindings and carbon skis and even more safety equipment. Some of the products will be presented as tests early next season. Have fun browsing!

The North American company Black Diamond, which is best known for its wide range of climbing equipment, has also been involved in the ski sector for a number of years and has become an integral part of it. At the end of last year, the company and physiotherapist Esther Smith got together to produce a video series with numerous valuable tips for freeriders and climbers. We're showing you the result today!

As in previous years, sustainability was an important topic in the clothing segment. Almost every manufacturer has now realized this. There were no major technical highlights, but there were still one or two interesting products. Generally speaking, it can be said that things are becoming a little more colorful again, albeit with more classic colors.

Since last season, Black Diamond has had two re-labelled Pieps avalanche transceivers in its range: the Guide BT and the Reckon BT. The BD Guide BT corresponds to the Pieps Pro BT, the BD Reckon BT to the Pieps Powder BT. Guide/Pro and Reckon/Powder are the successors to the Pieps DSP Pro and Pieps DSP Sport respectively, i.e. the "top model" in the line-up (Guide/Pro) and the slightly slimmed-down, cheaper version (Reckon/Powder/Sport). The BD devices differ from the Pieps models only in colour.

This year's winter left a lot to be desired at the beginning, but shortly afterwards Ullr took pity on us and gifted us with snowfall beyond good and evil from the end of December. The perfect time to test a big mountain freeride ski that is even suitable for ski touring in larger amounts of fresh snow. The Boundary Pro 107 by Black Diamond is said to be perfect for precisely this type of use.

There were also some new products in the clothing sector. However, as was the case last year, these were rather small, but we don't want to withhold a few technical highlights from you. There are few changes in terms of design, with the color tones mostly kept rather dark. Bright colors are also a rarity this year.

The First Light Hybrid Hoody from Black Diamond combines highly insulating Primaloft with breathable merino wool in a body-mapping process: merino is used in areas where you are more likely to sweat.

For me, an avalanche shovel must fulfill two essential criteria. Firstly, I want a large and torsion-resistant shovel blade made of metal and secondly, an extendable style with a D-handle. Especially nowadays, when people like to save weight even on safety equipment, such models are no longer so easy to find, which is why I used the same shovel for about 10 years up to and including last season.