Ski

Black Diamond's Aspect, Convert and Megawatt ski lines now each have a carbon construction as a lightweight version in the range, which is aimed not only at freeriders, but above all at touring skiers who are looking for downhill-oriented, wide touring skis for powder tours.

I chose the ski at the beginning of the season, as my old all-round weapon has remained in Kyrgyzstan and will hopefully spend a long life there. I wasn't looking for real monster dumping days or gimmicks on the piste, but rather an everyday ski suitable for touring. I mounted a Dynafit Beast 14 on it (separate test). So much in advance, the ski covers my set goal relatively well. However, after a few days on the wood and in various conditions, I also noticed some weaknesses.

A ski for all conditions and everyone? With the Q-Lab, Salomon is launching a ski on the market that is supposed to be a mixture of racing and freeride ski. A true all-rounder. Can the ski fulfill the expectations?

The third part of our coverage of ISPO 2015 deals with the new products in the freeride and touring ski sector. As in previous years, a slow evolution continues to take place in the ski sector. We didn't see a revolution in ski design at the trade fair, but we didn't expect one either.

With its Aspect, Convert and Megawatt carbon construction ski lines, Black Diamond now has a series in its range that is aimed not only at freeriders, but above all at ski tourers who are looking for downhill-oriented, wide touring skis for powder tours.

I chose the ski because I needed a successor to my old "all-round weapon" and the bigturns/small turns area is already very well covered by my ski family (see picture). So much in advance, the ski is just as much a "bullet" as its siblings are and absolutely fulfills my expectations.

The Countdown 110 is a lightweight, versatile ski for powder tours and much more...

In recent years, Black Diamond has spared no effort to catch up with the big names in ski construction. As is well known, the American company opened its own ski factory in China in 2012. The factory attempts to combine modern ski construction with the demands of sustainability. A large proportion of the electricity consumed is generated by solar power. In addition, all skis are pressed with prepreg fabric (glass fiber layers pre-impregnated with epoxy resin and hardener, the hardening of which is prevented by deep-freezing). This avoids superfluous synthetic resin and at the same time increases process reliability. Most skis are now also fitted with an ABS sidewall.

Whitedot is one of the ski manufacturers that emerged from a conviction that the existing material could be improved. A few enthusiastic friends of skiing got together and developed the first prototypes. That was several years ago, but the brand is still relatively unknown in German-speaking countries. Without good reason, in my opinion, as the ski manufacturers from the 'white dot' now know how to impress with their appealing design and innovative ski shapes. This time in the practical test of the Ranger Whitedot CarbonLite.

It is well known that ski touring and freeriding have been booming for some time now and that manufacturers are enjoying constant growth rates compared to stagnating alpine skiing. Manufacturers are trying to combine the best of both worlds in order to reach a new target group. The market leader in the ski touring sector is Dynafit and since the signing of pro freerider Eric Hjorleifson at the latest, it was clear that Dynafit would also try to expand further in the freeride touring sector.

At ISPO, all manufacturers present their innovations - or not. Read about the new products in the ski sector.

The bedrock of powder skiing history. When the Völkl company brought out its widest ski to date for the 1993/1994 season, it was not only so wide that it was practically exclusively intended for heliskiing in North America, it could not even be pressed in pairs as is usually the case with skis, the existing presses were simply too narrow.