I just added a quick review, a sort of half season review in fact, for the Voodoo from Black Diamond. Basically, I like them and I’m going to keep hammering them….

Black Diamond Voodoo Review

Name : Black Diamond Voodoo

Manufacturer Web site : http://www.skibd.com/gear.php

First Use : December 2007

Black Diamond have two main ski ranges right now, the Efficient and Power range. The Power range contains skis like the Havoc, Kilowatt or Zealot which are powerful freeride skis, and the Efficient series which are basically lighter more orientated to longer touring and bigger ascents but aiming to keep downhill performance high. Looking at the range I was initially drawn to the Havoc or the Kilowatt but after some thought went for the Voodoo from the Efficient series.

The Voodoo uses a lightweight version of the Dual Torsion Box used by the Havoc (and others), this keeps the same longitudinal stiffness but has a more relaxed torsional stiffness. Effectively you’ve got a Havoc but with a few less layers in it, this saves about 200g at the 185cm length. What really grabbed my attention with the whole Black Diamond range was that they’re designed from the bottom up to be strong, light and high performance, I caught a really interesting interview with Thomas Laakso who does ski design work for Black Diamond, that interview can be watched online at TelemarkTips.com.

I spent a long time thinking about what bindings to put on these skis, I’d recently (Spring 2007) got some Dynafit bindings on some ultralight skis along with some Dynafit compatible boots in the Garmont Megarides. I really couldn’t convince myself that the slightly soft Megaride would drive the ski effectively, I’d been riding my Stormriders with Garmont Endorphins and thought I might need to use the Endorphin on the Voodoos as well. That drove me to mounting some Fritschi Freerides on the Voodoos, the logic being that I could use either the Megaride or Endorphin but the downside being the weight penalty of that heavier binding.

What I’ve discovered is that Megarides work just fine with the Voodoos, I think this is down to having a consistent flex all through the system. I took a quick test of my Endorphins on the Voodoos and found it a fairly poor combination at least for me. Obviously I’m now left wondering if I ought to have just mounted some Dynafits but that’s hindsight I guess!

Having cleared the hurdle of what bindings to use and received the skis (from the excellent Telemark-Pyrenees) the next thing to worry about was how good they’d be uphill, they’re significantly wider than any skis I’ve toured with before so I was concerned. It turns out that they’re really very good indeed, in fact the better flotation from the wider ski that’s desirable for downhill is actually quite useful on the ascent, compared to my ultra light Stormrider PIT lights I’m not crashing through the snow when breaking trail and it’s actually a lot less effort on some kinds of snow. I’m skiing them at 185cm which is fairly long for a pure touring ski and there’s a slight difficulty kick turning them although my own technique is partly to blame probably.

I have to say it’s taken me a little time to get used the ski, the length and the width differing from my previous skis and being unfamiliar. We’ve had a variety of conditions this season, from crust and hard-pack to fantastic powder days and now I’m familar with the Voodoo I’m pretty comfortable on most surface I think. So far I’ve not skied them much on piste and certainly not too much in bumps or anything like that so I’m not sure how they behave there. I’ve a couple (at least, so far) of multi-day tours planned in the spring and I’m not hesitating to take the Voodoos along, before Xmas I’d assumed that I’d use my ultra light Stormrider PIT lights but downhill performance of the Voodoos is so good it’s worth the weight penaltly.

Downhill I’m finding the Voodoos amazingly good, stable and secure at much higher speeds than I expected on all kinds of snow including the piste, okay they’re a bit plankey on plain ice sometimes and rattle around a bit but it’s not a big deal. The compromises I expected with a lighter ski having that slightly softer flex just aren’t there.

come on Black Diamond, make an effort ….

I’ve got a load of other Black Diamond kit, gloves, a rucksack, ice axes, ice screws, an avalung etc and I’m a big fan, they’ve just released some ski touring boots, so far only “Power” series, and when I need some more boots I’ll look at what they have. But …….. they need to get a better range of stockists and test centres up and running, I know there’s a place at La Grave but I’m not about to travel all the way down there to test some skis, I live in one of the best freeride ski areas in Switzerland, if not the best, and you can’t buy or test Black Diamond skis. I even emailed a couple of dealers in Zermatt and didn’t get anywhere. The range is actually almost too big, it’s really hard to choose without a proper test facility, my eye went between the Stigma, Voodoo, Kilowatt and Havoc and I’d have liked to try the Verdict. I often see people looking at my skis and people come up and ask me how they are so there’s an interest in the Black Diamond range but I have yet to see another pair of Voodoos around here, in fact I’ve seen just one other pair of Black Diamond skis in the Anniviers all season. It looks to me if you’re going to sell a ski range you need to create a buzz around, which they’ve done, then make sure you’ve got the channels in place to satisfy demand which so far look inadequate. They should open a test centre here, I’ll keep the kit in my workshop and I’ll promise to look after it really well!

Buy now from Backcountry.com …

Black Diamond Voodoo SkiThe Black Diamond Voodoo Ski’s lightweight construction, mellow flex, and fat dimensions help save energy on long tours, while the fat dimensions provide some serious fun when you finally find that perfect powder stash.

 

Waiting for the first snow to fall and getting ready for the upcoming is always fun as it always means a few new pieces of kit. In fact, I’ve been replacing a load of old climbing gear as well and I’d already posted an inventory of that here, primarily that’s just my way of keeping track of what stuff weighs.

First, a pair of Black Diamond Voodoo’s for me. My Stormrider XL’s are starting to get slightly tired and I’m not sure they’ll last the whole season. The XL’s are a little heavy at around 4-4.5 kg so I wanted something a little lighter. For ultra light I’ve a pair of Stormrider PIT Lights with Dynafit TLT Speed bindings which are only around 3.6kg all together so I was looking to save around 1kg on this ski. The XL is a versatile ski at 112-76-102 mm but I’ve decided that fatter skis have improved enough to size up slightly so I’m taking this Voodoo at 124-88-115 mm in the longest 185cm length.

I’d looked at the Black Diamond Havocs as well which are a similar ski but use a few more wood layers to make them stiffer and slightly heavier. I also seriously considerd the Black Diamond Kilowatt but at 127-95-116 mm I think it might be awkward on some of the snow we get at times.

I’ve gone back and forth over what bindings to mount on these, on one hand some dynafits and use my Megarides. On the other hand, Fritschi or Silvretta and have the choice of boots. The reason I’d like to use my Megarides is that they’re 1 kg lighter than my Endorphins and that would extend the range of use for the ski. In the end I’ve opted for the Fritschi option, I’d like to be able to use either the Endorphin or Megaride and I’m familiar with Fritschi as I have some Freeride Plus bindings already.

I did consider going for the Fritschi Explores but when you add a brake they’re barely lighter than the Freerides and I get that higher DIN range for skiing with a pack etc.

In fact these skis haven’t been shipped to me yet so I guess I can still change my mind about the bindings !

The next pair of skis are actually for Julie, we wanted something for an occasional tour and light off-piste as her current Stöckli Laser skis are a FIS masters ski and rather thin underfoot. Looking for something light(ish) with a reasonable footprint we came to the K2 Shuks Anne which is a women’s version of the Shuksan. The Shuksan, developed in conjunction with Swiss Guide and Pro Guiding Service owner Martin Volken, is the staple tour ski now from K2 and this is the first year it’s offered in a women’s version. It’s a nice light ski at 2950g per pair and 122-80-107 mm.

These actually are shipped and they’re right here now with some Diamir Fritschi Explores on them, being lighter than me the DIN range on these is just fine for Julie.

I’ve been looking for a new rucksack for ages. I’ve been having some problems with my back for various reasons and I’ve found I need exactly the right sack to be able to comfortably carry any load at all for a full day. I’m still delighted with my Salewa Inversion but they’ve stopped making them and it’s just too small for some days. I think this is a shame, I still reckon the Inversion is one of the best rucksacks ever made by anyone.

The Inversion weighs 1200g and some bits can be stripped to reduce that further. One of the reasons I like the Inversion and dislike many other sacks is the weight. Some manufacturers are shipping ski, ski tour or off piste sacks that weight a ridiculous amount, over 2kg which is just daft, why do people buy these? Don’t they look at the weight? I presume they’re more concerned if their shovel is visible and makes them look sufficiently “hardcore”.

The Black Diamond Revelation is 42L in capacity which is exactly what I wanted and weighs 1550g, again some bits can be stripped to reduce that more. It’s a single compartment top loading sack which I quite like but I know a lot of people don’t. It’s got all the attachments I want, straps for multiple ice tools, crampon straps, ski carrier etc. In fact the ice axe attaches nicely as you can see in the photo’ neatly tucking the pick out of harms way. So far I’ve used this for a two day hike and climbing on the Mönch and it’s been great.

Finally, I’ve been so impressed with the fit of the new g-fit inners on my Megarides that I’ve had some done for my Endorphins as well. The fit on the Endorphins was already good but this just makes it perfect. After a season usage the padlock liners on the Endorphin showed some wear but nothing too excessive so I’ve now got two shells and three inners which I can mix and match.