They aren’t as smooth a fit as perhaps they should be – the pins holding the crampon to the hinge bar protrude about 0.5mm, and catch ever so slightly on the crampon hook. I use Dynafit crampons in the crampon hooks, and they fit OK. I bought mine online from SnowInn ( here). However, because these are rebranded ATK Trofeo bindings, the stock ATK crampon hook attachments fit just fine. As of June 2019, the’re still out of stock. When I got the bindings in late February 2019, Black Diamond was out of stock of the crampon attachments. It is super easy to attach though it just slots into the toe piece, and is attached with two torx screws. The Black Diamond Helio 145 bindings don’t come shipped with a crampon attachment. I think I could live with the extra 35 grams, and would of course allow me to change boots without having the bindings re-mounted. They’re identical to the Helio 145’s, but have an adjustment plate. If I was doing it all again, I’d actually go for the Helio 180’s. ![]() Having a high-articulation boot like the Dynafit TLT7 helps a lot in this regard too. Even if I wanted to follow someone else’s track (I rarely do anyway), these bindings would not get my heel up high enough. This means that generally when climbing, I have to cut a new skin-track here in Hokkaido – born-and-bred local backcountry skiiers here in Japan tend to prefer a straight-up-the-mountain style of skinning, heel risers set to the MAX. I very rarely used the highest riser setting on my old Dynafit bindings anyway though, so I don’t miss having a higher riser on these bindings. In reality, there’s so little difference between 37 and 45mm that I only ever use the 45mm rise – slightly lower than the middle riser in most other mainstream tech bindings. Officially, the Helio 145s (and Helio 180s) have three riser levels: flat, 37 mm and 45 mm. Another excuse to put in just a few more luxuries in the pack for overnight ski-camping trips. This meant an almost 1kg per foot saving over my antique Atomic Sugar Daddy and Dynafit Vertical ST bindings plus Maestrale boot setup, bought second hand for pennies a few years ago.Ĭompared with that old setup, this new setup felt like I was wearing a nothing at all on my feet. I paired the skis with Black Diamond 145 bindings (discussed below), and replaced my tried and true Scarpa Maestrale boots with a pair of Dynafit TLT7 CR. Suffice it to say that I decided to make my big weight savings in other areas – i.e., bindings and boots. La Sportiva Vapor Nano comments I’d seen online suggested the Vapor Nano was even more of a powder-oriented ski which was even less capable when things got hard and icy underfoot. The Vapor Nano, also 105mm underfoot, at 1200g per ski (for the 179cm version), is much lighter. The only other ski of this width that I considered as an alternative was the La Sportiva Vapor Nano. The extra leverage required to hold an edge on icy traverses can get tiring pretty quick, particularly when carrying a multi-day load on your back.Īt 1600g (3 lb 8 oz) per ski (185cm version), the weight of the Helio 105 is not in the lower echelons of super light-weight planks, but given its solid downhill performance, it is nonetheless relatively light weight for a ski of this width. ![]() ![]() It loves the powdery downhill, and the width deals admirably with carrying heavy loads on climbs through very deep powder. In Hokkaido’s spring months of mid-March till May, however, a narrower ski will perform better on rock-hard northern-aspect slopes and long traverses. So, with this in mind, this ski performs amazingly in Hokkaido during those mid-winter months. But those of us who live in Hokkaido year-round know that some of the more adventurous skiing, such as Rishiri Island, Shiretoko Peninsula, and peaks deep in the Daisetsuzan Range, happens in spring: mid-March till May. Yes, we spend around 3 months gliding through forests and alpine areas on meters of bottomless powder. We all want to ski 100% powder snow on giant, untracked, wide-open human powered mountains…if it is your reality, the Helio is perfect.” They also note that “this isn’t always the reality.”ĭespite Hokkaido’s reputation for epic powder snow, OutdoorGearLab’s observation also applies here. The OurdoorGearLab review of the Black Diamond Helio 105 skis mentions that “ are made for what many of us want.
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