Black Diamond Zealot Skis

Our widest GS type ski, the Zealot is built for skiers who personify a no boundary'® energy and vision, and features a balanced and smooth longitudinal flex that excels in soft snow and is torsionally charged for excellent edge hold and responsive carving on hardpack. The crud-busting, 110 mm waist and solid 3D CNC wood core with internal wall core technology encourage a forceful and energetic ride plus new this year a semi-rockered tip for more forgiveness and agility in all terrain. Formula One Technology and integrated damping create a solid, substantial feel underfoot. The Zealot is ideal for big-mountain steeps and high-performance resort laps.

"We are quite proud of how the Zealot turned out and it's for sure the favorite of the R&D crew, including me. I spent a lot of time on similar-width competitor models over the last three years and the Zealot, of all models, is a great testament to what our torsionally-charged Efficient Power designs really offer above the rest. I literally start laughing when laying this 110 mm-waist ski over on edge as it carries me through trouble. And what I like best is, it makes me a better skier."

Thomas Laakso, Ski LIne Category Manager

Features:

• Formula One Technology wiht integrated 3D dampening
• CNC-machined poplar and birch wood core wrapped in Torsion Box construction
• Built for powder but comfortable on the hardpack
• 182 cm dimensions is 136-110-126
• Weight 4.2 kg(9 lb 5 oz)
• turn radius 30.0 meters
• 192 cm dimensions 138-110-127
• Weight 4.4 kg(9 lb 11 oz)
• turn radius 30.0 meters
• Color is Brown

B.D. Says:

THE TELE VS. ALPINE WARS ARE OVER. Skiing in the area can be as much fun as skiing in the backcountry. And more and more folks are skiing through gates and riding the plush sidecountry in search of the fresh. This is Freeride. An approach to skiing that is all about the down, wherever you can find it. The boundaries between in-area and backcountry are crashing and skiers are breaking through to the other side. We built our 2007 lineup of Freeride skis to help break down these boundaries and let you ski where you want.

At Black Diamond, we only build a product if we believe we can make it better than anything else out there. So our all new line of skis began with this dare. Could we build the best skis for how people ski today? Not just the best telemark ski or best alpine touring ski, but the best skis that we and our friends would draw from the quiver time and again, because they ski the best, wherever. Once we decided to accept this challenge, we applied the same mindset that'­s been driving our innovative climbing, mountain and backcountry ski gear for 50 years.

In order to make our skis the best they could be, we decided to start from scratch, skiing everyone else'­s ultra-light to ultra-beefy sticks before coming up with our ideal performance characteristics. First we had to agree on why we build skis '³ for climbing up, racing, skiing the groomers or pow? Pow, of course, but when we thought hard about it, we settled on the thread that ties all of our skiing together, the skiing we like to do most of all and it'­s all about the down. Our skis have been designed, engineered and manufactured to make good on this commitment.

Then we identified our favorite attribute in the skis we liked: torsional rigidity. Skis that hold their edges in high G-force turns '³ when we'­re carving at speed or tip-toeing through trouble '³ powerful skis like these make us believers. Using several different technologies and constructions including 3D CNC wood cores, Torsion Bow and Dual Torsion Bow geometries, as well as 3D torsion box construction, we'­ve achieved smooth and nimble boards that keep your edges on snow with torsional power that lets you pull high-speed carves.

For many of us, going up is also part of going down. Others love early tram laps or duck ropes and rip the sidecountry, with a little help from the quad. We knew that trying to build a few skis for all of these personalities would get us mush. Better to build individual models to be the best big mountain, powder fiend, all mountain, ski mountaineering, purist backcounty, enduro traverse tour skis we could. And let these ski personalities be themselves.

They are all about the down, but our Fall 2007 Freeride skis are divided into two collections. Efficient Series skis are all about the backcountry and lower energy input, emphasizing lighter-weight constructions, while still having the guts to rock solid on the down. Power Series skis emphasize powerful constructions, with no compromise. These skis are torsionally precise and deliver dynamic performance lap after lap. All together, our Efficent Power skis are built for aggressive skiers who ski with passion and believe in taking the path less traveled to powder and beyond.

Countless hours of prototyping, field testing, problem solving, innovating and flat-out skiing have gone into making this the best line of skis we'­ve ever built, and we believe the best skis out there. You can trust our Efficient Power technology will keep you on track. And we encourage you to find out for yourself.