Ski: 2020-2021 Black Diamond Boundary Pro 115, 185 cm
Available Lengths: 185 cm (175 cm version available for 18/19)
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length: 185.1 cm
Stated Weight per Ski: 2150 grams
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2230 & 2250 grams
Stated Dimensions: 142-115-124 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 141.8-114.7-123.7 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius: 22 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 71 mm / 44 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: ~4 or 4-5 mm
Core: Poplar + Fiberglass Laminate
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -7.85cm from center; 84.7cm from tail
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 17/18 Boundary Pro 115, which was not changed for 18/19, 19/20, or 20/21, apart from adding a shorter length option of 175 cm]
Intro
For the 17/18 season, Black Diamond introduced a new version of their Boundary skis, called the Boundary Pro. This season, the line consists of the Boundary Pro 107 and 115, and Black Diamond is adding a 100mm-underfoot version for 2018-2019. The Boundary Pro 107 and 115 come back unchanged, apart from adding shorter length options (168, 177, and 184 for the 107, and 175 and 185 for the 115).
Here’s what Black Diamond says about the Boundary Pro 115:
“A tuned-up, limited edition of our Boundary 115 built to satisfy the needs of our hard-charging pro athlete team, the Boundary Pro 115 is built for those who want to take playful, deep-snow performance to steep, aggressive lines around the world. For skiers who loved the AMPerage or the original Boundary 115, the Boundary Pro provides the same modern rockered profile and fun responsive performance, with a flat, solid-core construction for added torsional stiffness. This pro upgrade equates to more powerful turning, improved edge-to-edge response and increased stability on cliff drops, pillow lines and high-speed trips through the white room. Austrian-made with pre-preg fiberglass and a poplar wood core, the Boundary Pro 115 not only rips the biggest lines out there, but it does it with style.”
It’s worth noting that Black Diamond also says that the Boundary Pro 115’s optimal use is “70% soft snow, 30% hard snow.”
Shape / Rocker Profile
In terms of its shape, the Boundary Pro 115 looks quite similar to the Black Diamond Helio 116 Carbon. The 185 cm Boundary Pro 115 has a bit more tail taper, and a slightly shorter turn radius compared to the 186 cm Helio 116 (22 m vs. 25 m).
However, when looking at the rocker profiles and weights of the two skis, the similarities come to an end. The Boundary Pro 115 has a lot more tail splay and a bit more tip splay compared to the Helio 116. The Boundary Pro 115’s rocker profile definitely seems in line with Black Diamond’s claims regarding its “playful deep snow performance.” On the other hand, the Boundary Pro 115 also has a pretty large amount of camber for a ski in this class, so we’re interested to see how loose it feels in deep snow, and how it performs in firm conditions.
Flex Pattern
Hand flexing the Boundary Pro 115, here’s how we’d characterize its flex pattern:
Tips: 8
Shovels: 8
In Front of Toe Piece: 9-10
Underfoot: 10
Behind Heel Piece: 9.5
Tails: 9
While Black Diamond specifically emphasizes the torsional rigidity of the Boundary Pro series vs. the regular Boundary line, this “Pro” version is also flexing stiffer longitudinally compared to the Boundary 107.
Overall, this is a pretty strong flex pattern, and it reminds us of two other skis in this class: the Faction Dictator 4.0 and Scott Scrapper 115. The Boundary Pro 115 has very slightly softer shovels compared to the Dictator 4.0 and Scrapper 115, but beside that, these three skis have very similar flex patterns.
Weight
Though it has tail slots for skins, the Boundary Pro 115 is coming in at a fairly substantial weight of ~2240 grams. We’re very interested to see how that weight combines with the ski’s stout flex when it comes to stability in rough conditions.
Here are some of our measured weights (per ski, in grams) for a few notable skis:
2230 & 2250 Black Diamond Boundary Pro 115, 185 cm
1910 & 1941 Scott Scrapper 115, 189 cm
1973 & 2020 Head Kore 117, 189 cm
2034 & 2052 Blizzard Rustler 11, 188 cm
2102 & 2137 Line Sick Day 114, 190 cm
2103 & 2100 Moment Blister Pro, 184 cm
2126 & 2173 Rossignol Super 7 RD, 190 cm
2161 & 2163 Faction Dictator 4.0, 186 cm
2199 & 2196 Icelantic Nomad 115, 191 cm
2246 & 2265 Fischer Ranger 115 XTi, 188 cm
2346 & 2351 Nordica Enforcer Pro, 191 cm
Some Questions
In our full review, we’ll be looking to answer these questions, among others. And as always, please comment below with any other questions / things you’d like us to address as we get time on the Boundary Pro 115.
(1) Black Diamond says the Boundary Pro 115 is optimized for 70% soft snow and 30% hard snow. They make no specific mention of variable conditions, so we’re interested to see where the Boundary Pro 115 feels most at home in regard to different snow types and conditions.
(2) With a pretty strong flex pattern, playful rocker profile, and moderate weight, where will the Boundary Pro 115 fall between more directional, stable chargers and more poppy / playful pow skis?
(3) We felt that the normal Boundary 107 was best suited to more intermediate skiers, but Black Diamond says the stiffer Boundary Pro 115 was “built to satisfy the needs of our hard-charging pro athlete team.” So we’re looking forward to weighing in on how accessible vs how demanding the Boundary Pro 115 really is, and what types of skiers will most appreciate it.
Bottom Line (For Now)
The Black Diamond Boundary Pro 115 looks like a pretty strong ski that enters an increasingly interesting category of versatile powder skis.
Flash Review: Black Diamond Boundary Pro 115
We now have some initial time on the Boundary Pro 115, and Blister Members can check out now our Flash Review of the ski.
NEXT: Rocker Profile Pictures
= new Blue Zealot? Looks shockingly similar…
Any plans to try one of the narrower Boundary Pro skis? I’m potentially interested in one of those as a firmer condition 50/50 option (alongside the 186 17/18 Blizzard Bodacious and 15/16 Carbon Megawatt in my quiver at present) for a pretty aggressive, directional, not all that heavy skier based in the PNW.
We haven’t been on the new Boundary Pro 100, but we have been skiing the Boundary Pro 107. We wrote about both the Boundary Pro 107 and Boundary Pro 115 in our 18/19 Winter Buyer’s Guide, which you can check out for free by clicking the “Buyer’s Guide” tab at the top of the site.
Thanks for the quick reply! I actually looked at the Buyer’s Guide already, but somehow brain farted my way into missing the Pro 107. I’ll revisit it!
was there ever a full review of this?
Hello Luke, Blister team,
Having broken my pair of 179 Pettitors (K2 shreditor 120 with Jester – my god how heavy it was… so perfect to cut the mountain in two parts) last season, I tested a pair of 185 Black Diamond boundary pro 115 that I found fantastic: Light (compared to my hammers), fluid, stable, precise… Sniper freeride skiing.
Nevertheless, Black Diamond doesn’t discount them and almost no one else has them …
By discussing all around, I almost bought a pair of metallica JJ 2.0 this summer but missed it (the shop was closed when I had to leave). And probably seing the radius and stiffness, I have been lucky not to.
In this approach, I read most of your review concerning this program skis (ARV JJ 2.0, JJ 2.0, Norwalk, Black D boundary pro 115, Dictator 4.0, Pettitors, …).
I really appreciated medium large radius for stiffness and stability, as large rockers from the pettitor, but I also appreciated much the strong stiffness super precise, coupled to a stiff tail “semi-“rocker of the boundary pro 115.
I would like to know which you would recommend ?
I am 5’10”, 160 lbs and looking for big mountain powder rocker skis, lighter than pettitor (I will avoid the jesters this and will probably go for the griffons, much lighter).
Thank you,
Aymeric