There are plenty of people here in the PNW that ride Hellbents all the time in any condition. I personally think they are a little crazy, but they exist and seem happy enough. I own the 2012 Hellbent but I only ride it in pow. They are questionable in chop and downright unpleasant on ice. Groomers are fine, pow is amazing, but where they really shine is heavy wet snow. On days where other people are leaving what look like good lines because the pow is just too wet and heavy to ski, I love those days because the Hellbents make that sort of snow fun. I've had people actively yell at me from the lift on wet pow days, because I'm about to take a run that is unmanageable in deep wet pow, rainsoaked, etc, only to prove them wrong as I glide by, taking run after run of untouched stuff that will quagmire virtually any other ski. Granted these days don't happen too often, but when they do it makes having a pair of Hellbent's in your quiver completely worth it.
This isn't just my opinion, but the opinion of the 12 other skiers that attended last years k2 expert demo event. We happened to ski on one of those heavy wet pow days (around 2 feet of wet spring snow) and by noon everyone was fighting over who got to ride the Hellbents. One of the older veterans remarked on how much ski technology has changed and how if they encountered snow this thick back in his day they would all just go home. FYI the petitor was the second favorite amongst the group.
