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This is a great ski for powder and is surprisingly fun and ski able on groomers. If you are looking for a soft fun ski Hellbents might be for you.
Performance
At first these skis felt VERY heavy but after i warmed up and skied a few runs i got used to the weight. These preform quite well in all conditions with the exception of Moguls and very narrow trees. These are not carving skis by any means but they can actually preform fine on groomers.
Design
Interesting design, probably not my favorite ski design ever but its definitely a cool design with a lot of attention to detail. The bases are really sick.
Value
Most prices for these i have seen has been around $600-650 which in my opinion is a great deal. They seem as if they would last for many years as a great addition to my quiver.
Fit
At 5'8'' or so the 179s (accually measure to about 185ish) was the perfect length for me. The 189 is too much length and weight for me to be able to easily ski and the 169 is way too short especially with the Massive rocker.
Characteristics
The Hellbent has a very nice soft flex which is ideal in pow and just fooling around. These are pretty soft so if you are looking for something stiff stay away from these.
Durability
The durability seemed ok, i skied these for about 10 days last year and the top sheet it pretty messed up. Unlike other top sheets instead of chipping these seem to just dent and peel(NOT delam). The top sheet is very soft and almost waxy compared to other skis i have owned.
Other than these top sheet concerns the skis have held up well.
One of the funnest skis that I have ever skied on.
Performance
These skis are amazing for what they are meant for. Pow skiing. The rocker keeps you a float on top of the deep stuff, so you can be centered on your ski, not always leaning back, trying to keep your tips out. They also ski fakie as easily as forwards in the pow. These skis are heaven (hahah) in the deep stuff.
It took me a few runs to get used to these skis on the hardpack/groomers. After that, I was completely fine. They hold on edge, turn quick, and bomb through the chatter bumps near the end of the day, with barely anymore effort than your average park ski. The only time they get sketchy is when you get going really fast along cat tracks.
Many of you are going to think I'm stupid for doing this, but I have done a bunch of park on these things. Once you get used to the sluggishness of them, they are actually the most fun ski ever. They do everything for you on the rails because they are so big. They pretty much lock on, and you just stand there. Even in all their sluggishness, I am still able to 270 on and off, spin off jumps and do everything like I would on a park ski. It just takes a bit more effort. As for jumps, they pretty much stomp the sh*t out of anything because they are so wide and heavy.
Design
Rockers are awesome.
Value
They cost quite a bit unless you get some sort of deal some how. They will probably last me a long time though, as I won't be skiing them everyday, and beating them up like you would with a park ski. Overall, I think they are worth the money.
Fit
I got the 179 length and they seem perfect for me. They measure out to be about 186, but ski like a 179 because of the rocker design. At first I was a bit skeptical, because they are about 6 inches above my head. I am about 5' 9" and 130 pounds. They seem like huge skis for a guy my size, but after 2 or so runs, I was able to throw them around and ski them like any other ski.
Characteristics
The flex pattern on these beasts is very different than any ski that I have skied before. The flex is very, very soft in the tip and tail. The rocker helps with this. The softness of these skis makes buttering effortless, you get to a certain point and they do the rest of the work for you. Obviously, because they are so soft, they won't be your best choice if all you want to do is charge steep BC lines.
Durability
Apparently, they have really soft top sheets. I noticed this on mine too, so it's not just popular belief. They chip quite easily where the top sheet meets the sidewalls, but this happens on all skis eventually. Most K2's do this, it's not really abnormal. And if they do delam or something, K2 has a good warranty, so you will get a new pair of skis! The edges seem strong, as do the bases. Don't be afraid of snapping them by flexing them, I'm pretty sure they won't crack.
I didn't get to ride them in their proper setting, but they're super fun skis to play around on. Lots of snap & pop, plus they're rockered, best butter ski ever! Super stable on landings, would love to try them in super deep backcountry snow sometime.
Performance
I rode these skis at NSIA, which was at Tremblant. The conditions were great considering the mountain, a little bit of soft snow around the sides to play around on.
Anyways, I digress, These skis are fun to ride, they feel like riding skates honestly, there's only about a foot and a half of edge that makes contact when riding hardpack like I was, so they were a pig to edge to say the least.
I did a few jumps on these skis and the landings were stable to say the least, the tail is stiff enough to support you when you land, I landed backseat to see how they'd be and they were still super stable.
Design
They look sick, the rockered effect looks even bigger in person. They have pretty normal K2 style graphics. They feel pretty light considering how huge they are. I especially loved the flex in the tip, amazing to butter around on.
Value
They're fun skis, If you live somewhere that gets tons of pow these would be a blast as a backcountry booter/cliff ski or as a ski to just float around on the pow.
I have no idea what the price on these will be next year, but they're awesome skis if you have the right conditions.
Characteristics
Super Soft, a little bit stiffer in the tail than in the tip. Amazing to nose butter around on.
Durability
I only got to ride them for 4 runs, They were demo skis though, but they looked mint.
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