Heritage Labs BC90 Review

A clean look: Heritage Labs BC90.

Heritage Labs may be a new name for many readers of the High Route, and rightfully so, as it is one of the newest ski companies I can think of. The brainchild of Marshal Olson, Heritage Labs aims to fill the various niches abandoned over the years in favor of more mainstream, homogenous ski designs. A phrase we throw around a lot here at The High Route is the idea of being everything to someone rather than something for everyone. Perhaps the same sentiment applies to Heritage Labs. From burley, freeride comp-inspired models to a 132mm waisted, sub-2000 g reverse camber, reverse sidecut powder ski, and lots in between, Heritage Labs skis are near the top of my “ski lust” list lately. 

Heritage Labs is based in Salt Lake City and works mostly on a preorder basis. Planning is often required, but who among us isn’t planning their ski purchases well in advance? There is often some extra stock, so there are opportunities for instant gratification. 

Marshall has generously shared some of his personal quivers, sending a pair of BC110s for long-term testing. First up in our test series is the BC90, which throws a nod to the well-loved but discontinued Volkl BMT94. For those who aren’t “in the know” on the BMT94, a 90mm reverse camber ski may seem absurd, but they are one of the more universally loved skinny touring skis I can think of. 

Relatively straight sidecut and tapered tip on display, along with the rearward mount point.

Minimal tail taper and little/no early rise, the reverse camber helps the tails feel a bit looser than they may look here.

Design Highlights

As hinted above, the BC90 is a 90mm underfoot, reverse camber ski. It features a somewhat directional recommended mount point at -10.5 cm. This combination makes for a ski that Marshal says (and I can confirm) floats like a more traditional 100-105mm ski. The reverse camber/full rocker profile is quite similar to my 4FRNT Hoji’s, with a lot of tip splay and a small flat spot. The 28m radius and subtle tip and tail taper make for a pretty straight sidecut and there is no pintail either. The radical departure from other reverse camber skis I’ve used is the -10.5 mount point. This mount point is ~4 cm further back than the Hoji. All of this combines to make a unique set of characteristics that will work awesome for some people in some conditions and less suitable for others. 

Full Rocker profile: the flat spot underfoot is pretty minimal here, thats a lot of rocker for a 90mm ski!

The build quality of the BC90 is excellent, among the best I have encountered. They feature a full UHMW sidewall, paulownia/poplar core, a very durable feeling topsheet and base material, and thick edges. The whole package, along with the clean graphics, has an extremely high quality presentation and feels substantial in hand/on foot, despite the light weight. 

I expected to find similar performance characteristics to a 4FRNT Raven—easy pivoting/slashing and excellent variable snow performance with a forgiving fore/aft balance. This expectation didn’t factor in the significantly more rearward mount point, or the decrease in variable snow predictability of a 1+ cm decrease in width. Instead, I found a ski with awesome maneuverability at low or high speed, great performance in consistent snow of good or marginal quality, and a less forgiving feel than expected.  

Testing Setup

I received the BC90 with a Dynafit Speed Radical toe piece/Plum R170 heel piece combo. I tested with the Technica Zero G Peak and Atomic Backland XTD. 

With reverse camber skis, in particular, there is a bigger conversation/thought process worth having about mount point, binding ramp, and forward lean. With a reverse camber ski, there is often a sweet spot as far as balance/weight distribution over the length of the ski—get this right, and it can be a magical ski; get it wrong, and the same ski can feel challenging and unstable. More ramp angle and more forward lean generally would push this mount point sweet spot further back, while a flatter ramp and more upright boots would push the sweet spot more forward. 

I struggled mightily my first few days on the skis as they came mounted to Marshal’s shorter BSL (these were his personal skis—thanks, Marshal!) that put my mount point back at -11cm. Combined with the 13-degree forward lean, I felt like I couldn’t find a balanced spot along the ski or get forward enough to feel in control. After chatting with Marshal (who is extremely helpful and knowledgeable on these subjects), I remounted at -9 cm and tried the Backland XTD with a 15-degree forward lean with much success. The rest of my descriptions are based on this second mount/boot combo. 

Powder skiing on the BC90, good times.

Field Testing

Powder/soft snow

As promised, the BC90 punches well above its weight in powder. I’m not really on board with the whole sub-100mm skis on a powder day thing (looking at you Wasatch skimo-ers), but I brought out the BC90 on a few soft snow/shallower powder days and had a great time. In deeper or upside down snow, the lack of absolute surface area is limiting, but as far as 90mm skis go, these are certainly the best I’ve used in powder. They were intuitive and responded well to moderate tip pressure without tip dive. These skis aren’t plug-and-play easy like more progressive reverse camber skis, but rather reward solid technique and solid pressure in the front of your boots. 

The BC90 felt surfy and easy to vary turn shape but generally excelled in either low-speed pivoting turns (think steep terrain or wind-affected snow) or fast fall line turns/drifts. It wasn’t super easy/intuitive to release the tails into a high-speed slash, but the tail felt strong and supportive. 

Crud/tracked/variable snow

In December 2023 and January 2024, I had various experiences in variable or poor snow conditions. From breakable crust over bottomless facets in the high peaks of the Tetons to wind-affected and tracked-out slopes to refrozen tracks and sastrugi, I had lots of time to test the BC90 in challenging conditions. 

In wind-affected snow, the tapered tips and reverse camber made for predictable and excellent performance; they sliced through wind skin when it was breakable and surfed on the surface when it was firmer. When skiing wind effect, the skis were somewhat consistent from turn to turn, as it was easy to micro-adjust my fore/aft balance to have optimal float and control. When the wind effect was more variable, it was sometimes challenging to adjust my balance from turn to turn; I sometimes ended up a bit in the backseat, getting punished by the tails. This is probably as much of an admission of my weaknesses as a skier as a knock on the BC90 being somewhat unforgiving. 

In tracked snow, variable sastrugi, or other 3-D snow, consistent tip pressure was the name of the game. In these challenging conditions, the BC90 was not magical but solid and confident relative to its girth and weight class. In these conditions, moving the mount forward and using a boot with more forward lean changed my experience the most; I struggled mightily to maintain sufficient “forwardness” before making some changes. 

A committing place for first turns on a new ski.

Firm Snow/Steeps

The most surprising BC90 performance for me was in firm snow. I really enjoyed steeper, firm skiing on the BC90. The relatively straight sidecut made for an effective edge with higher edge angles on steeper slopes. Other skis with camber and long turn radius accomplish similar or better edge hold, but nothing compares to the pivotability of the BC90. I could keep my skis on the snow and pivot in a balanced and controlled manner while doing steeper or tighter turns rather than resorting to proper jump turns. The BC90 would be a great choice for spring missions and mountaineering. 

Corn or Groomers

I missed out on corn skiing on the BC90, but I had many thoughts and conversations about how fun they would be for corn skiing. With its wide variety of turn shapes and tail profile that tracks well and feels supportive, this is a dreamy corn ski. 

For corn skiing or resort uphilling, I would propose a high grip/full coverage skin to compensate for the reverse camber profile. While the skis weren’t as challenging as something like a 4FRNT Renegade for firm skinning, I struggled at times when skintracks got steep and icy. Perhaps something like the Ski Trab Mix or Kohla Vertical would be good options to try. I’m not sure this is a top choice for resort uphilling, but it would be adequate as a dual-purpose wild snow/occasional resort uphilling ski. Camber is nice on resort skin tracks and groomers…

Taking advantage of the pivot-ability of the BC90 in some high alpine variable.

Conclusion

With some thought and experimentation with mount point, I think many ski tourists could enjoy the BC90. I can see it as a quiver-of-one option living in the Northeast, where I would appreciate its maneuverability in trees and performance in wind affected snow. In the West, the BC90 would likely be best as more of a quiver ski that comes out for low tide early/mid-season. It could then get used all spring long for corn skiing and spring storms.

Directional skiers who are used to more traditional skis should keep an open mind with the BC90; I think these skiers may actually get along better with the BC90 than more progressive skiers used to a more centered stance. This is among the most unique models I have tested, and for the right skier, this unique model will be awesome. 

Specs 

Available lengths (cm): 177, 184

Weight (g): 1425g/ski

Side cut (mm): 113-90-103

Turn radius (m): 28

Mount Point (cm behind center): -10.5

Core: Paulownia/Poplar w/ triaxial carbon laminate and VDS rubber damping

Build Comments: full UHMW sidewall, hand-tuned/prepared before shipping

Shape: Long Radius, tapered tips and tails, powder ski shape without powder ski girth

Similar Models: Volkl BMT94

Price: $700