Realskiers doesn’t dole out a “Most Improved” award, but if we did, the Blizzard Brahma 88 would win it running away. The previous Brahma 88 was already a brilliant ski, so the jump in status isn’t due to drubbing a foil but in moving the definition of perfection forward.
The old Brahma 88 already used a poplar/beech core and two sheets of Titanal, so it wasn’t the Power side of the Power/Finesse divide that needed shoring up. Two performance points in particular required attention: a flex pattern that allowed for easier turn entry/exit and optimizing flex, shape and baseline by size.
Allow me to quote myself, citing a couple of sentences from Coping with Success, which spoke to how Blizzard dealt with improving an already hot hand. “Models like the Bonafide and Brahma have always used lightweight poplar and higher density beech in the core, but TrueBlend micro-manages how and where the two woods are laminated, altering each model’s flex not just by model, but by size. Lacy tendrils of mocha-colored beech hopscotch around pale, parallel stacks of poplar, distributing density and damping in meticulously targeted doses.”
To reiterate, not only is the TrueBlend core adapted for every length to maintain an evenly balanced flex, but so is every rocker profile and sidecut. Making every length differently so each feels the same to its intended partner is no mean feat, as the manufacturer is making what amounts to five new skis instead of one.
Why spend all this time and resources diddling around with a core that’s going to be encased in Titanal, glass and carbon bonds? Because everything that goes into a ski matters. And of all the outcomes that matter, flex matters most.
The reason flex is primordial is because if a ski can be made easier to bend without losing its grip on hard snow, the pilot can use less of his/her precious energy reserve getting from turn to turn. But historically softer skis haven’t been able to withstand the vibrations induced by traveling fast over hard snow, handling as well as a Yugo with bald tires.
So it’s a joy to discover an all-terrain ski with the strength and stability of an Old School GS race ski that can be reined in to less than 40mph and still move edge to edge with the ease of a figure skater. The Brahma 88’s softer extremities allow it to roll over terrain so smoothly it’s as if the ski were part of the flow of the run and not a separate part. In keeping with the best the All-Mountain East genre has to offer, it’s as comfy on glassy groomers as it is in 18-inches of fresh. Like a gifted drummer, it can keep the beat no matter what tune you ask it to play.
Pay attention to length selection. If you’re not one of the biggest lads on the hill, you don’t need a 189cm. Remember, the Flipcore baseline doesn’t reduce its effective edge length once it’s tipped and pressured, so when you’re between sizes you’re probably better off going shorter, particularly if you like trees, bumps and chutes. In the immortal words of Marcus Caston, you can ski them hard, but they’re not hard to ski.
