Bonafide - Realskiers

2020 Blizzard Bonafide

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Ski Stats

Sidecut 135.5/98/119.5

Radius 18m @ 180cm

Lengths 166/173/180/187

Weight 2100g @ 180cm

MSRP $840

FIND

Power Score: 8.82

Finesse Score: 8.56

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I readily admit to an engrained bias in favor of the Blizzard Bonafide, as a pair has lived in the first row of my ski locker since its inception. I take them everywhere I go because I’m confident there’s no condition on earth they cannot ski, and ski well. The Bonafide has remained a perennial all-star for skiers because it’s built on sound fundamentals: a wood core made from poplar and beech sandwiched between laminates of multi-directional glass and Titanal. Its Flipcore design connects to the edge early, with no disruption in the snow connection from the modestly rockered forebody through the midsection to its flat, supportive tail. If one wished to pick a nit, it could be argued that the Bonafide is geared for the more skilled skier. But this is true of virtually all the more torsionally rigid models in the All-Mountain West genre. If you want to tone it down a bit, get it in a shorter length and you, too, can experience one of the greatest skis ever made.

I readily admit to an engrained bias in favor of the Blizzard Bonafide, as a pair has lived in the first row of my ski locker since its inception. I take them everywhere I go because I’m confident there’s no condition on earth they cannot ski, and ski well.

I could rhapsodize about the Bonafide’s virtues until I’ve exhausted my store of superlatives, so I’ll stop now and allow other testers to testify. Here’s what Bob Gleason of Boot Doctors had to say about the current iteration of this now venerable Blizzard: “As the Bonafide has displayed for years, this ski is dynamically versatile. They play like a symphony at various speeds, terrain and snow conditions. The subtle difference of the latest Bonafide is the lengthened side cut in the ski’s forebody. The Bonafide now enters the turn earlier with stronger initiation. It feels like suspension tuned for charging into the turn.”

Citizen tester and unabashed Bonafide booster Mark Pederson composed this panegyric to his favorite ski. “Solid on edge throughout the turn. I could find no speed limit yet found it easy to smear turns when necessary to slow or stop. It took a few runs to find the sweet spot, but once I found it, I was hooked. The Bonafide was solid off-piste and although not a superior floater in deep powder, it was more then adequate. I found the Bonafides good in soft-firm moguls and it was easy to shut them down when needed to reduce speed. On the groomed, these skis rocked, either skiing on edge (preferred) or skiing them flat. I would highly recommend the Bonafides to any skier, advanced to expert. If you need one ski you can depend on regardless of the resort or the conditions, the Bonafide is a great selection.”

The Bonafide has remained a perennial all-star for skiers like Mark and Bob because it’s built on sound fundamentals: a wood core made from poplar and beech sandwiched between laminates of multi-directional glass and Titanal. Its Flipcore design connects to the edge early, with no disruption in the snow connection from the modestly rockered forebody through the midsection to its flat, supportive tail.

If one wished to pick a nit, it could be argued that the Bonafide is geared for the more skilled skier. But this is true of virtually all the more torsionally rigid models in the All-Mountain West genre. If you want to tone it down a bit, get it in a shorter length and you, too, can experience one of the greatest skis ever made.