by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
In the fat ski genres where Americans buy the vast majority of their skis, Blizzard is riding a decade-long hot streak. If you only look at skis over 85mm at the waist, it seems like Blizzard hasn’t missed a beat since the launch of its Flipcore baseline. But if you take a step back and look at the world market, there’s a category or two of carvers, skis meant to execute perfect, technical turns on hard snow, where Blizzard is all but invisible, at least in the U.S. For whatever reasons, its Quattro series never captured the imagination of the American carving public. The only way Blizzard was able to penetrate the Frontside segment stateside was with a tiny-waisted, off-trail model (Brahma 82), which is sort of like entering the category via the service entrance.
Consider the problem solved. The Thunderbird R15 WB, introduced three seasons ago and given a modest upgrade last year, doesn’t try to mask its racing pedigree with a carbon overdose; the communication with the angled edge is crisp and clear. The Thunderbird’s snow feel is like HDTV compared to the Quattro’s low-def reception. One reason the T-bird R15 WB feels so sublimely connected is its TrueBlend core has been modified to fit the hard-snow environment. By re-positioning tendrils of high-density beech within strata of lighter poplar, TrueBlend creates a perfectly balanced flex for each size. This may sound like esoterica only an expert can feel, but it’s palpable, and it’s wonderful.
Complementing TrueBlend is a carbon platform underfoot to help muffle shocks without losing the precision of the ski/snow connection. With this combination of wood and carbon, Blizzard has finally found a way to make a carver that is both quiet on the edge and explosive off it. And boy, is it fun to drive.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
Realskiers hasn’t reviewed a Technical ski for a few seasons, a reflection of the category’s general invisibility on the American market. I’d love for this to be a review of Atomic’s Redster X9S, an exceptional roadster that feels like you’re driving a low-slung sports car with a racing suspension. But precious few retailers stock them, and as goes the U.S. retailer community, so goes the country’s demo fleets.
I provide this prelude because while the Redster Q9.8 is worthy of your consideration – for reasons I will shortly present – it isn’t the ultimate expression of Atomic’s capabilities. If you don’t just ski groomers but attack them, you’ll like the way the narrower Redster X9S can cut a short turn with the sudden ferocity of a race slalom, but it’s Multi-Radius Sidecut allows the skier to mix in a liquid GS arc at will. Stability is assured in turns of all sizes by Atomic’s signature shock-absorption tech, Revoshock S, which uses floating steel plates arrayed along the forebody to keep the Redster X9S pinned to the slope.
The Q9.8 headlines a family of Redster spin-offs that adapt the Redster’s race-oriented tech to make it more suitable for occasional forays off-piste. The Redster Q9.8 is substantially wider (84.5mm underfoot @ 173cm) than the 65.5mm-waisted Redster X9S, but it retains a very tidy 14.4m sidecut radius. The Redster Q9.8 is assuredly more tolerant of off-trail conditions than the purebred racers, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for an all-mountain model. Once crispy corduroy is converted to sodden slush piles, the Redster Q9.8 is out of its element.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
You have to give Rossignol credit for persistence. The French brand has been trying to re-kindle Americans interest in carving skis for several product cycles, with about the same success as someone trying to feed a cat broccoli. I doubt one American skier in a thousand could name the product family the Forza series replaced. (Rossignol employees don’t count in this calculation.) This speculation isn’t a comment on Rossi’s competence – its fantastic (and deep) Hero collection demonstrates total mastery in how to blend finesse and power in world-class racing machines – but on the entrenched indifference of its target audience.
For the sake of all concerned, I’d love to see the Forza 70o V-Ti ignite a renaissance in American’s collective ability to carve a turn, but I’m not holding my breath. For starters, the name of the new Forza flagship might as well be in Morse code as far the mainstream U.S. skier is concerned. The “70o” reference is to edge angle, or the degree to which the ski will be tilted at the apex of the turn. I have no data to support my assertion, but I’d hazard a guess that 98% of homegrown Americans who aren’t recent graduates of a racing academy couldn’t get themselves into the position required to execute a single such turn, regardless of the inducements offered.
Okay, enough with the negativity. On the upside, the 70-degree reference turns out to be more an aspirational essence than a skills requirement. Unlike some of the power-obsessed avatars of the Carving clan that dominate the Technical and Frontside Power rankings, the Forza 70o V-Ti has a refreshingly open mind about turn radius. True, it’s 14m sidecut is made to cut a tidy corner when laid on edge, but a deeper dive into its sidecut dimensions reveals how its shape enhances the skier’s perception of its versatility.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
When Blizzard completely overhauled its All-Mountain collection this year, the Brahma 82 had already carved out a spot for the Anomaly 84. Having learned from the Brahma experience to keep the performance standard high, the Anomaly 84 uses the same FluxForm construction as its three beefier brethren. The key to FlexForm’s magic lies in how it deploys its Titanal elements up, down and across its chassis. What would normally be a single, .4mm Ti laminate on top is replaced with a .6mm central Ti plate that is independent of two end-to-end Ti ribbons positioned over the edges. A .4mm bottom Ti laminate runs wall-to-wall, giving the Anomaly the strength to grip early-morning groomers. The multi-part top dose of metal allows the ski to flex under less pressure, giving the Anomaly 84 a smooth transition from turn to turn.
Even though the Anomaly 84 is manifestly the tightest turner in its family, it’s still a long-turn lover at heart. It is also perforce the quickest Anomaly edge-to-edge, although tiny, C-shaped carves aren’t naturally in its repertoire. The Anomaly 84 feels right at home motoring along on well-compacted boulevards, despite a baseline that begs to be taken off-road. In other words, the Anomaly 84 lives up to its name, displaying a bundle of anomalous behaviors.
All of its anomalous virtues notwithstanding, if what you’re looking for is an off-trail aficionado, why get an 84 when there are so many wider options better suited to the assignment? The question is perfectly valid, but it’s looking at the issue through the wrong lens. What the Anomaly 84 provides is an on-trail ski that isn’t fixated on short turns, buried edges and slingshot exits. Its off-trail DNA is always available to draw on if you care to dabble in the crud at the edge of the trail, but it doesn’t need new snow to calm it down or give it a sense of purpose.