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 two seasons ago and given a modest upgrade for 23/24, 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. (This critical interface was the focus of the most recent upgrade.) Called Active Carbon Armor, it’s essentially the carbon inlay under the topskin of the Blizzard Firebird race skis brought to the surface, where it can free up the core to bend more freely. 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.
Head didn’t invent the shaped ski, but when the Carving Revolution was in its infancy it was the first major brand to commit to the concept with its Cyber series. Over the last quarter century its commitment hasn’t wavered, consistently offering several skis in its collection with curvaceous sidecuts. For the last decade, the focus of Head’s non-race carving models has been the Supershape series, a family that remains intact in 23/24, returning unchanged from the incarnations introduced just three years ago.
In light of its long history of making category-crushing carvers, it’s saying something to assert that the latest batch of Supershapes is the best ever and that among them the e-Rally hits the sweetspot. As it approaches a new turn, the e-Rally is like the smarty pants in class who is practically jumping out of his seat because he knows the right answer. At the first hint of recognition that its pilot wants to change direction, it dips and tugs into the turn; all it needs is a little more encouragement in the form of a tilted edge and it’s cutting a short-radius arc you couldn’t bobble if you tried. As the skier’s energy shifts to the tail at arc’s end, the e-Rally provides an earthquake-proof platform for transitioning to the next exhilarating turn.
With its 54mm-drop between tip and waist width along with two thick, end-to-end, wall-to-wall sheets of Titanal, you’d surmise the e-Rally isn’t open to suggestion about turn shape. But you’d be wrong. Sure, if you take full advantage of its sidecut you can cut a world-class slalom turn, but back off the edge angle and you can extract whatever shape you want.
A parallel point can be made about the e-Rally’s attitude about speed: it’s not mandatory to go 40 mph, but you’ll never discover the amazing effect of Head’s Energy Management Circuit (EMC) if you don’t give it some gas. The EMC converts vibration to electric current at precisely 80Hz, so you have to generate enough shock to trigger the EMC conversion. When you have sufficient energy coursing through its system, the e-Rally becomes both calmer and more responsive, reacting to a jolt of added pressure with palpable forward propulsion.
Kästle’s current MX83, now in its fourth season, is both typical of a current trend and atypical in a way all its own. The trend it’s party to is how a series of modest modifications amount to a significant change, especially in Finesse qualities. It’s unique among such upgraded models in that the name it’s re-assuming happens to be the legendary MX83, inarguably one of the greatest Frontside models ever made.
Unlike many Frontside models, the MX83 has no shock-sucking binding interface to muffle snow feel. If purchased as a system, the Tyrolia binding it’s mated with connects toe and heel but remains relatively close to the ski. This gives the MX83 a sensitive feel for the snow surface that would be smothered by heavy plates and lifters. “This ski has great feel for the snow,” confirms Bobo’s Theron Lee.
The reason the revival of the MX83 ought to interest experts everywhere is because it responds so intuitively to technical commands. All you have to do is look where you want to go, and you’re there. Its fully cambered baseline feels super-glued to the snow, inviting speeds that would cause lesser lights to shake loose. Most skis this torsionally rigid don’t flow over and around moguls too well, but the MX83 has an almost liquid flow bred into its bones. Cautionary note: if mogul performance really matters to you, stay away from the 182cm length, as it’s not too nifty a drifter, and it’s too long for troughs cut by shorter skis and boards.
One of the best indicators of a great ski is how well it performs in conditions for which it wasn’t made. By this measure, the MX83 remains an all-time great. Sure, it’s a gas to make deep trenches in corduroy at speeds that on another ski would be terrifying, but the MX83 adopts the same attitude towards all terrain. It doesn’t care where you point it because it’s confident in its abilities, a self-assurance that invariably rubs off on its pilot.
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.
Shape is the defining design feature of every ski in the carving class; of course, how the ski is constructed matters, too, but all the best carvers share a rich construction. Take a closer look at the sidecut dimensions cited at the top of this review. Note that there’s a 58mm differential between the widest point in the tip and the narrowest point at the waist. That’s a huge number, more than you’ll find on a World Cup Slalom race ski, and the main reason the Forza 70 impressed every tester with its ability to latch onto an edge at the tippy-top of the turn.
By maximizing its pull into the turn and the facility at which it releases the edge, the Forza gives its pilot a lot of choices in turn shape. Because it begins on a tight trajectory, it’s easy to keep it on that path, but just as easy to let it fire back into the fall line. Veteran ski and boot tester Jim Schaffner was dazzled by the Forza’s range: “Precise, accurate, lively: what a fantastic tool! Balanced well fore/aft, so it has a large sweet spot. This ski would have a spot in my quiver,” he concludes.
I found the Forza to be as easy to steer as it is accurate on edge, nailing that elusive, balanced blend of Finesse and Power properties. Of course, it won’t float or drift as well as a ski with more surface area and less sidecut, but these limitations are inherent in all the best carvers in its category. For the easy manner in which it rolls on and off a steeply angled edge, we confer upon the Forza 70o V-Ti a Silver Skier Selection.
