by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
Three seasons ago, the Joy family of women-specific carving skis underwent the same sort of across-the-board transformation that the Kore series experienced last year. Head’s justifiable focus on Graphene, carbon in a one-atom-thick matrix – that allows Head to tinker with flex in ways previously unimaginable – makes it sound as though the ultralight Total Joy were made of synthetics and pixie dust, but it’s actually grounded in an all-wood (Karuba and ash) core, with carbon, fiberglass and lighter-than-pixie-dust Graphene providing structural support.
Its ultralight insides aren’t all that’s unique about the Total Joy. It’s also the maven of a covey of carving skis, and it’s built more for on-piste edging than off-trail smearing. In this respect the Total Joy is the Kore 85 W’s polar opposite. Its mildly rockered, multi-radius forebody itches to find an edge, and its deep-dish sidecut wants to hold onto it like it like it was a long-lost child. It’s ideal for an accomplished frontside skier who occasionally dabbles in off-trail pursuits.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
The Brahma 88 has been a mainstay of Blizzard’s freeride Flipcore collection since its lauded launch many moons ago. It has retained its relevance over time with a series of subtle refinements, without ever straying from its roots. It many ways, it is a perfectly balanced ski, built on the time-tested foundation of wood, metal and carbon. Part of its enduring popularity is that it will dance to whatever tune you want to play. It doesn’t impose its personality on the pilot, but the other way around: whatever one wishes comes true.
The 2023 Brahma hews to this tradition, with yet another slight modification: the core has been given a bit of a trim, so the ski is easier to load. One consequence of this relatively minor tweak is that when choosing between two sizes, it’s possible to go for the stability of a longer length without the bigger ski feeling harder to bend.
Theron Lee, a former coach and current world-class ski tuner and bootfitter, called the modestly modified Brahma 88, “the ultimate all mountain ski. It can go anywhere and do just about anything. Excellent carving capabilities yet easy to drift and scrub. Very smooth and tractable, with a tip that seemed smoother than last years. The thinner core does not affect its strength nor its smoothness, especially in the tip and tail. Lots of power in the tail,” concluded T Lee.
Dallas Goldsmith, one of the rare shop owners who tests nearly everything he sells, called the latest Brahma 88, “One of the best skis in the industry. Has always set the bar in the 88mm category. Flipcore is a beautiful balance of camber and rocker. Made in Austria with metal so it’s a real ski for real skiers.”
If some skiers shy away from the Brahma 88 because they’ve tried an earlier iteration and came away unimpressed, they should reacquaint themselves with its bottomless power reserve. The Brahma 88’s refusal to jump on the Lighter is Better bandwagon pays off in spades when it’s late afternoon and even the groomed runs look like hell warmed over. Don’t forget, the Brahma 88 is the Bonafide 97’s little brother, so it has the same crud-busting genes.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
Head has so much confidence in the all-terrain capabilities of its off-trail Kore design that two years ago it discontinued its Monster series and chucked its classic, wood-and-Titanal construction, to make room for the Kore 87 in its collection. Last year, the entire Kore family, including the re-christened Kore 85 W, was redesigned in several subtle ways to raise the performance bar even higher.
From a global performance perspective, Head understands that not all Kores will be treated equally. The Kore 85 W, as the narrowest of the clan, is expected to spend a good deal of its life on groomed snow, so it’s stiffened up accordingly. Like all the Kores, the 85 W switched out the synthetic Koroyd in its innards for more Karuba and poplar laminates, improving overall feedback from the snow.
The Kore 85 W is nonetheless an off-trail ski by dint of its baseline and sidecut, so it has a special fondness for powder. A new (as of last year) Kore feature that makes it even more effortless to ski in deep snow is a chamfered top edge that lets the ski slice sideways with almost no resistance. Since all powder skiing entails some foot-swiveling, this seemingly minor change has a major impact.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2021
Blizzard already had the best-selling ski in the U.S., men’s or women’s, when it made two changes to the Black Pearl 88 that made the best even better. The first major sweetener was TrueBlend, a meticulously arranged parquet of lightweight poplar and denser beech that is adapted for every length, and coordinated with modifications to the baseline and sidecut. The goal of TrueBlend is a perfectly balanced flex that feels smooth yet energetic.
The second major booster was a women’s-specific Titanal plate underfoot that spreads its calming effect over nearly the full length of the ski. “Every length is calibrated to create an optimal, round flex that travels well in all conditions,” notes Blizzard tester Cara Williams. “The latest Pearls are actually slightly heavier (+150g) than the previous model,” she notes, “but I discovered after only 3 or 4 high-speed turns, that once you click in, the function and performance outweigh the literal weight of a ski – it’s more important to be the right weight than light weight.”
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2021
The Fischer RC One 86 GT is to all intents and purposes a hard-snow carving specialist with a waist just plump enough to put it in the company of a bunch of all-terrain generalists. In an effort to blend in, the RC One 86 GT has a tiny splay of tip rocker, and a tail rocker so tiny it should be called a rockette.
This masquerade lasts only as long as it takes to get the ski on the snow, where there’s no disguising its tip-to-tail connection. A 175cm seems like plenty of ski even at the upper reaches of the recreational speed range, which its ultra-supportive edge invites one to inhabit. You can set it to reel off medium-radius turns with the unalterable precision of a metronome. “Solid and rhythmic,” enthused Jan’s Jack Walzer after taking the RC One 86 GT for a spin.
One tip-off that Fischer envisions the RC One 86 GT in frontside environs is that it’s the head of a mostly Frontside (75mm-84mm underfoot) product family. Furthermore, its construction is all about maintaining snow connection, a classic Frontside obsession. The tip and tail are outfitted with Bafatex®, a synthetic compound meant to muffle shock and keep every cm of the 86 GT’s cambered baseline plastered on the snow. Not to mention all that Titanal to further cow hard snow into silence.
