by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
I’m leery of recommending a Powder ski for all-terrain skiing, for if it’s equally adept at all conditions, why not ski it every day? A ski so polyvalent would not only render any notion of ski categories an absurd pretension, it would erode the very foundations of logic itself. Well, the new Blizzard Rustler 11 comes pretty damn close to pulling down the twin pillars of logic and methodology, for it seems to transition from soft snow to firm without batting an eye.
If there’s a trick to this sleight of hand, it lies in the Rustler 11’s construction, beginning with its dimensions, which straddle the border between the Big Mountain and Powder genres, depending on which length one chooses from the five available sizes. The new Freeride Trueblend core ups the amount of Paulownia in its 3-wood matrix to keep the overall weight, and in particular mass beyond the binding area, from ballooning as the ski’s dimensions expand. To keep the Rustler 11 from feeling ponderous, Blizzard trims the percentage of Titanal used in its make-up compared to its skinnier siblings, the Rustler 10 and 9.
Aside from the Trueblend core, the biggest difference between this generation of Rustlers and the one that preceded it is how the new FluxForm design distributes its allocation of Titanal. A nearly full-length strip of metal rides over each edge, but stops short of rapping around the tip or tail. In the middle of the ski, a separate, disconnected swath of Ti fills the space between the outer bands, to lend additional strength and rigidity to the midsection. Fluxform creates a ski that feels secure on edge anywhere it travels, with just enough tolerance for twist at the tip and tail to allow the ski to flow over choppy terrain rather than fight it.
So, who needs a Rustler 11 more, a powder novice or an expert? Trick question: of course, the lower skill skier would be more grateful, but the expert will get more out of it. For the lower skill skier looking for a crutch that will disguise his lack of ability, its relatively soft, balanced flex and overall stability will make deep snow feel more consistent. For the expert, it’s game-on: no further coaching is required, just stand on it and go.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
There are three balancing acts that a Big Mountain ski needs to pull off in order to rise to the top of the ranks. One, it has to make the transition from firm snow to soft and back again feel so smooth it’s barely perceptible. Two, it has to execute short turns and long turns without an obvious bias for one or the other. And three, the ski itself needs to feel balanced, with a round, even flex that allows the skier to always feel on center. I’m sharing this nugget of wisdom here because if the essence of the new Rustler 10 could be distilled to a single word, it would be “balanced.”
The testimony of a couple of our elite testers allude to this attribute in their rave reviews. Level 3 instructor Lara Hughes-Allen found the 180cm Rustler 10 to be “light and playful, especially off-piste. A well-balanced ski that makes for fun short turns and bump skiing. For a 102cm underfoot ski, it’s fairly quick edge to edge. Overall, this is a very comfortable ski that performs well in a variety of conditions.”
The erstwhile owner of Start Haus in Truckee, California, a longtime Realskiers Test Center, Jim Schaffner is also a world-class bootfitter and race coach. His thumbnail portrait of the Rustler 10 dovetails nicely with Lara’s assessment: “Balanced and very comfortable to ski in all conditions. It felt seamless to move from firmer to softer to broken pow. Predictable and smooth, with surprising power and rebound when you stomp on it. If I owned this ski, I would ski it on most days in Tahoe.” Mark Zila of Footloose Sports agreed, calling the Rustler 10, “A great all-around ski that would make a great single-ski quiver for the Sierras.”
Bear in mind, Schaffner is both big and strong, so the idea of a Big Mountain ski as an everyday driver makes perfect sense in his case. Also note that the considerably lighter Hughes-Allen could easily bow the Rustler 10 into a short-radius arc, despite its girth, thanks to the high edge angles she can create with her long legs at full extension. Point being, the more skilled the skier, the more he or she can appreciate the full performance range of this ski. Skiers with a less polished skill set can adopt the Rustler 10 as their designated powder/crud ski, but for everyday skiing, the Rustler 9 is a better tool for the skier who is less talented or less aggressive.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
Blizzard’s Sheeva 10 optimizes the best qualities of Blizzard’s latest freeride technology, FluxForm. Introduced across six new models, 3 Rustlers for men and 3 corresponding Sheevas for women, Fluxform deploys Titanal in a different fashion than was last used in these models’ 2023 iterations. Instead of a single, truncated top sheet of Ti, FluxForm concentrates its Ti laminates directly over the edges, in strips that run nearly tip to tail. In the center of the Sheeva 10, roughly where the Ti plate was last season, is a women’s-specific platform that helps distribute force evenly underfoot without the heft of metal.
This redeployment of Titanal is the major reason the new Sheeva 10 feels more stable from end to end, but it isn’t the only reason the latest version feels at once smoother and more powerful. The other major contributor to the Sheeva 10’s stellar handling is the switch to Blizzard’s carefully crafted TrueBlend core. TrueBlend combines slender tendrils of dense beech interspersed with lightweight poplar and Paulownia in a precise pattern that is adjusted for every size. Note that the new Sheeva 10 offers six different sizes on 6mm splits, so women can dial in exactly the right length, which is key for maneuverability in off-trail conditions.
No lift-served mountain received more snow last season than Mammoth, giving the ladies at Footloose Sports ample opportunity to essay the Sheeva 10 in the conditions it was meant for. “Really fun on piste,” exulted one of the Footloose faithful. “Easy to bend into different turn shapes, good edge hold yet easy to release the edge.” Another impressed Footloose filly opined, “Overall, a nice upgrade from the older model – loved the additional stiffness in the tip. Lots of fun at high speed and handled the variable snow really well.” A tester from Sturtevant’s of Sun Valley concurred that “the new metal configuration makes the tips less chattery. Very fun!”
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
As was the case with its men’s counterpart – the Mantra 102 – last year, the latest bundle of modifications to the Secret 102 has infused it with a complete personality transplant. As succinctly summarized by former US Ski Team member Edie Thys Morgan in her review of the 2023 Secret 102, “This is not the ski for the faint of heart or of flex.” The 2024 Secret 102 has shed its hell-bent ways. It no longer seeks to subdue whatever gets in its way, instead responding to its pilot’s subtle suggestions with grace and poise.
What happened to turn a barely tamed bronco into a well-trained show pony? Two factors did most of the heavy lifting, Tailored Titanal Frame and Tailored Carbon Tips. In the original Secret 102, the forward section of the 3-piece Titanal Frame was a one-size-fits-all affair; in the 2024 iteration, each size gets its own part. This is of particular importance in the smaller sizes women prefer. Every aspect of the new Secret 102 is size-specific, so shorter skis aren’t saddled with over-sized components.
Part of the reason that the double-rockered Secret 102 rips groomers like a fully cambered ski is the manner in which Völkl applies an extra dose of carbon to the shovel. Most carbon that goes into skis are either thin stringers or weaves in a pre-set orientation. To get exactly the pattern they wanted, Volkl engineers created hundreds of prototypes, stitching carbon thread into a fleece matrix to arrive at just the right dosage to keep the tip quiet.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
Don’t let the model name fool you: Völkl still calls this ski the Mantra 102, but the addition of Tailored Titanal Frame, Tailored Carbon Tips and a tweaked sidecut has totally transformed its personality. Last year’s Mantra 102 was a barely tamed beast, subduing all in its path; the new incarnation is a pussycat that readily bends to its pilot’s will. Among 2023’s new models, only K2’s revamp of its Mindbenders made as big an improvement in Finesse properties as the Mantra 102. It behaves like a different ski.
One measure of a ski’s steering facility is the skier’s perception of width. In its first incarnation, the Mantra 102 was notable for feeling wider than it measured; the 2023 version “skis narrower than indicated, making it very easy to turn,” according to veteran tester Theron Lee.
The combined effect of its triad of new features is what makes the Mantra 102 suddenly so tractable. Like every Big Mountain ski in Christendom, the Mantra 102 is double rockered, but it feels like it has tip-to-tail contact, in part because Tailored Carbon Tips keep the entire rocker zone quiet. Tailored Titanal Frame keeps the mass in the forebody proportional to the ski’s length, facilitating earlier turn entry. The slightly wider tip encourages more pull into the turn, opening up the short-radius spectrum, while the skinny tail helps the skier stay close to the fall line, making crud and powder a hell of a lot easier to plunder.
A big contributor to the Mantra 102’s outstanding performance on any snow surface is its first-in-class rebound coming out of the turn. Part of the magic of the Titanal Frame design is the freedom its three-piece top sheet has to flex and compress a full-length glass layer that reacts to this pressure like a coiled spring. Now that the Titanal Frame is tailored by size, the whole ski is more responsive. The Mantra 102 naturally rises as it uncoils during the turn transition, so it’s unweighted while crossing the fall line.
Lighter skiers might prefer the floaty, smeary variety of Big Mountain models, but big boys need some beef under them. If you’d had difficulty finding a Big Mountain ski that’s able to support your mass and your mojo, your search has ended. I’m sure that someone whose nickname is Mongo or Moose will use the Mantra 102 as his everyday ski, but its glory is a wide-open crud field where it can cut loose like an extra-large GS race ski with anger issues.
