As we open the 2016 season, Blizzard is firing on all cylinders. They have a star product in every category, the ideal situation every brand hopes to forge for itself. The company is making some of the finest skis in the world, period.
Ruminating upon Blizzard’s current, across-the-board success, we can’t help but admire how far the brand has come since your dauntless Editor toiled at the Mittersill facility in late ‘90’s, designing Scott’s first line of skis. Quality control at the time was, shall we say, iffy. Thanks to the Tecnica Group’s considerable investment, today the Blizzard factory puts out a product that is above reproach.
For 2016, Blizzard has tweaked some of the their most popular men’s Flip Core models and changed the cast of their Frontside men’s and women’s models.
The attention in the US market will be on the updates to the Bonafide, Cochise and Bodacious, all of which receive a dosage of carbon at the tip and tail. We’re relieved to report that their essential properties are unchanged; they’re just a smidge lighter and more maneuverable.
Blizzard has been trying to re-organize their Frontside, system skis for a few seasons now and appear to have settled on a version of their solid IQ binding system and a naming convention that might stick around for a season or two. Blizzard continues to make great skis in this important genre, even if in our market they don’t have the sex appeal of the Bonafide and its freeride bros.
The only Blizzards our panel of testers doesn’t much care for are models our test methodology is biased against: the soft flexing, twin-tipped Regulator and Peacemaker. One could argue that our relative disfavor is a strong indication that they do exactly as they’re intended to do, which is sashay sideways on a whim. They should have no trouble appealing to the youth market that is their target.
If you’re an all-mountain skier and you haven’t tried a Blizzard in several seasons, stop whatever you’re doing and make plans to do so at your next opportunity.