Brahma 82

by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019

This ski shouldn’t be here. Skis with a patently off-piste baseline have no business infiltrating the ranks of Frontside models, by definition the domain of deep sidecuts and highly arched camber lines. How does a ski whose Flipcore baseline is practically already bowing manage to mingle with the second cousins of true race skis? If a sitcom producer cast a story about the Frontside category, all the proper club members would be draped in Armani, while the brash Brahma 82 would crash the party in flip-flops, jams and a tattered tee.

In short, the Brahma 82 is here because it’s so damn easy and fun to ski. It’s one of a tiny minority of Frontside skis with a higher Finesse score than Power score. Of course, it’s ease of use wouldn’t mean squat if it couldn’t hold on hard snow, but the Brahma 82 grips ferociously because beneath its mellow exterior beats the heart of a lion. Two end-to-end sheets of Titanal are sandwiched with layers of multi-directional fiberglass around a poplar and beech core. Throw in a dab of carbon in the tip to keep the swingweight down and a dampening platform underfoot and you have many of the same components that power the rest of the genre’s best skis.

Firebird HRC

by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019

The new Blizzard Firebird HRC isn’t really a race ski – its dimensions run afoul of FIS regulations – but don’t tell it that. Despite its 76mm waist, the HRC thinks it belongs right between the Firebird WRC and Firebird SRC, Blizzard’s non-FIS GS and SL models, respectively. It may not be exactly what a meld of the WRC and SRC would look like, but it mimics their race-room construction and does its best to match their capabilities.

Please don’t get defensive, but if you don’t care for the HRC’s comportment, you may not be good enough for it. It uses bi-directional carbon weave both horizontally underfoot, for power at the top of the turn, and in vertical struts that keep it plastered to the snow through turn exit. The combination makes a ski that Corty Lawrence describes as feeling like a “quintessential GS. It needs to be stood on, no complacency allowed, don’t get lazy.

“When you stand on the edge at operating speed,” Corty continues, “the HRC is exceedingly rewarding. Super confident underfoot, it enters turns with enthusiasm (better be on the front of your boots!) and comes off the turn with ample energy (better be where you¹re supposed to be here, too!) Turn shape can be modulated with authoritative subtlety, which isn’t the contradiction it sounds like. Shorter turns can be accomplished at speed, but at pedestrian velocities it must be muscled,” Corty concludes.