by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
The Blizzard Rustler 10 wants you to look good, so it makes everything about off-trail skiing easier. There’s a long, central band of Titanal on the top to stabilize the ski underfoot while allowing the tip and tail to twist. The idea is to keep the tapered tip from getting involved with every obstruction it meets; instead of trying to hook up at the top of turn like a hard-snow-oriented ski is meant to do, it politely deflects all rough treatment by bending with the blow. The same basic idea at the tail keeps it from insisting on finishing every arc on a hairline trajectory, as if skiing were trying to emulate figure skating.
A more powerful skier who takes his hard-snow technique with him when he travels off-trail might prefer the more connected feel of the Blizzard Cochise. But for the majority of off-piste skiers, the Rustler 10 is a better fit. When the nearly expert skier really needs help, the Rustler is a godsend. Imagine being in flat light – a common condition when the goods are there to be gotten – and not being able to tell what your tips are going to encounter next. That’s where the Rustler 10’s innate surf-ability takes over, smearing over the unseen obstacles as if they weren’t there.
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.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Blizzard’s fortunes began to turn around several years ago when the Tecnica Group acquired the brand and factory in Mittersill, Austria, and pumped a few million euros into an overhaul. It’s often the case in the world of industry that he who builds the last factory...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
It’s hard to imagine Blizzard doing much better in the freeride domain, so in 2019 it applied its innovative energies to enhancing its prospects in the race and carving categories. The new Firebird series of race skis embellish their classic wood-and-Titanal sandwich...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
The Black Pearl 88 is the most popular women’s ski of its generation, but there’s a new gal in town itching for an off-trail showdown. The contender, the Sheeva 9, comes from another branch of the Blizzard model tree, one with a history of making softer off-trail skis that emphasize ease and liveliness over bulldozer strength. The Sheeva’s signature feature, dubbed D.R.T. for Dynamic Release Technology, is visible in outline just below the topskin. It’s a partial sheet of Titanal that’s edge to edge through the midsection and tapers to a narrow tab before reaching either end. D.R.T. allows the forebody to roll with punches delivered by off-trail terrain, leaving the reinforced middle to power its way through the rubble.
