I readily admit to an engrained bias in favor of the Blizzard Bonafide, as a pair has lived in the first row of my ski locker since its inception. I take them everywhere I go because I’m confident there’s no condition on earth they cannot ski, and ski well.
The Bonafide has remained a perennial all-star for skiers because it’s built on sound fundamentals: a wood core made from poplar and beech sandwiched between laminates of multi-directional glass and Titanal. Its Flipcore design connects to the edge early, with no disruption in the snow connection from the modestly rockered forebody through the midsection to its flat, supportive tail.
If one wished to pick a nit, it could be argued that the Bonafide is geared for the more skilled skier. But this is true of virtually all the more torsionally rigid models in the All-Mountain West genre. If you want to tone it down a bit, get it in a shorter length and you, too, can experience one of the greatest skis ever made.
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.
