by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
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 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: “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.”
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. 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.
There’s a reason the latest Rustler 10 is noticeably better than its forebear; two reasons, actually. Its core was given the Trueblend treatment, blending lightweight poplar laminates with sturdy beech underfoot, and adding Paulownia at the tip and tail to reduce overall heft and swingweight. Trueblend alone probably would have made the Rustler 10 a better ski by itself, but swapping a single, truncated sheet of Titanal in the old Rustler 10 for the new FluxForm chassis made the Rustler 10 makeover pack a bigger punch.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
Every other model in the new Anomaly series expects to become the all-day, everyday ski for whomever is wise enough to acquire it, and justifiably so. The 84, 88 and 94 are differentiated by their terrain biases, but not by skier size or ability. Any reasonably proficient skier would be thrilled by their quietly assertive power and sensitive steering.
But if your plan is to ride the Anomaly 102 every day, it would be very helpful if you were very good and didn’t mind skiing very fast. It also wouldn’t hurt if you were fairly stout lad, say in the 200-pound+ club. The bigger, the better and the faster you are, the more you’ll prefer the 102 over its slimmer siblings.
The widest Anomaly isn’t built any differently than the other Anomalies, there’s just more ski under you in a 102. The main benefit of added girth is higher flotation, so Blizzard’s design team bumped up the 102’s float-ability by skewing the size run long. With a wider silhouette stretched out over an elongated chassis, the Anomaly 102’s natural turn shape is on the long side. Even when coaxed into a tighter-than-normal turn, the 102 doesn’t veer far from the fall line. One reason the 102 is best left to experts is that it all but obliges the pilot to maintain a fall-line orientation, for with speed comes power, and with it the fortitude to blast through day-old chop.
The net effect is the Anomaly 102 delivers a cushioned ride that is more supple and terrain-absorbing rather than terrain-smashing. Its narrower body allows it to initiate turns more easily regardless of the snow conditions. Like the Cochise, it still favors the skilled skier who likes to motor, but it’s easier to drive, like switching from a one-ton pick-up to a luxury sedan.
The Anomaly 102 is a fantastic ski, as fast and as smooth as a bullet train, one that doesn’t make local stops for middle-of-the-pack intermediates. It’s not made to nurse the uninitiated into competence, but as a reward for those who have put in the time learning how to play with gravity on big mountains.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 3, 2024
Blizzard’s Sheeva 10 optimizes the best qualities of Blizzard’s latest freeride technology, FluxForm. 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 used to be, 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 Sheeva 10 feels more stable from end to end, but it isn’t the only reason it 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 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.
While the Sheeva 10 is a powerful ski compared to its predecessor, it’s still simplicity itself to steer. Using Paulownia in the extremities and trimming the Titanal strips down at the ends lowers swingweight, making it easier to swivel, an essential trait in deep snow.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
The Blizzard Bonafide has been at or near the top of our All-Mountain West rankings since it burst on the scene over a decade ago. While it’s undergone four or five tweaks since its debut, its enduring excellence is due primarily to what hasn’t changed: the original Flipcore construction that removes all stress from the rocker/camber transition. As soon as the ski is pressured, the transition zone disappears and the full length of the ski finds the snow. A Bonafide feels engaged from tip to tail because it is. This is the foundational reason for its sustained success. The Bonafide came out of the chute so well made that the biggest challenge its designers face was figuring out how to fix something that wasn’t broken.
But sustained stardom always attracts naysayers, so over its relatively long lifespan, the Bonafide has found a few thorns in all the roses thrown its way. One criticism is that its brawny build is best managed by experts, and there’s something to this claim in that the Bonafide 97 performs better with some energy flowing through it, meaning it likes to be ridden fast. Some find it boring and wonder what the big deal is. In the Bonafide’s defense, all high-performance skis perform better under an expert’s guidance and an affinity for speed is not, by itself, a demerit. Furthermore, if you want rebound energy out of a Bonafide, you have to load it. If you just stand there looking cute, it won’t react because you haven’t told it to.
While there are worse problems to have, being known as an experts-only ski is a concern nonetheless, one Blizzard addressed two years ago with the introduction of the TrueBlend core. The objective of TrueBlend was a smooth, round flex adapted for every size, married to a flex pattern and baseline likewise adapted by length. The key to its execution was the precise location of denser strips of beech in a predominantly poplar core. Each size was treated like its own model, so the shorter skis were also softer and more accessible to lighter and lower skill skiers.
In 2023, Blizzard took another remedial step towards making the Bonafide easier to bow: they made its TrueBlend core a tad thinner. Not much mind you, but enough to make it noticeably easier to bend. Now that it can be loaded up at lower speeds and/or less force application by the skier, the 2024 Bonafide is a more mellow, tractable ride. The Bonafide hasn’t lost its essential character, which I would describe as complete terrain indifference, but it has improved its handling throughout the recreational speed range.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2023
The Black Pearl 97 borrows its sidecut and baseline from the unisex Bonafide 97, and purloins its Woman Specific Design (W.S.D.) from the Black Pearl 88. Three seasons ago, both of its parents upgraded to the TrueBlend core, that perfectly matches flex to shape and size, so naturally the Black Pearl 97 followed suit.
Included in the W.S.D. package of enhancements is a Titanal mounting plate that improves, well, everything about the Pearl 97. It’s grip on hardpack far exceeds expectations, and it makes mincemeat out of choppy crud. Its women-specific TrueBlend core finds the right balance between relatively light weight for maneuverability but enough substance to subdue a tracked-up fall-line.
“I would recommend the Black Pearl 97 to any intermediate/advanced skier looking to explore more terrain off the groomers,” says ex-college racer and current PSIA National Team member Brenna Kelleher. “The new Pearl 97 is made with a slightly modified sidecut and baseline in every size, so each length is a perfect match for its pilot. Blizzard added a 177cm to the line-up which is a welcome addition for stronger and/or more skilled women.”
