by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2016
A year ago Blizzard drank a dram of the “Lighter is better!” Kool-Aid and stripped the metal laminates out of the Bodacious. A more visible amendment was the substitution of carbon extensions at the tip and tail to trim further fat and lower swing weight.
The Bodacious went from a battleship to a destroyer, still a formidable vessel, but one more able to maneuver in tight quarters, such as chute entries and trees. Its crash diet notwithstanding, the Bodacious still skis big; it’s hard to overlook a 118mm waist at the heart of a 27m radius sidecut. But it doesn’t ski “look out below!” large; the “Biggest Loser” trim-a-thon it endured last year was a massive ease infusion, giving the Bodacious more fast-twitch muscle.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2016
So how does this little pixie hold its own in a rugged crowd like the women’s Frontside genre? To begin with the baseline, yes, its Carbon Flip Core is substantially rockered, but it takes almost no load to tip and press it into a continuous arc. The Cheyenne fits in among our Finesse Favorites because it’s unapologetically easy to ski whether the snow is groomed or classified under “Other.” Women who are intimidated by bumps yet can’t resist the challenge of confronting them will find the Cheyenne in their court.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2016
As befits the AME class, the Brahma is at its best when lingering near the border of powder and prepared slopes. Its ability to shift on the fly to 4-wheel drive is attributable to the subtly of its Flip Core tip rocker. Like any elevated shovel, the Brahma’s tip will find a way over whatever lies ahead, but unlike most models with this much rocker, it remains in contact with all snow surfaces, not just powder. Even on hardpack, the built-to-be-rockered Flip Core forebody is unflappable.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2016
If you are an aficionado of twin-tip design, then the Blizzard Gunsmoke is your kind of ski. Characteristic of the genre, the Gunsmoke maintains a loose connection to the snow whether it’s soft or hard. Compared to the down-the-fall-line orientation of the Bodacious, the Gunsmoke is a swivel stick.
But compared to many other twin tips, the Gunsmoke is a paradigm of stability. It pushes piles of set-up crud aside like a super villain parting a crowd of civilians. Skis 114mm wide at the waist aren’t particularly easy to hoist up to a high edge, but if you have the skills to get the Gunsmoke there, it holds.
by Jackson Hogen | Sep 1, 2016
If we were to categorize skis according to their attitude as opposed to their actual dimensions, the Blizzard Latigo wouldn’t even be in the Frontside family. The grandchild of the burly Cochise, the Latigo’s lineage is all about adapting to off-road conditions. That it still connects so well on groomers is testament to the clever inversion of conventional wisdom embodied in Blizzard’s Flip Core.
