2021 Volkl Blaze 106 W
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Ski Stats

Sidecut 146/106/128
Radius 23m/14m/29m @ 165cm
Lengths 158,165,172
Weight 1569g @ 165cm
MSRP $700
FIND
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Tester: Ingrid Backstrom The first time I got on the Blaze 106 W, the off-piste conditions were borderline horrible (and I have low standards). I ventured slowly off the rock-hard, icy piste, expecting maximum teeth-shaking chatter. Instead, the Blazes held an edge. I could feel the hard ridges of frozen snow beneath the skis, but the edges were biting, and the skis felt soft enough. I could make hoppy, GS-style turns, and I loved how the Blazes made it almost effortless for me to finish the turn right under my foot, propelling me into the next turn. On icy groomers, I could hold an edge and go for bigger turns without chatter. I was blown away by the playfulness in this softer ski. The Blaze 106 made fun skiing instantly accessible to me on tricky snow after many months of not skiing. When I skied them for the first time in powder, they felt as light and nimble as they had been on the hard snow, while their shape and width gave them the perfect float. I was giggling with how playful they felt, and how much control I had with such minimal effort. When the sun came out and the snow got heavier, I could find my stable center position and power through the crud with a bit wider stance, the skis doing the work for me and enabling me to ski until the lifts closed—my favorite type of ski day.

Tester: Ingrid Backstrom

The first time I got on the Blaze 106 W, the off-piste conditions were borderline horrible (and I have low standards).  I ventured slowly off the rock-hard, icy piste, expecting maximum teeth-shaking chatter.  Instead, the Blazes held an edge.  I could feel the hard ridges of frozen snow beneath the skis, but the edges were biting, and the skis felt soft enough.  They weren’t throwing me around wildly, but they could bounce me playfully out of each turn.  I could make hoppy, GS-style turns, and I loved how the Blazes made it almost effortless for me to finish the turn right under my foot, propelling me into the next turn.

On the icy groomers, I could hold an edge and go for bigger turns without chatter.  Of course they were Völkls so I expected them to perform well, but I was blown away by the playfulness in this softer ski.  The Blaze 106 made fun skiing instantly accessible to me on the tricky snow after many months of not skiing.

And then I got to ski them for the first time in powder.  They felt as light and nimble as they had been on the hard snow, but the shape and the width gave them the perfect float.  I could control the depth of the porpoising tip action with very simple fore-and-aft body movements in the light snow, and I was giggling with how playful it felt, and how much control I had with such minimal effort.  The sun came out and the snow got heavier, but still the Blazes floated; I could find my stable center position and power through the crud with a bit wider stance, the skis doing the work for me and enabling me to ski until the lifts closed—my favorite type of ski day.

In short, the Blaze 106 is the enabler—they are the unassuming, small-but-mighty workhorse that shows up day after day to keep me shredding.  They are the approachable, every day ski that excels in all conditions while making it look easy.  I am blown away by the Volkl quality and performance that they have somehow managed to squeeze into this light, nimble, and breezy ski.  And I feel super lucky to be able to ski on them!

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Women’s Test Data Advisory

Please be advised that our 2022 women’s ski reviews do not show any test data, on either our public or members’ sites. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we haven’t been able to collect sufficient test results to justify showing a statistical summary.

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