Blizzard was bound to apply carbon to the tips and tails of the Brahma in 2017 if only because it was the next in line – after the Spur, Cochise and Bonafide – to receive the carbon treatment. Lowering swing weight is generally a good idea, and maybe the new Brahma is a tad easier to turn, but improving the already brilliant Brahma wasn’t bloody likely.

But then, the Brahma wasn’t begging for a boost as it was already a benchmark in the AME genre. Because of its rich construction, the better you ski, the better it skis. Apply more force, or edge angle, or speed or any other measure of ability and the Brahma blossoms.

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.

The skiing dropout who is returning to the sport after more than a decade and is hoping the transition between now and then isn’t a reach too far, should consider the Brahma as his teaching tool. Michael from Footloose captured the Brahma’s ineffable quality when he described this “awesome all-around ski” as “very intuitive.” It rolls to any edge angle with ease in whatever terrain you send it, while subtly encouraging speed. That’s all you can ask of an all-mountain ski.