Glory 84
[The test results and review for the Glory 84 are from 2016; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.] If your plan is to ski 30 to 40 days this season and make your big move up the ability ladder, the Glory 84 probably isn’t your ski. If you tell yourself the same...Gunsmoke
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.
Latigo
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.