One way to appreciate the Rustler 10 for what it is, is to consider what it isn’t: a Cochise, its beast of a big brother that’s equipped to support strong, fast skiers who rip through crud fields at 40mph. Although fresh data lifted the Rustler 10’s Power score past the Cochise this year, its Finesse score also soared this season compared to last, it’s introductory year. Its 2019 reclassification as a Power Pick shouldn’t obscure the fact that the Rustler 10 remains the softer, poppier and less aggro of the two Big Mountain Blizzards.

The Big Mountain design playbook calls for tips and tails that are both rockered and tapered so they won’t interfere with the smearing action that takes the travail out of off-trail travel, and the Rustler 10 is typical in this regard. Where it deviates from the norm is through its midsection, which is capped by a Titanal plate that’s edge-to-edge underfoot and narrows to a nub that stops halfway up the forebody and tail. The Titanal delivers discernibly more power and deflection resistance than the carbon-reinforced extremities.

Carbon stringers embedded in glass sheets do the rest of the heavy lifting in a light structure grounded in a multi-material core comprised of the usual poplar and beech accompanied by Paulownia, balsa and ISO composite. Testers appreciated the lighter weight that helped the Rustler 10 feel quicker than most Big Mountain models. (Its Short-radius Turns score is well above the genre average.) “A good, solid-feeling ski’” writes one tester. “Has a more off-piste personality, a bit quicker due to less metal. Very user-friendly for an accomplished skier.”

Another tester hails the Rustler 10 as “Nice and stable, yet playful. Goes through and around everything. Great off piste performance. Surprisingly quick for a wide ski. A surfy ride with good edge grip,” he summarizes pithily. “A confidence builder,” echoes Cal Ski Co vet Paul Jacobs. “Fun, playful, easy in cut-up snow, with surprising power. Crud, powder, big bumps become easy to ski.”