No new ski model made as significant an improvement in its performance range as Blizzard’s Sheeva 9. A longtime member of the Blizzard Freeride collection, the Sheeva 9 – along with its men’s counterpart, the Rustler 9 – went through a significant re-design this year, boosting its abilities in any terrain it’s likely to encounter during its lifetime. In Realskiers’ terminology, the Sheeva 9 shifted from a Finesse ski to a Power ski, albeit a Power ski with the highest Finesse score in the genre.
Driving up the new Sheeva 9’s fab Finesse scores were two principal drivers: the adoption of Blizzard’s TrueBlend core concept, and a palpable increase in overall width dimensions. TrueBlend is a precise allocation of sturdy beech stringers interspersed with lighter weight poplar in the mid-section and a dose of lighter-still Paulownia at the tip and tail. TrueBlend creates a perfectly balanced flex adapted for each length offered, so the 150cm has the same properties as the 174cm. (BTW, this is a huge size range, an indication that Blizzard is confident it will serve a broad swath of the market.) This adaptation is particularly valuable for the Finesse skier who isn’t used to loading a ski.
The increase in waist width (from 92mm to 96mm) gives the Sheeva 9 a substantial boost in surface area, inherently improving both its flotation in new snow and ease of steering in chopped-up terrain. Naturally, this alteration means the new model shifts into a drifted turn with relish, another trait that assists the Finesse skier.
Yet despite these important improvements in Finesse qualities, the 2024 Sheeva 9 is predominantly a Power ski, every bit as competent on hard snow as it is in freshies. (The Sheeva 9 earned the highest marks in the genre for carving accuracy and nearly the highest score for drift.). The Sheeva 9 gets its power from a new construction called FluxForm, comprised of two continuous bands of Titanal, positioned just over the edge, that extend nearly tip to tail. In the center section underfoot, where the unisex Rustler 9 inserts a slab of Titanal, the Sheeva 9 substitutes a Women’s Specific Design platform to serve the same functions in lighter, more pliable materials. The result is a ski that is at once easy to flex and made to hold on ice like magnets.
Our female testers weren’t loquacious on the subject of the Sheeva 9’s behavior, letting their scores do most of the talking, but their quick sketches hint at its versatility. “This ski is made for the more aggressive skier who wants to be lazy sometimes,” writes Bobo’s Becca Pierce, “but also wants to get her hip to touch the snow in long-radius turns.” Another tester pegged the Sheeva 9 as “very versatile, light and playful,” while one of the Granite Chief crew crisply commented, “Stable, fun, ripping.”
For its versatility in all snow conditions and accessibility for a broad range of skier abilities, we award the new Sheeva 9 a Silver Skier Selection.