In this ski’s original incarnation, the lightweight Blaze 106 W seemed best suited to intermediate to advanced skiers looking for a mellow drifter, but it found a second calling as an in-bounds/backcountry hybrid for experts who appreciated its light weight off-trail and more-than-passable performance on piste.  For 2025, the newly anointed Blaze 104 W has been given such an appreciable upgrade that experts may gravitate to it based on its in-bounds performance alone, although its raison d’etre remains its proficiency off-piste.

What could have elevated the Blaze 104 W from an intermediate’s crutch to an expert’s daily driver? Part of the transformation was as simple as augmenting the core thickness, but more significant is a clever allocation of Titanal and glass that gives the cambered center of the ski far more power and bite when driven into the turn, married to an energy-fueled exit that makes flowing through the turn transition automatic.

Titanal laminates that run wall-to-wall in the ski’s midsection induce a calming effect that extends well past their footprint, giving the Blaze 104 W a security on edge you wouldn’t expect in such a light, fat ski. The new Blaze 104 W is skinnier than its predecessor, but that’s not the only reason it can cut a tighter turn. Völkl made the Blaze 104 one of the first of its collection to be the recipient of a 4-Radius Drive sidecut; an interesting choice, as 4-Radius Drive exists primarily to engage the first few cm’s in a short-radius arc, part of the ski every other model in the Big Mountain genre treats like a forgotten relative.

The trick that 4-Radius Drive pulls off is making a Big Mountain ski hook into a short-radius arc as if it were a citizen slalom. Of course, engaging a tight turn at its tippy-top takes considerable skill regardless of the shovel’s sidecut; this is an expert’s move, not an intermediate’s sideways shuffle. When raked to a high edge angle, the Blaze 104’s corseted waist size underfoot picks up on the short-radius vibe, creating C-shaped arcs that belong in a figure-8 contest.

While there’s no question the Blaze 104 is a hell of a lot more ski than it used to be, it’s still essentially an easy-steering Finesse model that can be taken into the backcountry with confidence.  We highly recommend it for just about anyone who wants to make her off-trail forays easier to execute. For never losing its composure just when it’s most required, we award the Blaze 104 a Silver Skier Selection.