The 20/21 Cochise represents a return to its traditional values by cutting back on some of its beefier elements without scrimping on the 2 ½ layers of Titanal that give the Cochise its indomitable determination to teach crud a lesson it won’t soon forget. The new Cochise whittles away at the tip and waist width and plumps up the tail, reducing the sidecut radius by 3m in a 185cm. While this encourages the rejuvenated Cochise to finish its big, banked turns, quick, little arcs are still not part of its repertoire.
To get the 20/21 Cochise to feel more like the original, Blizzard tinkered with several possible core changes. Bear in mind this re-design comes after several years of Rustlers, Blizzard’s softer, gentler Big Mountain collection that uses Paulownia, balsa and ISO-core alongside the poplar and beech laminates that have been used in the Cochise’s clan forever. Blizzard attempted to modify its new TrueBlend core for the Cochise, but its added width meant more mass, inhibiting the maneuverability the R&D team was trying augment. So the 2021 Cochise core added Paulownia to its matrix, lightening the load and improving its responsiveness.
The cumulative changes to the Cochise 106 contribute to a general improvement to its on-trail comportment so it’s truly an all-terrain ski, as it was conceived to be. Even though it has changed, it hasn’t contorted into something its not: it’s still the same Power ski it always was.
The previous occupant of this slot in Rossignol’s lineup, the Soul 7, might well have been the biggest seller in the short history of the Big Mountain genre. A mostly glass ski that was light, springy and sinfully simple to ski in the soft conditions it was meant for, the Soul 7 HD left behind big tracks to fill.
The new Blackops Sender Ti could probably follow a Soul 7 track as they share a similar sidecut, but in almost every other respect the two skis are decidedly different.
The biggest differences between the two Rossis are in baseline and construction, with the Sender Ti favoring more continuous snow connection and a damper ride able to suck up the vibrations that come with higher speeds. The Sender Ti doesn’t just toss Titanal at the problem; it adds supplementary damping systems on both the horizontal and vertical planes. An elastomer layer Rossi calls Damp Tech smoothes out the ride in the forebody while twin ABS struts running the length of the ski resist every effort to knock it off line. A weave of carbon alloy incases its poplar core, just for good measure.
Brilliantly balanced between Power and Finesse behaviors, the Blackops Sender Ti belongs in the first rank of Big Mountain skis. While it shares few of its forebear’s behavioral traits, the Soul 7 and the Sender Ti do have one thing in common: they both may wear the mantle of Ski of the Year.
The Blizzard Bodacious has been around long enough to collect a pension, yet it remains one of the most badass big skis you can buy, bursting with youthful exuberance. Only one other ski in the genre, Nordica’s Enforcer 115 Free, deploys two sheets of Titanal, which in a ski of the Bodacious’ gargantuan dimensions creates a crud-buster with the power of a Panzer. Once they’re pointed downhill, momentum is not the problem, but keeping up with their preferred pace can be.
Because it’s built like an all-mountain ski, its ability to hold an edge is well above average for the genre. Not that you want always to ride the edge on a ski with a 30.5m sidecut radius (186cm), but the Bodacious won’t back down even on boilerplate so you could ski it – and ski it well – in any condition. And should you get in trouble and need to pull the ripcord by straight-lining to safety, no other Powder ski is as stable at speed as this Blizzard.
What a proud papa the Völkl Deacon 76 must be. When it slipped quietly into Völkl’s line two years ago to replace the creaky Code collection, all the ballyhoo was rightfully concentrated on the M5 Mantra. There was no hint at the time of the little Deacons in utero in R&D, gearing up to replace the redoubtable RTM 84 and RTM 81, veteran Frontside carvers that had come to the end of their dual-track lines. The new kids turned out to be real firecrackers, fulfilling every father’s dream of out-performing his expectations.
But as often seems to be the case with kids, they don’t want to do things Dad’s way. Where the Deacon 76 is quiet and unhurried, the Deacon 84 and 80 are bundles of energy. The Deacon 76 likes to luxuriate in a long turn that never loses snow contact; the kinder prefer a catch-and-release approach that involves pouncing across the fall line. The junior Deacons exude the tireless will to play of a Jack Russell terrier, while the Deacon 76 prides itself on energy conservation.
Just because the archetype of the All-Mountain East ski is a model that’s equally adept in all conditions doesn’t mean that every AME ski fits this description. The new Völkl Blaze 94 is undeniably biased in favor of soft snow; the only question is whether said snow is in-resort or in the backcountry.
Every detail about the Blaze 94 reinforces its predisposition for off-trail pursuits. Its transparent topskin lets the world see where its predominantly wood core is bisected by a channel of foam, a weight savings best appreciated by those who intend to haul their skis uphill. The tapered tips, the rounded but still skin-friendly tails, the lightest-in-class weight and a rockered forebody that allows the skier to pivot into a short-radius turn with impunity all speak to an off-trail attitude.
The fact that every Völkl-recommended Marker binding happens to be of the backcountry persuasion is an indication as transparent as the Blaze 94’s cosmetics that Völkl envisions it in an off-the-beaten-path environment.
But of course that’s not where our test panel put it through its paces. Our troops treated it like an in-resort, everyday ski with an off-trail family tree, which describes most of the AME category’s membership. In this context, the Blaze 94 impressed with its facility at short turns, aided by a generous front rocker and a tight turning midsection. A Titanal mounting plate underfoot helps quiet the ride while the long-radius tail re-sets the course for the fall line.
