At the heart of every lightweight design is carbon, and the Sheeva 10 has plenty of it, both in stringers in its glass laminates and in unidirectional inserts at tip and tail that help lower swingweight. Its signature feature is a Titanal laminate that runs nearly edge-to-edge underfoot but tapers to a blunt tongue that doesn’t quite reach either tip or tail. The intent is to add stability underfoot but keep the rest of the ski looser, so it can contort to absorb irregular terrain.
Our testers adore the Rustler 10, particularly for its Finesse properties. Here’s a sampler: “The mix of underfoot grip with ease at the extremities is unmatched. Another home run for Blizzard!” “Rustler 102 is playful, loose, poppy, yet still has that Blizzard feel underfoot. It’s going to be easier for more skiers to deal with.” “Centered and well balanced.” “Super fun in soft stuff, quite forgiving, yet good power on the groomed.”
Atomic’s Bent Chetler is a delightfully off-the-wall ski that turns out to behave like the most normal kid in its class. You fear it will roll edge to edge with the reflexes of a locomotive, but it actually responds to tipping and bending with the pliability of a yogi. Created by Chris Bentchetler to facilitate terrain park tricks in the backcountry, the Backland Bent Chetler biggest trick maybe the way its midsection stays anchored to the snow whether it’s hard or soft.
Feeling quiet while sitting in an activated catapult is no mean feat, but the SRC pulls it off with such equipoise that it makes its pilot feel as confident as it clearly is. A big, badass plate imparts impenetrable security from any vibration or tendency to wobble, whether one’s stance is relatively upright or laid over like Ligety.
What was old is new again, as Blizzard returns the Bodacious to its original construction, replete with a double dose of Titanal. With the new Rustler 11 available as an option for the less aggro skier, the Bodacious could revert to the badass, big-turn ski envisioned by Arne Backstrom, the big mountain phenom who came up with Flipcore idea. The 2018 Bodacious is once again an absolute beast. I’m reasonably sure that if a 196cm Bodacious hit a brick wall at 40mph, there’d be nothing left of the wall.