Part of the Quattro concept is to offer a choice of waist width, length and sidecut for a given construction and price point. The Quattro W 8.0 Ca has a sister ski, the 7.4 Ca, with the identical build, baseline and sidecut radius for each size, but an overall narrower silhouette. That both skis feel stable yet flexible is partly attributable to Blizzard’s IQ binding system that centers the integrated binding between two shoulders and fixes it to the ski with a single screw in the middle. A shock-dampening suspension system keeps the ride calm but doesn’t inhibit the Quattro W 8.0 Ca’s unusually sensitive snow feel.
As befits the AME class, the Brahma is at its best when lingering near the border of powder and prepared slopes. Its ability to shift on the fly to 4-wheel drive is attributable to the subtly of its Flip Core tip rocker. Like any elevated shovel, the Brahma’s tip will find a way over whatever lies ahead, but unlike most models with this much rocker, it remains in contact with all snow surfaces, not just powder. Even on hardpack, the built-to-be-rockered Flip Core forebody is unflappable.
One thing that hasn’t changed about the Cham is the shape, which houses a turn-on-a-dime slalom-turn skill set inside a longer frame that assists flotation without inhibiting pivoting. This allows the Cham 2.0 97 to smudge a turn in a tight couloir or gallop headlong down the fall line with equal facility. The way its pintail rearbody is tucked in, the Cham can be counted on to readily release the turn to avoid any awkward hang-ups.
The new Enforcer 93 is a spin-off of the widely lauded Enforcer 100, with whom it shares an appetite for all recipes for crud. One look at it’s amply rockered baseline tells you that no matter how well it performs on prepared slopes, it’s personality is definitely inclined to travel off-trail where the broken, irregular terrain actually has a calming effect
Like many skis with two sheets of Titanal in its guts, the Enforcer 93 likes to have some wind in its sails before its helmsman tries to maneuver. Once rolling, it’s relatively short contact area makes it feel quicker edge to edge than expected from a ride with a fairly portly 93mm waist.
