Don’t let the new model name throw you, the E 4×4 7 is to all intents and purposes last year’s Intense 4×4 82 Pro, the top of a four-model series of recreational Frontside models. All are system skis, meaning they come with a made-to-match binding included in the price.
The E 4×4 7 works as an all-terrain ski with a Frontside bias. This is how Dynastar tester Jennifer Simpson outlined its performance envelope last season:
“These skis are great for days when you are likely to encounter a variety of snow conditions. This ski is fun, fun, fun on the groomers, and while they’re wider than my go-to carving skis, they’re quick edge-to-edge and will leave satisfying deep grooves in the corduroy.”
Most Big Mountain models use a high-end construction, which is reflected in their retail pricing; the same could be said for most Völkl models, for the brand is known both for its high quality and the way its elite constructions attract a consumer crowd top-heavy with experts. The Blaze 106 W addresses both limitations, but the real reason it sold to the wall in its debut season is it fits the profile of a ski light enough for backcountry but stout enough to rock in-resort.
As last season unfolded, no one knew what resort skiing would look like except that it would be somehow rationed. Backcountry skiing, in comparison, seemed limitless, inspiring thousands of skiers who had thus far resisted its charms to take it up. The Blaze 106 W provided the perfect fit: price, performance and cross-over capability.
It wasn’t so very long ago that the Rossignol Soul 7 HD W all but owned this category. All performance aspects considered, the Blackops Rallybird Ti that succeeded it in the line last year is a very different ski, and a better one.
Rossi packed a lot of technology into the Blackops Rallybird Ti, which is the main reason it holds so well on hardpack, a condition it wasn’t really made for. The biggest differences between the two generations of Rossi’s are in baseline and construction, with the Rallybird Ti possessing a more continuous snow connection and a damper ride able to suck up the vibrations that come with higher speeds.
The best All-Mountain West skis have the capacity to grip hard snow and pounce off the soft stuff, all on the same run. The Rossignol Blackops W Blazer gets its gripping power from a Titanal beam underfoot, which helps the entire ski stay in contact with a firm surface. The poppy spring off the bottom of a powder turn comes from a high camber line and reactive Diago fibers that run in a crosshatch pattern from tip to tail.
Making powder skiing easier by deploying a high, spring-loaded arch underfoot has been a Rossignol trademark since it introduced the first 7 series. Fans of the insanely successful Soul 7 will rediscover in the Blackops W Blazer the same load-and-release effortlessness that makes deep powder skiing feel as natural as walking.
The Black Pearl 97 borrows its sidecut and baseline from the unisex Bonafide 97, and purloins its Woman Specific Design (W.S.D.) from the Black Pearl 88. Last season both of its parents upgraded to the TrueBlend core, that perfectly matches flex to shape and size, so naturally the Black Pearl 97 followed suit.
Included in the W.S.D. package of enhancements is a Titanal mounting plate, that improves, well, everything about the Pearl 97. It’s grip on hardpack far exceeds expectations, and it makes mincemeat out of choppy crud. Its women-specific TrueBlend core finds the right balance between relatively light weight for maneuverability but enough substance to subdue a tracked-up fall-line.
