What's Blizzard up to?

[wasatchback]

Rustler 11
192-188-180-172-166

Rustler 10
188-180-172-166

Bonafide/Brahma
Same sizes

Spur 192

[roQer]

Rustler 11
192-188-180-172-166

Rustler 10
188-180-172-166

Bonafide/Brahma
Same sizes

Spur 192

Any details on the Spur? Same waist?

[wasatchback]

Oh man you picked the wrong time to just ask me about the new Spur. Just had two epic days at Jhole on those bad boys. Tram cuts all day and some seriously smoked legs!

Take my bias for what it's worth...

They are hands down the most fun ski I've ever skied in pow. Granted I haven't skied a lot of soft playful 120+ wasted skis in true pow before so others here might be a better judge than I. They are a very different ski than the present Spur.

New Spur is 124mm under foot, 192cm in length, asymmetrical tips and tails, soft and light. Has a blend of metal and carbon construction. It also has super thick sidewalls under foot and the binding sit down in the ski.

It is a soft snow fucking weapon. Honestly I've never skied on a ski that felt like this and definitely not a Blizzard. They are so springy and playful, feels like you can hop from one pillow of snow to the next. I thought it would only be good in virgin untouched snow but it was actually the opposite. Had so much fun even in day old leftovers. The float is nuts and the only way I would describe it is like having SL skis in Pow. Just popping all over the place, throwing them sideways, hauling ass, all of it..... I've skied them 3.5 days now in about 19-22" and have never had this much fun. Just shit eating grins all day. I'm not 100% sure what it is about the ski that makes them feel like this but whatever it is I'm in love. I've had everyone from 140lbs to 275lbs on them. From non rippers to world class athletes and the reaction is the same. Feels like you can do anything. I'm a husky 220 at the moment and never felt undergunned at speed. Yeah you might not be able to crush everything in sight like the old ones but that's what the old ones are for now I guess.

Stoked to get more people out on em and see what they think. I'm obsessed at the moment.

[tone capone]

Well that's setting the bar high! When I originally got the Spurs I hoped they would be a little more versatile on your average inbounds pow day. Echoing what's been said, It can be more work than is necessary outside of going fast in deep snow. They are uncompromising in their element though, hopefully going downhill fast on a big mountain with more than 8 inches of pow....But we haven't even had a day like that yet this year! I'm going to keep them for those days, but I just don't need that much ski to get the job done in over 90% of situations. I really can't imagine a ski as you've described, though "hop sprightly from pillow to pillow and then blast the chop all day" ha "it can make you do anything" haha! I hope so! I would certainly like to try it even if it falls a little short of marketing expectations!

[SiSt]

..........

[wasatchback]

To be honest I never was trying to ski it at very high speed through tons of chop. It definitely won't be as good at that as the old one or any stiffer ski for that matter. These are softer for sure. Was able to ski plenty fast through the untouched I found though. However I never really felt like I wanted to crush crud at speed cause I was having so much fun just playing around on them.

I tried to keep the "marketing" mumbo jumbo to a minimum and Just describe what I felt. I had completely different expectations for the ski going into the first day on them. I thought they would be great in untracked but would regret having them as soon as stuff got tracked up, sort of like old Spur. It couldn't have been farther from the truth. Again like I said I don't have a lot of experience on big soft playful pow skis. Skied the first Spur a fair amount in resort, cat skiing, brought the 193 Bodacious to AK, etc.

I was just having more fun in powder than I ever have had on a ski. Most of our skis built for soft snow have been chargers where you just want to crush everything in sight. Old spurs are tanks when on edge but can be nimble when pivoted bases down. The new ones are very different but never did I feel like the ski was limiting me, like I wanted to go faster or was getting pushed around.

Stoked to get people out on it and get more feedback although the 5 or 6 people I've put out on it who have been very different body types and way different skiers and all have had similar feedback.

I just think lots of folks will have fun on them.

[tone capone]

I was just messin' with you a little. It does sound like you are genuinely stoked! But seriously, I'm getting old. I really want a ski like that, a fun pow ski where you don't have to rail full throttle on edge through the chunder all day after the pow is chopped up. A ski where it is fun and manageable to play around at moderate speed in the leftovers without being too floppy or cumbersome.

[Bandit Man]

I think changing up the Spur is a wise move. The current iteration if way too much ski for just about anyone other than those who get to ski AK on a regular basis.

[XavierD]

I still want a ~190cm OG Bodacious.

Rustler 11 and new Spur are peaking my interest in a good way. Gunsmoke and Peacemaker will be missed.

[skibrd]

I think changing up the Spur is a wise move. The current iteration if way too much ski for just about anyone other than those who get to ski AK on a regular basis.

It's a two run inbounds ski. Ski two runs on a powder day and put it away. I love it those two runs, but after that not so much.

I'm looking forward to taking the new Spur for a spin. And the Rustler 11 too!

[Shu Shu]

Just as an aside to the new gear stoke, I bought my wife this years Sheeva. It was her first 3d snow ski, up until now she's been on fully cambered carving skis. Her first day on them was about 5" inch fresh. It was just amazing to see the look on her face at the bottom of the first run, it completely changed the way she approached the sport (20 years skiing). Normally on a pow day she would stay on groomers but I was following her around all day ducking ropes and looking for any stashes. She's taking them out in any conditions now, (including boiler plate).

If any other dudes are thinking about a pow ski for the Mrs, I can you tell that the Sheeva is a game changer for someone with solid fundamentals, (high intermediate advanced on piste) who hasn't ventured much into ungroomed/3d snow.. I've never seen her have as much fun skiing or charge (for her) with such abandon. She's about 5,2 105 pounds on the 158.

[spindrift]

Can someone help me out a bit with understanding the new Spur design? I have not seen the rocker profile, so maybe that plays into it.... The other asymmetrical designs being discussed seem to be "all-mountain" oriented. So I get the asymmetry in terms of effective edge in firm and variable snow. Looking at the shape of the Spur, I am having a hard time reconciling it with the pure powder orientation being described. What makes it better than a Spatula type shape or the better powder focused five pointy models in that element?

[Jay P]

well, another stiff as fuck big mountain board goes the way of the dodo. Shame.

[undertow2]

I still want a ~190cm OG Bodacious.

Rustler 11 and new Spur are peaking my interest in a good way. Gunsmoke and Peacemaker will be missed.

I have not been a huge fan of a lot of the new Blizzards, but holy shit have I loved my 193 Gunsmokes... I am sure its replacement will be a good one, but the Gunsmoke is just a flat out fun as shit easy going ski that makes the mountain fun... It def opened my eyes to a style of ski that I ignored and did not think I would like...

[snapt]

I have not been a huge fan of a lot of the new Blizzards, but holy shit have I loved my 193 Gunsmokes... I am sure its replacement will be a good one, but the Gunsmoke is just a flat out fun as shit easy going ski that makes the mountain fun... It def opened my eyes to a style of ski that I ignored and did not think I would like...

WasatchBack was kind enough to let me take the 180 Rustler 11's for a spin today, If you like the Gunsmoke you'll dig these. Skied a run on hardpack then put them on the pack and did a Mary's lap in some leftover pow.

I'm 145lbs and own the 180 Brahma, 179 Peacemaker, and 178 Cochise. I like lighter stiffer skis and turn a lot. These have metal underfoot and zero G material in the tip, they're light in the hand and are super easy to throw around, pretty fun in soft bumps and easy to make short radius turns without much effort. Felt good letting them run down the fall line in softer snow. The tail has less rocker than the Peacemaker and I believe the Gunsmoke, it felt a bit more solid like the Cochise.

TLR I'm not a talented skier and these things were easy skiing and felt light yet solid. If you're not a total weight weeny these would be a sweet touring ski too I think.

Also the new Spur looks super interesting, maybe should have called it something else since its so different from the OG.

[wasatchback]

well, another stiff as fuck big mountain board goes the way of the dodo. Shame.

But yet another was thought to be extinct yet the species has made a miraculous recovery...



Oh and do yourself a favor and google image "Bodacious"... there could be a thread on just that

[skibrd]

Sounds like the new old Bodacious might be the soft snow tool to compliment my MX 98s.



He looks about how I imagine the new old Bodacious skis!

[JaytaeMoney]

PSA - Blizzard is doing a Facebook Live event today to show off the 17-18 lineup. Starts at 12:30pm mountain time.

[johnnyg82]

Replay here: https://www.facebook.com/blizzardski...4921610279561/

[spindrift]

Replay here: https://www.facebook.com/blizzardski...4921610279561/

Thanks for posting. I was a bit disappointed in the Spur discussion (the part I was waiting for). Nothing that explained why it was better or worse than more directly Spatula derived skis or why they chose to build up the sidewall vs using a convex 3D base (or both). And the different sidecuts seemed overemphasized to me. I don't know if they just did not care to focus on any of that history/lineage or if they really just missed it all along the way. Not judging the ski - but the discussion was seriously lacking. When McConkey laid out the case for the Spatula - it was coherent and compelling. Likewise some of the other skis that followed along. I'm still scratching my head on this one. Maybe a demo will make me a believer. But for now...

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Is the asymmetry about reducing "outrigger leg?" When you're drifting a turn in soft snow the tail of the uphill ski tends to hang up a bit more than the downhill ski. Having less effective edge of the uphill edge could help mitigate this, and make skis with more a conventional tip/waist/tail ratio drift more like reverse-reverse or extremely pintailed skis.

[Bandit Man]

Thanks for posting. I was a bit disappointed in the Spur discussion (the part I was waiting for). Nothing that explained why it was better or worse than more directly Spatula derived skis or why they chose to build up the sidewall vs using a convex 3D base (or both). And the different sidecuts seemed overemphasized to me. I don't know if they just did not care to focus on any of that history/lineage or if they really just missed it all along the way. Not judging the ski - but the discussion was seriously lacking. When McConkey laid out the case for the Spatula - it was coherent and compelling. Likewise some of the other skis that followed along. I'm still scratching my head on this one. Maybe a demo will make me a believer. But for now...

He did say that they set out to make the ultimate powder ski...but the Lotus 138 and Praxis Powder Boards already exist, so they made that thing.

The people who like hard charging skis and have tried the existing Blizzard line, probably are customers already. For those who want something more accessible, this line seems a bit more appealing.

No one is really innovating the way that McConkey did...just refining and rebranding...you decide which.

[mntlion]

[N1CK.]

Rad ^^^

[Jay P]

goddamn.