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Tricia

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Blizzard Introduces All-New All-Mountain Collection
New core construction – TrueBlend – delivers perfectly balanced flex for today’s real world conditions.
WEST LEBANON, NH (JAN 13, 2020) – Blizzard is proud to introduce a brand new collection of their best-selling all-mountain freeride skis, featuring the same legendary names – Bonafide 97, Brahma 88, Black Pearl 97 and Black Pearl 88 - but reengineered to achieve that ideal balance of efficiency, stability, and performance required to enjoy a full day on the mountain in today’s real world conditions.

“Each of the skis in this collection have been thoughtfully designed for a specific skier, taking into consideration the terrain they ski, how they ski, where and when et cetera,” explains Jed Duke, Director of Product Marketing. “But one commonality they all share is the reality that on most days, regardless of where they ski, conditions will vary throughout the day. They may start out ideal, but by mid-morning it’s chopped up and only gets more variable as the day goes on. Or maybe it hasn’t snowed in weeks. Whatever the situation, we wanted to design skis that remove conditions from the equation. We just want skiers to get out there, stay out there, and ski with confidence.”
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Doing so all comes down to balanced flex. The way skis bend under your foot throughout those variable conditions dictates the stability, edge grip, and energy you feel. Enter TrueBlend Flipcore – a new way to build the core of a ski, strategically layering various woods not only down the length, but also across the width, like a grid, resulting in a perfectly balanced flex. The tip and tail are softer, which allows you to come into a turn with grace and exit smoothly. Power and stability build with denser woods through the center of the ski, a zone that’s critical for edge grip, speed, and control. When blended with their Flipcore ski-making process and newly designed sidecut and rocker profiles, all of which are different for every length of ski, Blizzard aims to deliver a versatile ski that delivers confidence when skiing through all types of conditions.

“We tested these skis from early to late season across three continents,” says Blizzard athlete, Marcus Caston. “I was really impressed with everything they could do. Yeah – you can lay down big carving turns on perfectly groomed runs, but when conditions were dicey they cut right through the crud with little effort. You can ski them hard, but they’re not hard to ski.”
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“The all-mountain category is filled with a lot of noise and lacks clarity,” explains Duke. “Skiers come into shops saying they want an all-mountain ski, but don’t really know what that means. Our belief is what they want is a ski that can allow them to ski confidently through changing conditions they see on any given day.”

It is the all-mountain freeride category that catapulted Blizzard to the position of one of the top-selling ski brands when they first reinvented a core construction with Flipcore. Since then, these skis have continued to collect industry awards and remained top sellers, including the Black Pearl 88, which has held the title of global top selling ski for the last three years. Given that success, one could argue if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But Blizzard feels differently. “We are never satisfied with good or even great,” says Duke. “We will always remain laser focused on what can be done better. The combination of all of the elements in this next generation - from the new core to use of metals, sidecuts, rocker profiles – they all work together to deliver the best experience for each type of skier they’re designed for, which when you look at the whole collection, is a really wide range from intermediate to hard-charging.”

The Bonafide 97, Brahma 88, Black Pearl 97, and Black Pearl 88 will be available at retail in Fall 2020.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Some pictures from our regional retail event.
We had a great chat with the local rep, Charlie, and hope to get on these skis next week.
D25006F8-009B-4039-9496-38E1CC450F74.jpeg
 

Winks

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Good stuff! Nice to see some innovation from both Blizzard and Nordica this season
 

Philpug

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Good stuff! Nice to see some innovation from both Blizzard and Nordica this season
These two brands that are under the same umbrella have been battling it out since day one. Personally I would rather see the lines complement each others sales verses trying to cannabalize them. But I guess that the Tecnica group doesn't care if the money goes in the right pocket or the left. I would be more concerned that the money doesn't go in Amer or Rossignol Group's pocket.
 
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NESkiBum

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@Philpug I guess I'll be the one to ask for the first cage match of 2020...New Bonafide vs New Enforcer. :) Based on the sounds of things from each company they are going in a similar direction on the updated design for both skis.
 

Philpug

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A BP 97, wood core. Yes!
and the BB 88 is stronger. A la...

Blizzard
Black Diamond


Blizzard Black Diamond - Pugski Wish List.jpg

Believe it or not, even though the Black Pearl is the No. 1-selling ski in the industry, men's or women's, there are women who don’t like it. Blasphemy, I know, but that is what this article is about. Some female skiers, while they like the Pearl, just want more -- but not necessarily the guy’s version, the Brahma, graphically speaking. Cue the Black Diamond: the stronger, more athletic version of the Black Pearl (just add metal). You have the extremely successful Black Pearl as a collection: here is your halo, a bridge to the next generation.

 

Philpug

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AmyPJ

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and the BB 88 is stronger. A la...

Blizzard
Black Diamond


Blizzard Black Diamond - Pugski Wish List.jpg

Believe it or not, even though the Black Pearl is the No. 1-selling ski in the industry, men's or women's, there are women who don’t like it. Blasphemy, I know, but that is what this article is about. Some female skiers, while they like the Pearl, just want more -- but not necessarily the guy’s version, the Brahma, graphically speaking. Cue the Black Diamond: the stronger, more athletic version of the Black Pearl (just add metal). You have the extremely successful Black Pearl as a collection: here is your halo, a bridge to the next generation.

Wait, they are changing the name of the ski, or is this a whole new ski? A BP with metal...I've been wanting those...
 

Philpug

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Wait, they are changing the name of the ski, or is this a whole new ski? A BP with metal...I've been wanting those...
Not changing the name but the new Black Pearl 88 is a beefier ski. It is not a Brahma but it will be closer.
 

VickiK

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Echoing that note of confusion, is the black and fuchsia ski...is that the new BP 88 or the Black Diamond? or is the new BP 88 also known as the Black Diamond, i.e. the same thing, with the "Diamond" in the name referring to the extra hardness (stiffness) of the added metal? Nice color combo in any case, for what it's worth, although I prefer an animal motif to a feather, speaking as a non-feather weight woman.
 

Mike Rogers

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Blister has an intro to the Brahma.

Seems interesting, but definitely different.


Edit: realized this might be behind a paywall.
New ski is more on piste oriented than previous version. It also skis long, and the author suspects most would prefer to round down in the new size chart.
 
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ARL67

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Man, I really miss those freehand magic marker lines on the Bone' topsheet :huh:
Where's @Yo Momma ? ;) ( I agree with you on that one ! )
 

AmyPJ

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Blizzard in a 97 under foot in a 165 length.
Nordica in a 98 under foot in a 165 length.
Which will fill the void as my 88 compliment ski?
I've always liked how both brands ski.
 

Philpug

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Blizzard in a 97 under foot in a 165 length.
Nordica in a 98 under foot in a 165 length.
Which will fill the void as my 88 compliment ski?
I've always liked how both brands ski.
The differences between these skis go well past the 1mm waist difference. Don't get hung up on the numbers. ;)
 

Kyle

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I am enough of a Blizzard fanboy to own two versions of the Bonafide (original and 2019 version) along with a Rustler 11 in my own regular rotation. I also bought a pair of Brahmas for my kid. I am very excited to hear about the new skis.

However, I laughed when I read the marketing-speak that the skis are "thoughtfully designed for a specific skier". I hope they were thinking of me!

They also emphasize how they are designed "to remove conditions from the equation." In fairness to Blizzard, that is exactly why I love my current Bonafides. While I sometimes feel that a different ski might be better for the conditions, I never feel like the ski I am on is not up to it. They are the most condition agnostic skis I have every owned.
 

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