So, I purchased the Blizzard Rustler 9 recently and just didn't feel like it was the ski for me. It was way too "springy" for my tastes and tended to deflect around quite a bit. As a result, I went out and grabbed the ski I should've purchased from jump street, the Stormrider 95. First off, wow! This is a super smooth, stable and damp ski. I was able to make long GS skis in 14" of tracked out powder yesterday as easily as I could make super short turns through the mogul field. This ski ate up all terrain in its path. It was like a "surfy" steamroller that obeyed my every command. Super short turns? Check. Roll through crud at the end of the day? Check. Stability and dampness? Check, check. It didn't sink to the bottom like I thought it would due to its 2 sheets of metal but surfed through it. I think the biggest surprise was how well it made a variety of turn shapes with zero difficulty. It sank a little in the powder but the tip stayed above it all, making it very, very easy to initiate turns. I didn't have to work particularly hard to get the ski to conform itself to the conditions and turn shapes. It was as good on edge carving as it was "starving" through the tracked out snow. The short length (184) was perfect and for me (6'2", 254lbs) was easy to control in all terrain. The length was perfect for fore aft stability but short enough to make tight turns through the mogul fields. I started the day out on my 192cm Vokl Katanas and they were a blast in the powder. However, they are a big mountain ski and would much rather make a longer radius turn. As the day went along, they became less and less of an enjoyable option, which is why I switched over to the Stormrider. Frankly, the Stormrider would have been great from start to finish in the 14" of powder we received.
Thoughts on the Stormrider vs. Laser AX? Biggest thing for me was the difference in ease of turn initiation. The Stormrider is just an easier ski to ski. With that said, I love the AX and it's my choice of ski for when the conditions haven't seen natural snowfall in a while. Once we get a bunch of snow, I think the Stormrider is the perfect option.
Anyway, if you're thinking about this ski, it's a winner in my book.