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Tricia

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Blizzard Flipcore technology revolutionized the freeride category in 2010. Since then, we’ve come to better understand how different people ski and have built our 2017-18 collection to meet the specific needs and wants of today’s all-mountain and freeride skiers. This is a quick peek at the process behind how we created our most incredible line of freeride skis.
The story here - The most proven prototype process in Blizzard's 70 year history
 

luliski

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I still wish I had bought Sambas...but then I wouldn't have the Great Joys.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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When we ski together, I'll switch skis with you. I have the 2018 Black Pearl 98's :)
 

Choucas

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I have to give a marketing tip of the cap to Blizzard. Yes, they make some very nice skis, but so do a lot of other folks. What they excel at is letting people know that they are somehow special and getting that message out on a consistent basis. The video is nice, lots of heli shots, great skiers on super terrain that we all dream about and perfect snow and weather conditions. Some folks sitting around looking at and talking about skis, picture of test skis, and factory shots of skis being made. This is not unique to Blizzard, pretty everyone goes through a similar process of developing their skis, but the fact that they are showing it to the ski community here and through other venues, makes us think, that "Man, these Blizzard gals/guys are really on top of things!"
 

Janjiggaman

Theres no bad snow, Only bad skiers
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Damn Straight! Blizz is making some of the best skis on the market, especially the rustlers, that is the most balanced powder ski out there. A bunch of that footage comes from the Alaska Rendezvous Lodge in Valdez where the Blizz team comes every year to try out new product. If you watch closely in that video, you can see my bald head at 1:45 while we're on our way for another of the best runs of your life on the best skis ever!
 

Philpug

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Damn Straight! Blizz is making some of the best skis on the market, especially the rustlers, that is the most balanced powder ski out there. A bunch of that footage comes from the Alaska Rendezvous Lodge in Valdez where the Blizz team comes every year to try out new product. If you watch closely in that video, you can see my bald head at 1:45 while we're on our way for another of the best runs of your life on the best skis ever!
No bias there at all. ;) Yes, Blizzard is on a roll right now with some of their skis, as I said in my reviews, the Rustler is leaps above the previous Gunsmokes & Peacemakers. It is fun to even get a bald head in a promo video.
 
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Janjiggaman

Theres no bad snow, Only bad skiers
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No bias there at all. ;) Yes, Blizzard is on a roll right now with some of their skis, as I said in my reviews, the Rustler is leaps above the previous Gunsmokes & Peacemakers. It is fun to even get a bald head in a promo video.

Truth be told, I don't ride to many other brands as Blizzard is one of our sponsors at Alaska Rendezvous Guides, but, I've skied many of their skis and the rustler 11 is head and shoulders above them all. They took the recent models of the bodacious and made a ski that is playful, powerful and balanced. The Bodacious is a great ski unless conditions are other than perfect. In breakable or upside down the flatter tail tends to hook up while the tip will deflect. In my opinion (and the opinion of the other guides i work with) this is the best powder ski on the market currently.
 

Ken_R

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I was VERY impressed with the Rustler 10 and the 11 and even the new Bonafide I felt it was improved (felt a tad smoother, more refined). I really don't care about the promo/marketing stuff just how the ski skis and feels on the snow. Whatever Blizzard is doing they are doing it right. Head was the other company I though had some really awesome products. I agree, there are a LOT of good skis out there but some just stand out on the snow. At least to me.

I bet a lot of skis are coming out the same factories but the devil is in the details.
 

jmeb

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Like Blizzard and all that...but to be honest, I was excited to see "the most proven prototyping process" -- but then they showed almost no process. Just skiing, and some people talking (presumably about skiing?), and some protos with different top sheet.

Maybe they don't want to give away a great process in a video.
 

Muleski

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Couple of thoughts. The video certainly shows small snippets of skis being pressed, and obviously shows new skis with the standard black/white prototype graphics being skied, and then a much of skis with the actual new at the time graphics at the end. So, I'd agree, mostly about the skiers, and that footage. Not great insight about "flip core", IMO.

Blizz has had some really good years, and they have ridden the "revolutionary flip core" wave very well. I've had many pairs. So have both of our adult skis, and my wife. Have I thought that ALL of them were universally great? Nope. Some pretty great? Yep? Some real average at best? Yep. Some very good in very specific situations? Yep. I have kept some for a lot of days, and returned or sold others.

At the same time, over these past six or so years, we've been fortunate to ski a lot of other skis, and a lot of brands. Now, our son is under contract with one company, our daughter with another. So they ski whatever is in their stable. Carvers and race skis, all mountain skis, wide skis, AT.

I'm of the opinion that there are an awful lot of great skis being made these days, by so many companies. In fact probably not many "bad" skis at all. However, I don't find that I have any broad brand "love" where I feel that a certain brand just owns it {or owns me} right across the board.

I'll run into friends who make comments like "I'm a Volkl skier. Have been since I bought my first 210cm P9 RS is 1984." Which makes NO sense to me. Hear it about many brands. "I'm a XXXX skier...." Fact is that I have FIS SL skis from one company, carvers from another, race carver GS from a third. Mid 80's from a fifth, and around 100 from a sixth. Rumor has it that I have some 115's on the way from one of them. If I had to buy them all, I would not have them all, BTW.

Specific to Blizzard, I know that they have a few really great skis in the current lineup. I suspect that they have some not great ones, or ones that would not wow our family. That has been the case for years with them, IMO, and for that matter with everybody else.

Heck some ski models are tremendous in certain widths, and not in others. Some ski really well in certain lengths, and not quite as well in others.

The neat thing about Pugski is that you can get a LOT of good input about pretty much every ski. Unbiased input and advice. In some cases the right choices, for you, might be a quiver of skis largely from one company. Or.....it could be that the best in class, or best in size and purpose might put you in a variety of manufacturers.

Makes for interesting research and reading!
 

cantunamunch

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. Not great insight about "flip core", IMO.

I know, right?

Even a silly story like "So, there we were, doing vertically asymmetrical profiles in our wood cores and the wood had enough growth strain in it that it flipped by itself as soon as the clamps were released. And we forgot to mark the original bottom so we used it the way it came out. It was excellent." would probably sound good in German, esp. with a dude in a lab coat telling it.
 

Muleski

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I know, right?

Even a silly story like "So, there we were, doing vertically asymmetrical profiles in our wood cores and the wood had enough growth strain in it that it flipped by itself as soon as the clamps were released. And we forgot to mark the original bottom so we used it the way it came out. It was excellent." would probably sound good in German, esp. with a dude in a lab coat telling it.

Yeah, explaining where the term "flip core" came from, and going through that recent history {whether it's embellished or not} is interesting. And agree, having a few Austrians in lab coats at the factory in Mittersill would be great!

Every one of these ski manufacturing videos is interesting to me, with a very healthy dose of marketing buzz.
 

JaneB

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How much have the Blizzard Black Pearls (88) changed in the past five years? They claim it's a new design. I have the 2012 model. Do I really need new skis?
 

Ecimmortal

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The story of "flip-core" is something Blizzard generally credits Arne Backstrom(RIP) with coming up with. I think it;s a great marketing concept. However I know some other manufacturers that have experimented with it, and not generally been impressed. With the assertation being that Blizzard is just making good skis, but nothing revolutionary. They just didn't get their marketing right until they launched the Bonafide.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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How much have the Blizzard Black Pearls (88) changed in the past five years? They claim it's a new design. I have the 2012 model. Do I really need new skis?
The new Black Pearl 88 has carbon and a little different lay up in materials so that it appears to a stronger skier as well as the timid skier. It is also 3-4mm wider at the tip and tail to create a quicker turn initiation.
I have a cage match coming out soon that will describe much of this.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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And maybe Arne Backstrom is why we see a shot from atop Crystal Mountain at 1:06.
I think Tecnica/Blizzard frequently puts things in the process to honor Arne.
 

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