Individual Review Wasatchman 2019 Blizzard Brahma Review

[Wasatchman]

The Blizzard Brahma has long been a popular all mountain ski, and I finally had a chance to put it through some paces at a demo day in New Zealand.

Testing location: Treble Cone, NZ.

Conditions: Firm snow, early season conditions but with plenty of snow coverage.

My skier stats: 5'8", weight 185 lbs. Advanced skier.

Length tested: 173 cm

On the feet of a proficient skier, the Brahma is a powerful ski. It easily handled firm conditions all over the mountain, and I had confidence in its carving ability at any speed I dared to take it at. I didn't get a chance to take it in soft snow, but the feel of it to me seemed biased for the skier that favors superior edge hold, locked in feel versus a lightning fast turn transition. The ski did perform well me for in the moguls. There are other all mountain skis I prefer in bumps, but the Brahma certainly holds it's own there.

No doubt, the Brahma is a high quality ski. However I did find the ski quite demanding. I did get bucked once when I momentarily got in the backseat on some steep terrain. Based on my preference (or ski ability), I didn't feel I was getting enough performance boost from the ski as a trade-off for the demanding ride. I felt more at ease immediately when I moved on to demoing a pair of Volkl Mantra M5's right after the Brahmas.

• Who is it for: Advanced-Expert skiers looking for an all mountain ski who place a premium on hold and carving performance.
• Who is it not for: Up and comers need not apply. These skis require an experienced driver with excellent technique. This is not the ski to buy with the idea of growing into.
• Insider Tip: A very fine ski, but don't bring anything less than your A game on these.

 

[SkiSpeed]

Nice review. Have you skied any of the older Brahma's w/the 19m Radius? How does the new ski compare, or more importantly, how is the new Brahma when you go to open them up for longer radius turns, approx 25 m or so? I owned the original Brahma's, delaminated one of them at Killington in late May 2016, and Blizzard replaced them with a new pair of the 2017 model (Thanks Blizzard!); when I saw the changes for this year, i.e. shortening the turn radius by 2m to make them more accessible, I was bummed. Your thoughts? Note: I ski them at .75/3 and love the performance at home in the east and out west (putting that tune on them really made them more responsive and fun to ski).

 

[Wasatchman]

Sorry, I haven't tried the old Brahmas unfortunately. I didn't find the new Brahmas that forgiving, so I wonder what the old ones were like!

Interestingly, I was just at a ski shop yesterday and staff felt the same way that I do about the new Brahma- not forgiving. I didn't feel the new Brahma necessarily excelled at big variety of turn shapes either. A lot of the official reviews talk about forgiving, but I didn't find that at all.

A fine ski, but like I said in the review, I just didn't find I was really getting any extra performance boost for what I thought was a demanding ski and it seemed heavily bias to the one turn shape.

Hope this helps, wish I could compare it to older Brahmas but overall I was not particularly wowed by the new Brahmas.

 

[Kendall]

I had the same experience as you did, I thought it was me, did a couple of runs and right back into the Motive 95's, I thought the new Mantra M5 @ 96 was a lot more forgiving than the Brahma @ 88

 

[Guy in Shorts]

I thought the new Mantra M5 @ 96 was a lot more forgiving than the Brahma @ 88

Spent 18 days on the old Brahma’s a couple seasons ago. Enjoyed them in all conditions but I never would call them forgiving. They sink in powder but quickly come alive as the snow gets cut-up and the bumps form. The M5 Mantra has been my new daily driver since last February getting the call for almost 30 days. The M5 is a little more forgiving yet still a solid platform minus the punishment factor the Brahma’s can dole out.

 

[Kendall]

I demoed the M5 in Feb in horrific conditions and loved it. Then demoed in early March prior to knee surgeries in great conditions and it was really off, but the tune was really bad.