Austrian ski company Blizzard has launched an all-new collection of freeride skis under the Rustler and Sheeva series, designed to pop, drop, and float off anything and everything a professional freeride skier or resort warrior could find themselves shredding. The company’s product development team worked closely with their freeride athletes throughout the entire development process, determining exactly what could be improved and what could stay the same.
Both collections rely on Blizzard’s Trueblend Freeride Woodcore, putting different densities of wood throughout the entire length of the ski to allow for a stiffness underfoot with a nice softness in the tip and tail. The technology also allows each length of each model to have its own, specially designed flex. Blizzard’s use of Titinal has also been remimagined, placing the aluminum alloy in three specially shaped sections to add to the skis underfoot stiffness and compliment the tip and tail’s playful softness.
“Whenever I speak to athletes about the products we make and what it is about their favorite skis, they all seem to use words that try to describe a specific balance or sweet spot. It’s hard to put into words, but you know it when you feel it, and if we continue to push ourselves to make skis with this magic swag that has our athletes coming back for more, then we are heading in the right direction.” – Blizzard Creative Marketing Manager Frank Shine
The Rustler series features three models, the Rustler 11, with a 114mm underfoot width available in five lengths from 168cm-192cm, the Rustler 10, with a 102mm underfoot width available in six lengths from 168cm-192cm, and the Rustler 9, with a 96mm underfoot width available in five lengths from 162cm-186cm.
The Sheeva series, slightly tweaked in construction to better serve the ladyshredders, also comes in three models, the Sheeva 11, with a 112mm underfoot width available in five lengths from 168cm-180cm, the Sheeva 10, with a 102mm underfoot width available in five lengths from 156cm-180cm, and the Sheeva 9, with a 96mm underfoot width available in five lengths from 150cm-174cm.
“Blizzard is doubling down on the activation of our promotional teams, and making sure that the correct athletes are plugged in with our development process. From concepts to final prototypes — our Freeride Team and W2W Program will be at the heart of our craft. We are in the middle of an epic three to four year cycle of new Blizzard skis that is going to make things really fun for our crew.” – Frank Shine
New models in both series will be available in select retailers beginning this month, January 2023, but won’t be fully available until Fall 2023.
While I’ve never actually owned a pair of Blizzard skis, I’ve demoed some here and there, and they tend to be pretty awesome. With the improvements coming in this new collection, I sure do hope I’ll be able to give these a try in the near future!
Imager Credit: Blizzard Ski via Instagram