I had to pay to ship my 2019 pair to them and they sent me a brand new 2020 pair, which immediately chipped as well and I decided I didn't care enough to try for the warranty replacement again. I was very impressed with the customer service at Blizzard.
I have a few pages open to the Blizzard Rustler 9s..They get great reviews...Just afraid of the 94 underfoot.. I guess you don't find them too wide...
I have Line 98's when there is some fresh...Want something that is fun and easy to ski and will ski eastern conditions..I don't know squat about Blizzard Rusters, but if you reserved the 94 for when the snow is new or untracked, I be you will like them. Use something in the 80s for regular east coast and if you need 70s or below... stay home.
I ski them short, which I think may have slightly less underfoot. I'm 5'7 and ski the 163. I primarily ski them at Gore. I don't think I would want any wider. My guess is the Brahma would carve a little better but the Rustlers allow me to follow the kids into the trees and the park with ease. I wouldn't mind another ski for the hard packed days when the trees aren't open, but the Rustler do well enough on those days.
No doubt Blizzard top sheets seem to nick easily. My previous two pairs nicked up a lot. I found a lot of damage happened because I'd click my boots together on the lift to knock off the snow. Once I stopped doing that they held up much better.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a specific ski to recommend but I agree that going shorter than 177 cm will definitely make a huge difference. When I hear terms like mellower ski that’s fun and easy, I think not as stiff (maybe no metal at all – which would also make them lighter). I do also think < 85 mm underfoot range (but that’s just me).
Keep us posted on them Blossom’s. I have a pair of the AM77’s and love them. They have replaced my Stockli AX’s as my daily driver. Not my pick on the hardest of days, but for all rounder…. SweetAbout 8 years ago I bought my first wider 'powder' ski - a Nordica Vagabond. I went with a little shorter length (177) and a wood core with no metal to have a quick and maneuverable ski for east coast trees. They are 107 under feet. At the time Nordica made a version with metal called the El Capo that was also a choice. I used the Vagabonds a few times per season and intially they were excellent in all kinds of 3D snow. However, by year 3, it was obvious they were wearing out pretty quickly.
Last Dec 16, during a decent 12-20 inch heavy wet snow in VT, the Vagabonds were useless. They have less than 25 days. Yuk.
I might have overreacted - but here are my new 'powder' boards. I got them last March during the end of season sale.
View attachment 21051
