Freeride skis
Product 2027
Woman, Man
First impression on the Blizzard Rustler 9: given its weight and dimensions, we expected a somewhat sluggish ski. That isn’t necessarily the case—it pivots remarkably well despite its width and length (tested here in 180 cm).
The Blizzard Rustler 9 handles all types of pivots with ease, whether flat-pivoting or on-edge when engaging ankles,knees, and hips into angulation. Underfoot, it feels solid and dependable. It features a rockered design with a reduced, yet coherent and well-balanced effective edge length. Up front, there is quite a bit of tip flap; the tip moves noticeably up and down, which effectively absorbs impacts and dampens terrain chatter as it glides over bumps. Wide, well-shaped, and rounded—almost rectangular with an edge wrapping around the nose—the Rustler 9 is a treat in spring snow, slush, and crud. It effortlessly floats over obstacles, pivots easily, and holds a clean line without oversteering, allowing you to stretch the radius, open up the turn, and pick up speed.
When it comes to charging, you can push the Blizzard Rustler 9 quite hard. It feels solid, with an internal structure that responds very well. Torsional rigidity is well-tuned, even on hardpack. While wide skis often bite and release edge pressure in an unpleasant way, this one remains smooth, predictable, and confidence-inspiring, pulling easily through medium-radius turns at sustained speeds. It’s clear this ski is exceptionally well-conceived.
Edge grip isn’t extraordinary—you can find its limits, and we’ve tested skis with more convincing hold—but it is perfectly adequate for most scenarios. In its defense, it is not a dedicated carving ski built to hold extreme edge angles on boilerplate ice.
In soft snow, the Blizzard Rustler 9 excels in almost every department: short-radius turns, quick pivots, drifted arcs, and,when you need to extend the curve, it responds beautifully. It adapts effortlessly to a wide variety of snow conditions.
On steep, hardpack slopes, like many wide skis, the Rustler 9 tends to break turns into segmented arcs. If you combine high lean angles, steep gradients, and heavy edge pressure, it releases grip slightly. It feels less at home here, especially if you try to force a tighter radius, where it balks a bit. However, this isn’t a major dealbreaker: as soon as you flatten the ski slightly and return to a sluffed, skidded appui, everything falls right back into place.
Glide performance is quite good; even though our test model had already logged plenty of miles (and the base wasn’t in top shape), it glided smoothly in wet spring snow. While it lacks top edges, you can spot the edges of the Titanal plate designed to protect it from topsheet impacts. Due to the pronounced tail rocker, it isn’t the easiest ski to slip into ski-lift racks. It features both tip and tail rocker, paired with a durable topsheet. However, being a wide ski, when snow accumulates on top, the topsheet becomes slick, making it somewhat awkward to carry. On a positive note, the small rubber tail protectors help it lean securely against a wall without sliding.
All in all, a strong performer that delivers when called upon and lets you charge fast. Larger, heavier skiers will particularly appreciate this freeride option. While slightly limited under heavy pressure when forced into a tighter turn radius, it remains a very enjoyable, highly successful freeride ski.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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