The Rustler 10 is a brand new ski in the Blizzard lineup for 2018 and is the narrower of two skis in their freeride collection. The skis are designed to excel in soft snow, while still delivering solid performance around the entire mountain. These two new skis have replaced the Peacemaker and Gunsmoke, although they have a little bit of a different attitude as they’re not twin tips, use a partial length metal laminate that tapers towards the tips and tails, and overall have a different feel than Blizzard’s previous freeride skis. The Rustler 10 proved to be one of the most popular skis in our test as there’s quite a bit of buzz surrounding the new designs.
Pat Toporowski had an absolute blast skiing the Rustler 10 in the 188 cm length and started his description of the ski with a bold statement, “my favorite of the day.” He went on to list a series of performance characteristics: “stable and light”, “rips but surfs”, “perfect one ski Stowe quiver”, “60 to sideways easily”, and ended his description of the ski with a resounding “two thumbs up!” Pat’s description of the ski is pretty spot on we think. They are both stable and relatively lightweight, something the rest of our testers noticed as well.
Matt McGinnis skied the 180 cm length and had a similar reaction to Pat in terms of the new skis performance, but focused more on the differences between the new skis and what they’re replacing: “Let’s get something straight. This is not the Peacemaker. Where the Peacemaker was soft and buttery, the Rustler 10 is ready to charge.” This is largely thanks to the partial metal laminate that provides nice strength right under foot. Even though Matt felt the ski was ready to handle aggressive skiing, he did note that they were very maneuverable, just in a different sense than the Peacemaker. “It’s highly maneuverable and stable; capable of taking a hard-lined approach to the mountain.”
Mike Thomas and Joe Cutts were both impressed by the skis ability to hold an edge, especially considering its width. Mike and Joe both felt it distinctly had the Blizzard “feel”. Mike skied the 188 cm ski and commented that it has a “solid Austrian grip and attitude” while Joe added, “Blizzard never has any shortcomings in the power/edge hold department and there’s plenty of that underpinning the performance of the Rustler.” He went on, however, to add that it has a “dose of lightness and playfulness that the Bodacious lacks.” Mike Thomas thought it was impressively forgiving considering its power saying that the Rustler 10 allows you to “charge, but is happy to let you relax.”
Brooks Curran certainly seemed to enjoy the playfulness of the Rustler 10 and focused on that aspect of its performance in his test form. Brooks was also skiing the 188 cm length and described the Rustler 10 as “very light, quick, playful; kinda threw you from one turn to the next and held very well throughout the turn.” He also commented on how versatile the Rustler 10 is: “Seems very versatile. Good carving and in the bumps the tip seems to flop around, but the rest of the ski felt stable and supportive.”
We think Jake Goss summed up the Rustler 10 really nicely. His reaction seems to combine all of our tester’s thoughts on the ski: “Solid edge grip for its width and construction, but not the go-to for daily groomer runs. If you look for the fresh snow or fun snow on any mountain and have always liked the “Blizzard feel”, you won’t be disappointed by the Rustler.” We think this is a perfect thought to end on: yes, the Rustler 10 has impressive torsional stiffness and edge grip, but it’s best suited for adventurous skiers seeking out soft snow.
