The Sheeva 10 is a brand new ski from Blizzard and was designed from more of a freeride, soft snow perspective than their Black Pearl all mountain series. The Sheeva 10 uses a multi-layer wood core, uni-directional carbon in the tips and tails, a carbon/fiberglass laminate, and a partial “DRT” metal laminate that’s wide under foot and tapers as it reaches the tip and tail. The idea is to retain torsional stiffness under foot, while letting the tips and tails feel more supple and forgiving. It definitely seemed to be a favorite among our women testers thanks to its playful nature and versatile performance characteristics.
Tami Razinger is a competitive big mountain skier so needless to say has some experience on wider, more “freeride” oriented skis. Tami gave the Sheeva 10 5 out of 5 for most all categories, including overall impression. Floatation was one category where Tami didn’t give the ski a full score, which makes sense as Blizzard offers the wider Sheeva 11 for more dedicated powder use. Her first comment was that the Sheeva 10 was “very playful and fun. It’s getting pretty bumped up out there and these skis made jumping around enjoyable.” She went on to comment on the skis impressive amount of stability for how playful and maneuverable they are: “The piece of metal under foot really kept the ski stable and it held a great edge.” Tami was skiing the longest length, the 172 cm. While we didn’t have a chance to ski super firm, icy snow, Tami certainly thinks the Sheeva 10 “can handle any terrain at the resort.”
Caroline Kessler was also impressed by the skis versatility, commenting that the Sheeva 10 is a “fun ski, quick turning, but can hold an edge really well.” She found it relatively easy to make different turn shapes too, adding that the Sheeva 10 has the “ability for quick turns of big arcs.” Echoing Tami’s closing statements, Caroline agrees the Sheeva 10 could be skied just about everywhere, ending her comments with “great all mountain ski for an aggressive woman skier.” Caroline also tested the 172 cm length.
Karly Acker focused on the ski’s quickness and its potential use as a “light powder” ski for many people. After all, they are 102 mm under foot, which is significantly wider than most women’s all mountain skis and could easily act as a powder ski in many quivers. Karly also skied the 172 cm and she commented that the Sheeva 10 was “fun and easy to make short quick radius turns.” After skiing the Black Pearl 98 she made an astute comment that it’s “easier to turn over than the Black Pearl 98” meaning that it has slightly easier turn initiation. She concluded her comments by saying that she personally thought the ski was a “great light powder ski.”
Kristi Brown absolutely loved her time on the Sheeva 10 and like Tami gave it a series of 5 out of 5 scores, again with flotation not quite getting a full score despite also skiing the longest length. Kristi loved that she could ski the Sheeva 10 in a wide range of terrain commenting that the ski “blends terrain while finessing all radius turns.” Kristi is someone who skis with a lot of finesse herself, no it’s no surprise she and the Sheeva 10 became good friends.
All four of these women testers really enjoyed the Sheeva 10. It’s a great addition to the Blizzard collection and offers playful, versatile performance with a design that’s rooted in soft snow, freeride skiing. Kristi Brown ended her thoughts on the ski by saying:
“(it has a) supple easy feel inviting you into the turn, making you a believa’ of the Sheeva.”
