The Blizzard Quattro series has been around for a few years now, and its aim to compete with the high-end system series from competing manufacturers has come to fruition. By harnessing technologies from both their freeride and race departments, Blizzard has created a model line that is as high-performance as they come. One of the flagship models is the RS (the other being the RX) which is a fully-cambered ski with a narrow waist and a 16 meter turn radius. It’s meant to be skied at high speeds on fresh corduroy and hard pack. When the ski is engaged, it’s an absolute rocketship—capable and willing to bang out some pretty amazing carves. It has the shape and profile to leap from one turn to the next, and is solid and stable all the way. Our testers quickly picked up on the fact that the ski is full camber, and likes to be on edge.
Justin Perry skied the 174 cm RS, and his score of 1 out of 5 for forgiveness is quite telling. His comments back up his score: “Fast, stiff, hard, camber! Super fast and fun—would buy in a second.” Justin is noting here that the skis do not forgive weak skiing. They need and like to be pushed to the extreme. When you’re not on edge, the ski can be planky, but when you are engaged with the ski, it’s magical.
Michael Carrol-Sherwin also skied the 174 and had some nice analogies to deal with: “This is a sports car equivalent ski. Corduroy is an amazing experience. The ski is stiff which keeps you in an athletic stance and the damping add ons (in front of and behind the binding) create a predictable and reliable rebound.” These comments sound like a more prosaic version of Justin’s, with the bottom line being that you have to put some oomph into these skis to get a bounce back. He has some advice for you, too: “Grab first chair after a night of grooming and don’t forget to stretch those hamstrings—you’re going to need it!” Great life hack by Michael, there.
A slightly fresh take was given by David Raybould, also ripping into the 174 cm length. He recommends it as “a Masters race ski—enough said? It will ski a short turn if you precise and accurate, but is not forgiving at all. Will rail all day.” David finds, as his score sheet indicates, that these are not forgiving skis at all.
David Lewis, a fan of high speeds and dangerous activities, seemed like the perfect person to test the high-octane RS in a 174. He, as anticipated, gave it top marks for quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness and edge hold. Overall, he found the ski to lack versatility, but within the turn itself, he remarked that the skis could have different turn shapes. “Versatile turn shape—very smooth in and out of the turns. Responsive, but not too snappy out of the bottom of the turn—just right.” Dave sounds more calm and collected when describing the RS than some of the other testers, probably because he’s really used to speed.
Mike Aidala loved the stability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold of the 174. Always good for a proper review, Mike states that “the Quattro RS is for a super fun frontside skier looking for a high energy carver. A great expert level ski that is quick edge to edge and comes around nicely on every turn.” The consistency of the turns is what stood out for Mike, and his overall impression of the skis was quite high.
