The women’s Sheeva 9 is the narrowest ski in Blizzard’s Women’s Freeride collection. The Sheeva collection is designed to offer more playful soft snow performance compared to the Black Pearl series. They use more pronounced rocker and early taper as well as metal laminates that taper and end as they reach the tip and tail. Blizzard calls it Dynamic Release Technology, and the goal is to give the ski easy turn initiation, solid edge grip, and the ability to release that edge with ease. At 90-92 mm underfoot, depending on length, they should be able to make quick edge to edge movements, but also handle soft snow conditions well. All-mountain versatility is the goal of the Sheeva 9, and we were excited to put that to the test.
Nifer Hoehn tested the 172 cm length, which happens to be the longest available length in the Sheeva 9. Her scores were downright impressive: 5 out of 5 for stability, quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and also overall impression. “Really fun ski. Superficially, I loved the graphics. Moving on, really stable throughout the turn and a lot of pop coming out of the turn. This was so much fun to ski on. Light, but not flimsy and a work-horse that was fun to zip around on. Loved the shape and was able to make nice and easy tight turns and also GS turns on it. Definitely recommend this ski.” We thought we’d provide you Nifer’s entire response to the Sheeva 9 as she does such a great job describing the personality of the Sheeva 9. It’s stable, but also maneuverable, makes both short and long turns, and is a distinctly versatile ski.
Shelby Parenteau tested the 164 cm length and was most impressed by the maneuverability and playfulness of the Sheeva. “Very easy to maneuver and get edge to edge. Overall, a pretty playful ski.” Shelby isn’t as experienced of a skier as Nifer and aligns more with the intermediate level, so it’s nice to know she didn’t feel the Sheeva 9 was difficult to ski. Her scores supported that, with quickness/maneuverability earning 5 out of 5 and playfulness, forgiveness, and torsional stiffness/edge grip all receiving 4 out of 5.
Catherine Ferguson also tested the 164 cm Sheeva 9 and had a similar reaction as Nifer, impressed by its combination of performance characteristics. “Stiff, but playful. Would be great for an east coast powder day.” High scores from Catherine for flotation, quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, versatility, and overall impression. We know from experience that the Sheeva 9 (and men’s Rustler 9) are, in fact, a whole lot of fun on an east coast powder day. They have the perfect shape and plenty of width for all but the deepest eastern conditions. Bonus: they can also carve!
Ariel Aidala fell in love with the Sheeva 9 after her turn on the 164 cm length. She basically drew a line through the 5 out of 5 column, although forgiveness did drop slightly to a 4.5. “This hard-charging women’s ski is a great overall option is you want one ski. It performed amazingly well on the hard pack and I am sure would be even better in some light fluffy stuff. With the right amount of metal (you can see exactly where it is in the ski), this ski gives you just the right amount of dampness. The edge hold was great and it performed well in quick, snappy turns as well as big, long radius turns.”
If you’re looking for a versatile all-mountain ski, the Sheeva 9 better be on your radar. With its mix of rocker, early taper, and partial metal construction, it’s both maneuverable and powerful, stable and lightweight, serious and playful… we could go on and on. A lot of women would thoroughly enjoy skiing the Sheeva 9.
