2021 Blizzard Sheeva 9

The Sheeva 9 from Blizzard is designed for all-mountain versatility and performance that will take you from groomers to powder and everything in between. It has a nice blend of camber underfoot and rockered tips and tails. The cambered portion of the ski also has metal, which tapers and ends as it reaches the start of the rockered portion of the ski. That allows the tips and tails to be lighter and softer flexing, while retaining good grip underfoot. The construction is called Carbon Flipcore DRT, and that acronym refers to Dynamic Release Technology. In other words, it's easier to release your tail edge and get the ski to pivot and smear compared to skis that use more camber and/or less early taper in their shape. That edge release makes it a confidence-inspiring, maneuverable ski for tight, tricky terrain, a big part of the reason why the Sheeva 9 is so versatile.

Nifer Hoehn tested the 172 cm length, which happens to be the longest available length in the Sheeva 9. We got really high scores from Nifer, not a single score dropped below 4 out of 5 with stability, quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression all earning full 5 out of 5 scores. That's darn impressive, and was reflected in her written feedback. "Really fun ski! Really stable throughout the turn and a lot of pep coming out of the turn. This was so much fun to ski on. Light, but not flimsy and a total work horse that was fun to zip around on. Loved the shape and was able to make nice and easy tight turns and bigger GS turns on it. Definitely recommend this ski." Nifer is an expert-level skier who can really put a ski on edge and put it to the test. While the Sheeva 9 can be very maneuverable, it also has that Austrian edge grip underfoot and will hold on through pretty darn aggressive skiing. Remember, Nifer's scores for playfulness and maneuverability were just as high as edge grip and stability, which suggests a very well-rounded all-mountain ski.

Ariel Aidala hopped on the 164 cm length for her testing. Like Nifer, she loved it, and didn't give it a single score under 4 out of 5. For Ariel, stability, quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, versatility, and overall impression all earned that coveted 5 out of 5 score. "This hard charging women's ski is a great overall option if you only want one ski. It performed amazingly well on the hard pack and was really fun in lighter, fluffy stuff. With just the right amount of metal, this ski gives you just the right amount of dampness, while still having some flotation and maneuverability. The edge hold was great and it performed well in quick and snappy turns as well as big, long radius turns. Catherine Ferguson also skied the 164 cm length and also found it to be a very well-balanced ski. "Stiff, but playful. Would be great for an east coast powder day." Catherine's not wrong. The shape of the Sheeva 9 does quite well in powder despite not being particularly wide (at least compared to dedicated powder skis). That performance combined with its versatility and well-rounded feel definitely makes it a good choice as an east coast daily driver or one-ski-quiver, although we don't want to steer a western skier away from it either.

Blizzard set out to give the Sheeva 9 versatile all-mountain performance, and boy did they achieve it. The Sheeva 9 feels right at home on firm groomed slopes as well as un-groomed terrain, soft snow conditions, moguls, trees… honestly, anywhere you want to take it, it'll perform pretty darn well. We do think it's safe and fair to say that it might be a bit much for an intermediate due to the metal underfoot, but it's also not tremendously demanding either. An athletic intermediate should have no problem on it.