2021 Line Blade W

In terms of uniquely shaped skis for 2021, the Line Blade and Blade W takes the cake. The Lady Blade, as I like to call it, is a bit narrower overall than the men's version and when combined with the shorter lengths, is capable of making very short and round turns. In fact, Line won't even state what their turn radius is, only that it's "tight." True indeed, from Line, who's never afraid of trying some new stuff in skis. Other than the wild shape, the big thing for the Blade is the Gas Pedal Metal laminate. This interestingly shaped layer looks kind of like the feather of an arrow, with a line down the central chord of the ski with branches of metal that extend to the edge. With this partial laminate, Line is able to create the much-needed torsional stiffness that's required to get this wide ski up on edge. It would just be too floppy otherwise. The blunted tip shape holds a 140-mm width while the 92 mm waist is followed by the 114 mm tail. It's kind of a pintail shape that allows the skier to really point the tips in the general direction, and the tails follow playfully along. Speaking of the tails, they're kind of a mix of a twin tip and a swallow tail, allowing the ski to be able to break, smear, and slash even though it's considered a carving ski. Our testers liked having something different on their feet for a change and they see the merits in the ski's fun shape and design for sure.

Allison Ruschp skied the 160 and found it to be a good length for her-hard to tell with a ski this different sometimes. We weren't sure how this ski was going to score, and Alli ended up all over the map, which is interesting. High scores of 5 out of 5 were given for stability, maneuverability, and edge hold while lower scores of 2 were given for flotation and versatility, showing that Alli found it to be a carving specialist more so than a uniquely shaped all-mountain ski. Alli exclaims: "Wow! What a crazy shape! I was very skeptical to try this ski just based on appearance but man was I blown away with how different it is from anything else. Line was going for that new feel and they got it. The crazy shape of the ski makes it amazing at carving, but man was I tired after turning so much! Impressive edge to edge. I am used to skiing short race skis but the Line Blade has a very different feel to the quick turn carver. The only thing I was concerned with is, when you really get going and into the hard carving that the shovel sometimes felt grippy. I think this might be more of the skier versus the ski. The skier must love to carve and be strong enough to do so!" It certainly sounds like Alli is pegging this more as a one-trick ski that loves/needs to be on edge.

Carly Monahan also skied the 160 and noted that it was a good length. Again-hard to know with something like this, and the fact that they top out on the short side (181 for men, 167 for women) indicates that shorter is preferable. Like Alli, Carly's scores were kind of all over the place, and we think that's okay-it's hard to get a grip on this ski, and Carly notes that in her analysis: "This is definitely a ski I want to spend more time on. It's super-unique and though it didn't ski like I expected it to, I was pretty impressed by what it could do. I got to ski these on perfect corduroy and after some fresh snow. With the wider waist, swallow tail, and ample shovel I expected the Blades to quickly settle into a surfy, playful feel. But, I wasn't able to find a sweet spot there. Honestly, they just felt heavy and planky in softer snow. However, on firmer snow and through bumps, I was really impressed by how responsive and quick these were. For me, where the Blades shone was on-edge in varied-radius turns. These made for some super fun carving, and I felt that I could really trust them not to wash out or run away from me when I focused on laying them over. I did not expect the Blade's carving capabilities to be the most impressive aspect of the ski, given their shape. Guess I'll just have to wait a few more months to try them in soft snow again..." Great, thoughtful analysis there by Carly-can't wait to ski them again either.

Whether you're looking for a wide slalom ski, a narrow-ish powder ski, or something totally out of the box, the Line Blade is a really cool ski. Everyone who has skied on them has found some very interesting redeeming qualities. What are yours going to be?