Ladies looking to tame the whole mountain, both in an uphill and downhill format, will love the agility of this amazingly well-rounded ski. As one of the most versatile and useful skis on the planet, the 2024 Volkl Blaze 94W has certainly carved out a sweet spot in this reviewer’s heart. We’ve found this ski to be able to perform admirably in a huge variety of conditions, terrain, and applications. The Blaze series, since inception, has been focused on blurring and blending the line between freeride and touring, offering up lighter weight skis that still have downhill chops. Whether you want to use these skis as resort-specific models or a dedicated tourer, that’s up to you. Either way you choose to use the Blaze94W, rest assured that it’s about as versatile as it gets. Aside from a graphic update, this ski returns unchanged for 2024. 

The build of the ski is what really sets it apart from other skis in this mid-90's zone. Volkl uses their Hybrid Multilayer wood core consisting of poplar and beech. The core is slotted with vertical sections milled out from the bottom. This removal of wood makes a lot of sense in that it keeps the general character of the ski intact while lightening the load overall. In the 94W, we’re getting a titanal binding platform that not only serves to keep lighter weight tech bindings adhered to the ski, but also to offer an element of support and torsional stiffness. It’s a functional plate from a performance standpoint as well as a retention one. In the tips and tails, Volkl uses a rubberized material in order to keep chatter to a minimum. The Suspension tips and tails allow for higher speed skiing on groomers while maintaining a smooth and stable feel when the snow gets choppy. Given the build, we’re seeing a weight of 1455 grams per ski in the 165 cm length, so it’s light enough to handle the longer tours as well as being sturdy enough for pure resort skiing. That’s the blend that makes Blaze 94W such a formidable all-mountain ski.

Like the other skis in the Blaze line, we’re seeing a very long and somewhat low rocker profile. There’s not a ton of camber underfoot, but the rocker starts basically right in front of and behind the Titanal Binding Platform. In the tails, there’s not a ton of splay, and that’s a nod to the touring aspect of the ski. The flatter the tail, the longer the skin is going to stay in contact with the snow. This increases grip on the way up. In the front, the long and low rocker allows the ski to smoothly stay on top of fresh snow—it's a great floater for 94mm underfoot. We’re also getting Volkl’s 3D Radius Sidecut, allowing for skiers to change up turn shape and style on the fly. It works great, assigning a shorter, 14-meter radius underfoot in the 165 and a longer 33 m arc in the tip and 25 meters in the tail. This allows for smoother and faster skiing in longer-turning formats and more precise and agile carves when you want to tighten it up. At 94 mm underfoot, this ski is about as useful and versatile as it gets.

It’s not just the shape or build that makes the 2024 Volkl Blaze 94W such an appealing and broad-reaching ski, it’s the overall intention and use potential that really makes this ski stand out. You can use it anywhere in the world, uphill or down, and in any type of terrain or snow conditions. What constantly amazes us is how composed it is in an on-trail format, and for tighter spaces like we have here in Vermont, the ski makes a whole lot of sense, both in and out of bounds. The range of skier is as vast as it gets out there, this ski checks a ton of boxes for a ton of skiers.