2027 Blizzard Firebird HRC

If speed and power are what you’re looking for, make sure you check out the 2027 Blizzard Firebird HRC. As a special bonus, they are purple and look amazing. These skis are as close to the race room as you can get while still being appealing to mere mortal skiers. That said, you certainly need a high end skiing background to fully appreciate what these skis have to offer. They’re strong, stable, and stiff and will make you feel like you’re ready for the World Cup.

Built with Blizzard’s Trueblend Race wood core, this thing is sturdy and strong. It’s less sophisticated and more blocky than the other Trueblend cores, and that speaks to the ski’s strength and power rather than finesse and poise. We also get three titanal laminates in this ski, so if you feel like you need more power and damping, we’re not really sure what to tell you. This year, we see a move to a Comp 13 binding with an FDT Race Plate Pro B for underfoot strength and stiffness. Tester Emily Sampson notes that she “fell in love with these skis with the same intensity with which I fell in love with Jonathan Taylor Thomas in 1995. This is a burlier cheater GS ski made for packed powder hero days where you can lay it over. It had a great energy and was so smooth in the transition of the turn. This ski made me smile just like JTT’s dimples. This ski is made for packed pow, groomers, and those firmer snow days. This would make a great beer league.”

The shape is narrow, but the radius is still accessible. That is what keeps this ski out of an FIS race course. At 69 mm underfoot, the skis produce a 15.8-meter turn radius in the 175 cm length, so it ends up being a bit more of a mid-radius ski compared to the WRC and the shorter arced SRC. This is a fully cambered ski with zero rocker or taper. Tester Ryan Flanagan states that “My first impression of this ski was extremely positive. The ski felt flexible and easy to bend, but still had a strong rebound that gave it a lot of energy from turn to turn. It was very smooth at initiation and felt comfortable making a variety of turn shapes. The ski felt versatile and responsive, allowing both short and longer turns without feeling locked into one style. This was one of the most enjoyable skis I tested. It felt very balanced, with a flex pattern that made it easy to bend while still producing strong energy out of the turn. The ski handled both short and long turns well, and the only difference between lengths would be whether the skier prefers quicker, more playful turns or more stability at speed.”

If you want a race ski, but you are not really a racer anymore, the HRC has got to top the list. With a mid-radius shape and a stronger than nails build, these skis will not back down to any type of aggression. Feel free to let them rip, and you’ll be making some of the cleanest and most powerful turns of your life.