Blizzard Spur

[gaijin]

Sadly the Renegade has lost its top status in my mind...

..........

[mntlion]

sounds like some spurs might be avail NOW.
also price is $900 (I think)

but call the store and talk to Jason (see above for more details)

[undertow2]

^^^^^For realz... I have a huge quiver, but so glad I don't need the latest and greatest when it comes out... Hell when Rens came out they were pretty much going for this and got my new 196 Owls for $312 shipped... $9 hundo for a Blizzard is no joke...!

[Lindahl]

Stiffer or softer than the Renegade? By a little bit or a lot?

[gointhedistance]

Any fair comparison to make between these and billy goats, and/or lotus 120's?

[adrenalated]

Fondled a pair yesterday. Noticeably softer than a Renegade, but not a soft ski. Similar in flex to a Billy Goat. The first thing I thought when I saw the tip shape is "This looks like a wider GPO." It has less tail rocker than a Billy Goat, and no RES, so I think the BG will be much more playful in soft snow. But the Spur looks like a fun ski for sure.

[BigLineSeeker]

Bumping this because I just spend 4 hours on these skis and think I found my new powder skis. Will post more detailed review when I get a chance. It is everything I was hoping the bodacious was going to be when I bought a pair a few years ago.

[Jim S]

I skied them in resort corn and packed pow and groomers on a demo day. Loved them. Did not ski them in pow but they are far more resort friendly than the dimensions would suggest.

[BigLineSeeker]

Me - 5'11", 160lbs, grew up racing

Current quiver - 165 Head RD SL, 180 Brahma, 185 Cochise, 190 Squad 7

Boots - 323mm Head RD B3 plug boots

Conditions - Fernie after 2' over the weekend and another 15cm overnight. Crud, groomers, fresh powder (areas closed on weekend), dust on crust (low mountain that warmed up and froze then got 15cm on top)... variable to say the lease

Skis - 189 Spur w Jesters at +1 from rec.

First impressions were that they felt very light for their size, especially coming from my Squad 7s w FKS 180s. Flex is nice and stout, but not too stiff with a great snap on a hand flex. I was worried about the carbon layup being stable and damp enough (worries soon forgotten) and thought that the camber (next to none, but a bit) and rocker profile looked perfect.

I only skied 4 hours on the skis, but it was a near perfect test day for them. Coming off of the Cochise in the morning (and all weekend) it took no time to get used to these. Easy to find the sweet spot and stay in it.

Started the days on an open steep pitch that was nicely cruded up from the morning. The skis sliced through the chop with ease and my concerns about the carbon not being damp enough were immediately gone. I dropped a 10' cliff in the middle of the run landing onto more chop / crud and proceeded to a run out that measured ~85 km/h on my GPS. One of the first things I notice was how solid the tail was on the landing and how much support I had when I got kicked onto my tails in the chop. The stiffish carbon tail provides great stability and a nice snap to get you back centered.

The next runs were at higher elevations with zero visibility so I had to shut the speed down a bit. Found the skis really easy to pivot and slarve through the top chop until I could see enough to open them up. At slow speeds the tails can hook up a bit and they definitely loosen up nicely at higher speeds.

There were 4 or 5 runs where I was able to link a good 10 super g turns together in completely untracked powder. The snow was a little more PNW density than we usually see, but still lots of fun. The Spurs have a very different feel in the powder than the Squads (pintail) do. I felt that I could drive the ski however I wanted - I could push on the tips or stand more upright and drive it from the heels - felt like a bigger sweet spot than the Squads in this snow. Hard to describe other than awesome fun.

I found a few areas that slid and left exposed chalky snow. The long radius and slight camber underfoot gave enough predictable edge hold in managing these sections. Easy to set and edge and carve it or release the edge angle a bit and let them slide. The contact length is pretty short, but there is definitely enough there to get you out of trouble.

Groomer skiing was actually fun on these things. They have the same radius as the 185cm Cochise, but they definitely come around slower and do not have the same power out of the turns that the Cochise does at high speeds. That said, they feel more natural and predictable than my Squads do on the hardpack making it easy to get back to the lift.

Found a couple tight tree runs and had no issue pivoting the skis quickly through the trees in the fresh snow. They are not as quick as the Squads, but are still really easy to handle.

The only time I had any issues with the Spurs is when I had to shut the speed down quickly in crappy sun affected, bumped up terrain. When I had to do that I could feel the lack of metal in the skis and they skipped around on my more than a ski with metal would have (i.e. more than Cochise does).

Overall I was really impressed by how versatile these things are. Definitely a ski that you can show up with on a powder day and ski the next two days on without issue. I have nothing but great things to say about the Squads, but the Spurs are awesome. If I can find a way to justify the price tag I will definitely own them next year.

[volklpowdermaniac]

Considering these to replace the 192 Bent Chetler's I just sold, I realize there a dramatically different ski, I'm just wondering if they're different enough from a Katana which i have which I consider a chargey powder/crud ski that steam rolls everything, or are they just a wider version of this type of ski, i don't need my next pow boards to be quite as playful floppy as the bents but i certainly don't want just a wider katana/cochise/etc type ski,

other pow boards i'm looking at are the new bents, magnum opus, magic j, rocker 2, i realize all of those are pretty floppy spiny, but if the spur could give me 80% of the playfulness of those while being a little meaner, than i'd be sold.

[volklpowdermaniac]

These arrived today:








I'm super curious as to how they are going to ski, they hand flex fairly stiff, and while they have lot's of tip rocker they have basically flat tails and almost no camber underfoot, don't let the pictures fool you, having never seen a flat pair of ehp's, just from reading about them, they kinda seem to have that vibe, or like a super sized Wrenegade, (not renegade), all the stuff from blizzard and the minimal reviews say they are quite lively and playful i'm just curious to see how that will come across given how they look and feel in hand, that said, they look and feel like they would machine through chop, but maybe the lack of metal will make then slarvey.

just a quick thought, carry on

[undertow2]

Holy shit are those sexy... I am rocking new 191 Billy's and 196 Rens and would love to give those a shot... Would need them in big boy size though... Congrats and they do look fun... Def look forward to add. reviews...

[undertow2]

And from the marks they look like traditional mount... Little surprised as I thought these were chargy, but somewhat new school...

[volklpowdermaniac]

Yea the marketing is playful game changing powder ski that also charges,but with how they flex and the fairly straight shape, I'm just truly excited to ski them without any expectations, it would be awese if they ended up being the ski that you can Mach down an open face but still slash through uber tight deep trees

[wasatchback]

The Spur seems playful in a different sense I guess. Generally people think of playful skis as softer skis with more sidecut that can be really fun at slower speeds right? The Spur just felt really light on your feet and easy to throw around. I never got to ski them on a big day but took them cat skiing a few times and had a great 18" day at the Buck doing lap after lap in Ontario without crossing another track. All that skiing was a mix of decent pitch to kinda low angle with plenty of trees and like I said the skis were just easy to swing around and maneuver when you needed to but without sacrificing stability. They are definitely not "new school". Mount point is more progressive than a Bodacious but it's not Salomon or 4frnt forward.

[ghosthop]

having never seen a flat pair of ehp's, just from reading about them, they kinda seem to have that vibe

RE EHP's

compared to my watercolors, the spur has deeper rocker lines in the tip and tail, bigger splay in the tip and less splay in the tail. My ehp's also have a bit of positive camber that extends to the contact points. I'm excited to read the on snow reviews as the season goes on.

[skibrd]

Anyone ski the Blizzard Spurs and Nordica Bushywaynes, a toss in some insight on how each pair skis? I ended up with both and don't know which pair to sell.

[ghosthop]

Anyone ski the Blizzard Spurs and Nordica Bushywaynes, a toss in some insight on how each pair skis? I ended up with both and don't know which pair to sell.

bw's are just rebranded radicts, which, you know, you could search for

the smart money says one of them skis better switch too

[BigLineSeeker]

Anyone ski the Blizzard Spurs and Nordica Bushywaynes, a toss in some insight on how each pair skis? I ended up with both and don't know which pair to sell.

I have a review posted up somewhere on the Radicts. I really liked those skis, but they are very different than the Spurs. For my skiing style (always forward, highish edge angles...) I will take the Spurs in every situation except for lower speed lower angle trees.

[volklpowdermaniac]

I have a review posted up somewhere on the Radicts. I really liked those skis, but they are very different than the Spurs. For my skiing style (always forward, highish edge angles...) I will take the Spurs in every situation except for lower speed lower angle trees.

What's the mount point you reccomend? Coming off 192 bentchetler, trend towards being more of a driver than centered but trying to correct that, loved the pivoty was of the BC, realize this is a different beast, I'm 5'9 175 just stick with recommend?

[skibrd]

I have a review posted up somewhere on the Radicts. I really liked those skis, but they are very different than the Spurs. For my skiing style (always forward, highish edge angles...) I will take the Spurs in every situation except for lower speed lower angle trees.

Thanks. I found your review. The Bushys might stay around because my Dukes are already on them and I'm a hoarder. I'm super excited to get on the Spurs, just need to figure out what bindings to put on them, alpine, at or plates so I can swap. Think snow!

[BigLineSeeker]

What's the mount point you reccomend? Coming off 192 bentchetler, trend towards being more of a driver than centered but trying to correct that, loved the pivoty was of the BC, realize this is a different beast, I'm 5'9 175 just stick with recommend?

I rode them at +1 and was happy there, but only had the one day on the skis. The shop I bought from has a set with demos on them that I will play with in early December to dial in the mount location. Probably between rec and +1 for me.

I generally like a traditional mount so if the BCs were good for you a slightly forward mount may be in order. The tail of the Spurs has some heft to it and some people I have talked to found it hard to release. I never had the issue, but something to consider.

[volklpowdermaniac]

I rode them at +1 and was happy there, but only had the one day on the skis. The shop I bought from has a set with demos on them that I will play with in early December to dial in the mount location. Probably between rec and +1 for me.

I generally like a traditional mount so if the BCs were good for you a slightly forward mount may be in order. The tail of the Spurs has some heft to it and some people I have talked to found it hard to release. I never had the issue, but something to consider.

Well I would say while the BC worked for me I would have preferred something I could drive into more hence the change, would tails not releasing lead one to mount farther back or up a little bit, not sure I'm familiar with thT phenomenon

[mkantor]

Just got my Spurs and would love to hear more about recommended mounting point from those who've skied them. Manufacturer recommendation is +.5, not 0.

I hear some people suggesting go with the manufacturer while others are going with +1. Just how much of a difference does it make and can anybody explain the difference in how the ski turns and feels with the different mounts?

[pfluffenmeister]

^^^ tough to give good advice w/o knowing how aggressive you are.