
Originally Posted by
Bandit Man
We finally got some new snow (that didn't get rained on) here in Western WA, so I took out my 190 Line Blade Optic 104's for the first time. Here are my initial impressions:
Skier Info: 5' 8", 200-lbs
Skis Info: 2023 Blade Optic 104, 190-cm length, mounted with Salomon Warden 13 demos and skied on the recommended line
Boots: Tecnica Cochise 130 Dyn
Conditions: 5" of fresh on top of a a firm base...but decently bonded overnight; Soft groomers which didn't last long; soft and deep off-piste, but variable in most spots.
Initial Impressions - Stable, damp, yet agile, loose, and just enough "playfulness" to be fun.
I've only been on these one day and the conditions were favorable, so take that into consideration. Right out of the gate, on the steep-ish groomers I started on, these felt so stable and planted, I was blown away. The mid-section feels so solid and confidence inspiring. I skied them with a more centered stance, with a slight bias towards the shovels, which worked well. Carved with confidence and held a edge well at high speed. I felt no need to back off. With a high-edge angle, I was able to get some fairly tight carves and rapid edge to edge linked turns when I had the room (i.e. no holiday gapers in the immediate area).
I expected the extremities to behave a bit more like a Rustler (softer and flappy), but these were different. Yes, the tips and tails are a bit softer, but not in a way that feels like a hinge point. Softer than the mid-section, but still stout enough to handle variable while soft enough to get the skis to float easily. I need to get them out in deeper powder, but I have the sense that these will "punch above their weight" when it comes to float in deep snow.
I have a bunch of 10X waisted skis and most lean towards either firm snow biased (Enforcer 104) or soft snow biased (MFree 108). The Blade Optic 104 somehow sits right in the center of that spectrum (with perhaps a slight bias towards soft conditions) in a very unique way. I love the Katana K108 for those in between conditions, but they really shine on-piste and wide-open conditions, but leave something to be desired in really deep snow or tight spaces, where I want more float and a looser feel in the tail. On the other hand, the Mfree 108 is a blast in deep snow, is so loose in tight spaces and trees, but gives up a bit on fast groomers or in firmer conditions. With those as my guard-rails, the BO104 takes the stability of the Katana and blends it with the looseness of the MFree108...and the results are dang impressive. Would I rather have the MFree 108 on my feet on a deep powder day...definitely. Same goes with the K108 on a firm day. But for those in between days, when I'm skiing many different zones and conditions, the BO104 is going to get some serious consideration.
I like heavy damp skis. Plus the 190 BO104 is heavy and I made it even heavier with the demo clamps. It was very evident when I stepped into them that they was a lot of mass on my feet. Yet, they are so easy to throw sideways. So easy to drift that tail. They hold a carved turn well, but allow you to feather that tail and go from locked in to loose and pivoty in a way that is almost magic. I don't know how the ski performance is affected in shorter lengths that shed some weight, but I suspect that the 185 is close to the 190 (I think there is about 100-grams difference per ski between the two).
I wanted to make a final ski comparison. I've skied the 186 and 191 Nordica Enforcer 104 for a few years now. It leans towards on piste performance and I've always wished that it felt looser in deep snow. Well, the BO104 trades a bit of that absolute locked in carving performance for that soft snow looseness and performance I find lacking in the Enforcer. I need to ski them back to back, but I feel like I want to get rid of my Enforcer 104's and Unleashed 108's since the BO104 beats both of those skis in every area but carving prowess, and that's not the characteristic I value most on a 10X waist skis.
Looking forward to more time on these and super psyched to get out on my Blade Optic 114's soon!
ps - thanks to KC and altacoup for creating "FOMO" and giving me the nudge to try these. As others have stated, I probably would have overlooked them.
Also, Line screwed up by linking these to the "Blade" line. Yes, they use similar "gas petal metal overdrive" tech, but these are a freeride ski with a healthy does of freestyle attitude. And that recipe works...but has been marketed poorly.
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