2021 Blossom Namaste

[SkiTalk Test Team]

Like many of Blossoms other offerings the Namaste’s numbers and specs are really pretty average when you look at them on paper. Nothing with the Namaste really stands out as special and definitely not progressive…even the name “Namaste” it sounds like a backcountry ski for pinecone munchers. But we have come to learn with Blossom skis that we cannot judge their skis just on looks, numbers, and specs alone. It’s how Blossoms perform in the real world that we judge them.

This is the first time that we had a chance to ski Blossoms other than their frontside biased skis. The tactile feel of the Namaste has Blossoms typical balanced flex with a shape that is very traditional, bordering on dated in this category. The tip is rounded like the popular White Out and the tail seems right from the same mold…in fact, other than an ever so slight early rise and a tip shape that is also a bit more gradual than the other skis, the Namaste could easily be included in the Turbo series...if say there was a 90 mm do bridge the gap. Hint Blossom, hint.

On snow feel is what sets Blossoms apart from the other skis. Like the other Blossoms in our test fleet, the Namaste just flowed down the hill as if they are attached to the snow. I always come back to two words when I am skiing a Blossom: liquid mercury, and the Namaste no different. For some reason, Blossom does not publish the turn radius on the Namaste, or at least that I could find. All I could find from Google was “20m@178cm” which, after skiing the Namaste, feels about right.

• Insider Tip:The Namaste skis a bit long, it could easily be a 180-181…but at the skier that normally skis a 178 cm is not overwhelmed. With the Namaste’s 10 cm size increments means that you might fall between sizes, so err on the shorter of the two sizes.

 

[Dakine]

I describe my Blossoms as "Transparent."
They just work!

 

[Dougb]

I for one was excited to see Blossom makes skis besides their frontside carvers. Does the Namaste retain some of the precision of it’s narrower siblings?

 

[Philpug]

I for one was excited to see Blossom makes skis besides their frontside carvers. Does the Namaste retain some of the precision of it’s narrower siblings?

Yes it does.

 

[dovski]

Yes it does.

We had a Blossom demo day at Alpental about 3 years back and my favorite ski was the Namaste. Super fun ski. The rep was actually selling off his demo fleet and I still regret not grabbing those skis.

 

[Dougb]

Yes it does.

Just as the White Out is the alternative to the Stockli AX, is this the alternative to the SR 95?

Maybe this is the replacement for my Masterblasters I’ve been seeking out.

 

[flbufl]

Great review. There is too little information on the internet about the freeride line of Blossom.

I have the 87 mm Cardio (Vist version) and their park skis Wonderland of their freeride line. Both bought blindly, but both turned out to be great.

One question though, can anyone confirm that the Namaste has titanal layers in it or not?

 

[Philpug]

I have the 87 mm Cardio (Vist version) and their park skis Wonderland of their freeride line. Both bought blindly, but both turned out to be great.

One question though, can anyone confirm that the Namaste has titanal layers in it or not?

The Wonderland was the also the hart Twisted Twin and Scarab. The Namaste does have metal.

 

[BS Slarver]

Hmmm, 99 under foot that excels in moguls, trees and off piste, OSQ you say ?
I’m listening....

 

[Philpug]

Long term update: These are like an old friend in snow. If you have skied any of the narrower Blossoms and you like that feel, you will love these. There is no special gimics with the Namaste, just a simple shape and design proving again and again that there is rarely a substitute for quality.

I took these out at Squaw after a 3" dump and they did just as I would have expected and they passed the Steadfast Rule test, there was no ski I thought that I would have rather been on today. They did well on the groomers, in the bumps and were confidence inspiring when the visability was nill at at the top of Siberia.

I really hope that in the next generation of the ski, Blossom goes to 7-8cm increments for size, 10 is just too much. 170, 178, 186

​

 

[Dougb]

I really, really, really want to demo these skis!

 

[Philpug]

Long term update: It's my own fault. I didn't pack all I could on our trip to Sun Valley and Big Sky. I left room in the Packasport, shame on me. I should have packed more narrower skis knowing where we were headed. Why am I confessing that here? Well we had some additional people meet us on the trip and I let them use the weapons of choice like the Blossom Numero Uno N*1 RC while I was forced to ski the 99mm Namaste on the manicured groomers of Sun Valley. Well, you don't have to weep too long for me.

Usually with a ski in this width range, I will get a bit of ankle fatigue on firmer snow with a ski that prefers to be in the snow than just on it. This was not the case with the Namaste, getting the ski up on edge and carving on Sun Valley's relentless groomers was not only effortless but it was also actually fun. I am not saying that the Namaste would be the first ski I would grab but it was not the worst ski I could grab either.

Like changing the 10cm increments, I would really like to see this ski offered in an 88mm waist, it would give some of the reference skis like the Stormrider 88 and MX88 a run for their money.

 

[Noodler]

Long Term Update: It's my own fault. I didn't pack all I could on our trip to Sun Valley and Big Sky. I left room in the Packasport, shame on me. I should have packed more narrower skis knowing where we were headed. Why am I confessing that here? Well we had some additional people meet us on the trip and I let them use the weapons of choice like the Blossom Numero Uno N*1 RC while I was forced to ski the 99mm Namaste on the manicured groomers of Sun Valley. Well, you don't have to weep too long for me.

Usually with a ski in this width range, I will get a bit of ankle fatigue on firmer snow with a ski that prefers to be in the snow than just on it. This was not the case with the Namaste, getting the ski up on edge and carving on Sun Valley's relentless groomers was not only effortless but it was also actually fun. I am not saying that the Namaste would be the first ski I would grab but it was not the worst ski I could grab either.

Like changing the 10cm increments, I would really like to see this ski offered in an 88mm waist, it would give some of the reference skis like the Stormrider 88 and MX88 a run for their money.

Surprising.

 

[JohnnyG]

Re: the picture of the base, is that how they arrived, or was work done afterward?

 

[Dougb]

Like changing the 10cm increments, I would really like to see this ski offered in an 88mm waist, it would give some of the reference skis like the Stormrider 88 and MX88 a run for their money.

@Philpug do you think the Namaste gives the Stormrider 95 or MX98 a run for their money? Or FX96 HP for that matter?

 

[BS Slarver]

2 days, 2 pairs of blossoms to demo. Today the Namaste referenced above. Exceptionally built, with a classic smooth damp ride. The 178 length punches above its length and certainly above its price point.
@Dougb, I have the SR as well as demoed the MX 98 and would trade either in a minute for the Namaste.
From easy morning groomers they ripped effortless GS and smaller turn shapes on command. Firm bumps are not a problem and much less effort than the premium brands we are comparing them to. Loved how stable they moved through wind scorn and some left over avi debris and into chunky steeps off powder seeker. Got to open them up and they ate up the lower chaulky pitch offing free shit eating grins.
These should be on your radar as a OSQ for any western skier.

 

[Dougb]

2 days, 2 pairs of blossoms to demo. Today the Namaste referenced above. Exceptionally built, with a classic smooth damp ride. The 178 length punches above its length and certainly above its price point.
@Dougb, I have the SR as well as demoed the MX 98 and would trade either in a minute for the Namaste.
From easy morning groomers they ripped effortless GS and smaller turn shapes on command. Firm bumps are not a problem and much less effort than the premium brands we are comparing them to. Loved how stable they moved through wind scorn and some left over avi debris and into chunky steeps off powder seeker. Got to open them up and they ate up the lower chaulky pitch offing free shit eating grins.
These should be on your radar as a OSQ for any western skier.

This may be the next ski I purchase then. I was giving a good hard look at the Endurance 98, but the Namaste would be a logical step up from my Blossom-built Vist Crossover IIs (the equivalent of the Cross Wind). Of course between shelter in place and the little snow we are getting out here in Tahoe the Namastes wouldn't be seeing much action.

 

[Andy Mink]

little snow we are getting out here in Tahoe

No lie there. This is Slide Bowl at Mt. Rise today. And this photo isn't the worst part(s).

 

[Philpug]

Re: the picture of the base, is that how they arrived, or was work done afterward?

That is the factory tune.

 

[flbufl]

Blossom has the 87mm waist Cardio, though I believe it is more close to the Stockli Edge 88 than the SR 88.

Like changing the 10cm increments, I would really like to see this ski offered in an 88mm waist, it would give some of the reference skis like the Stormrider 88 and MX88 a run for their money.