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Cage Match Comparison 2023 Blossom AM77 vs 2023 Lusti PC77

Philpug

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The Blossom AM77 has been a favorite of not only SkiTalk's Testers, but also with our readers, and our frequent reference to them on this forum is probably why you are reading this Cage Match. The Lusti PC77 is the new kid in town challenging the Blossom's throne. Both of these skis are offered Directly To Consumer (DTC) from our advertiser Premier Skis.
  • Why choose the AM77: You believe all of the accolades and are confident that they are true. Yes, quiet, composed and smooth, what you would expect from a ski at this price point.​
  • Why choose the PC77: You are willing to take a chance with a brand that you might be unfamiliar with and for that, you will be rewarded. The PC77 has all of the attributes of the AM77, but with a bit more ooomph.​
  • Insider tip: When ordering either of these skis, make sure you get the Vist Speedlock binding system.​
 
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tromano

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Does the difference in feel hold throughout the lines of Lusti PCs and Blossom Ams?
 
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Philpug

Philpug

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Does the difference in feel hold throughout the lines of Lusti PCs and Blossom Ams?
I haven't skied the PC74 but I would imagine it would be a bit more than the AM74. There really isn't a AM version of the PC71, but more the N*1 RC and the PC 71 woudl fall between that and the new N*1 XC. As far as the Blossom AM85, that is a very different design than the Lusti CWR skis, think if the AM's being a wide frontside ski and the CWR's being narrow wide skis.
 

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Lusti skis have very novel and probably unique cores. Instead of buying in core blanks from Hess in Switzerland or TDS Industrija in Slovenia they make their own from laminated veneer lumber https://theconstructor.org/building...d-veneer-lumber-construction-material/563661/ that is made from Norway spruce.

They first glue up LVL boards into blocks and then cut the blocks into core blanks using a frame saw. As you can see the veneers that make up the cores are thinner than those used in traditional rotary cut veneer ski cores so there are lots of veneer ends along the side cut. After milling the sidecut they glue strips of plywood to the sidewalls before gluing them to the core.

LustiCore.jpg

Spruce isn’t normally used to make quality skis as it breaks down quite quickly and all the knots make for an inconsistent product. One of the features of LVL is that the knots are distributed throughout the product so this might not be a problem. It would be interesting to see flex and torsional stiffness measurements before and after both the skis in the cage match had been skied on for 6 weeks.

In 2019 a Czech TV channel visited the factory, the tour starts at 1:55

Blossom skis aren’t and never have been made in the old Spalding factory at Gordona. Blossom originally set up shop in Prata Camportaccio, in 2012 Blossom’s owners bought some land on an industrial estate to the south of Gordona and built a new factory built on it, part of which is occupied by Blossom.

After Spalding stopped making skis the factory was acquired by a local guy called Elio Pedrotti who used it to make snowboards under the Rdp brand. There was a fire at the factory in 2000 and Rdp went out of business shortly afterwards. The site was then acquired by a local real estate developer and the production area was converted into business units, one of the units is currently occupied by a tire shop.
 

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Does the difference in feel hold throughout the lines of Lusti PCs and Blossom Ams?

My take: the Blossom Turbo line (AM74, AM77, AM85) have an exceptionally smooth feel and are exceptionally versatile. At the same time, they will provide great performance when pushed, making them a lineup that serves perhaps a wider range of skier ability. The PC line from Lusti, when compared side by side, provides a bit more power and grip (especially suitable for skiers who ski on harder snow) and performs best when you know how to work the ski from tip to tail to extract maximum performance from the ski.

Mike
 

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Blossom skis aren’t and never have been made in the old Spalding factory at Gordona. Blossom originally set up shop in Prata Camportaccio, in 2012 Blossom’s owners bought some land on an industrial estate to the south of Gordona and built a new factory built on it, part of which is occupied by Blossom.

After Spalding stopped making skis the factory was acquired by a local guy called Elio Pedrotti who used it to make snowboards under the Rdp brand. There was a fire at the factory in 2000 and Rdp went out of business shortly afterwards. The site was then acquired by a local real estate developer and the production area was converted into business units, one of the units is currently occupied by a tire shop.

From the Blossom website:

"Our home had to be Valchiavenna because the very first ski factory in Italy, Persenico, was founded in Chiavenna in 1906. Their skis contributed to the explosion of the Valanga Azzurra, the Italian national alpine ski team.
From this early beginning, the production of skis developed consistently for years, and then gradually tapered off when finally, in 1999, production of skis was restarted in this historic location."


According to my discussions with the principals at Blossom, it's my understanding that they production of their skis in the original Persenico factory for some period of time, but of course I could be wrong. Their current factory is located in the same valley approximately 1,500 meters or so from the original.
 

Swiss Toni

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The Blossom website is a bit vague. As I understand it until 2012 Blossom skis were manufactured in a business unit at Via Sandro Pertini, 9, 23020 Prata Camportaccio. Google Street View still has a photo.

BlossomF1.jpg

If you look at the 2nd of these 2 videos you will see the green window film at 1:29 https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSLsport

As I said in my first post the current factory is located on an industrial estate to the south of Gordona the address is; Via al Piano, 38, 23020 Gordona, this is screenshot from Google Street View:

BlossomF2.jpg

It is 6km from the previous factory in Prata Camportaccio and 2.7 km from the former Spalding factory in Gordona.

According to an article in the Italian newspaper La Republica https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repub...ndo-thoeni-vinceva-tutto-volando-su-quei.html there were 2 Persenico ski factories in Chiavenna the first one Società Anonima Raimondo Persenico was opened in 1908 and was a “small artisan factory with few pretensions” that made alpine skis, ski poles and snowshoes. In the 1930s the company moved to another site in the center of Chiavenna, the factory is reported as being an “elegant three-bay building on the banks of the Mera river”. The company also changed its name at this point to Persenico Fratelli Carlo and Alfredo. These 2 buildings don’t seem to exist anymore.

Questor bought Persenico Fratelli Carlo and Alfredo in 1968 and moved production to a new purpose-built factory in Gordona in 1973.

SpaldingFactory.jpg

At its peak the Spalding factory in Gordona employed 500 people and produced 3.4 million pairs of skis p.a. making it the fifth largest producer of skis in the world at that time. This building still exists and has been refurbished and divided into business units, Blossom wouldn't have been able to use it because of the fire that occurred in 2000.

It is of course possible that Blossom used another building before moving to Via Sandro Pertini, but I haven’t been able to discover any record of it.
 

James

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At its peak the Spalding factory in Gordona employed 500 people and produced 3.4 million pairs of skis p.a. making it the fifth largest producer of skis in the world at that time.
Wow. Had no idea they were that big.

Was it a part of the same company as the US company Spalding that started in Chicago in the late 19th century?
 

Swiss Toni

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Glad you found the info interesting. Blossom also operates a production facility for Zai skis at Vicosoprano just over the border in Switzerland.

Zai Atélier.jpg

In 2018 Blossom and Zai set up a joint venture to manufacture Zai skis, the Zai Atelier started up in 2019. The Zai Disruptor has same geometry as the Blossom NUMERO UNO XC, Zai say that the layup is different.
 

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