Over the last decade my preferred ski brands have been Blizzard, Nordica and Black Crowes. That said, I haven't owned a pair of Blizzards since I got ride of Bonafides 3 or 4 years ago and switched over to Enforcers (100 and 104 Free). I hadn't been on the new Bonafide until late last week when I was a finishing a low-snow week in Jackson. I skied my Enforcer 104's all week as the Jackson's Hole's longest dry spell without significant snow took hold (bad timing there) but its such a great mtn that you can find some spots here and there that are fun. Its so amazing with soft snow, that its a big contrast when you have lots of ungroomed runs that are pretty firm when there isn't any fresh.
Anyhow, the last day I decided to get on something a big narrower to push around a bit less ski and carve into tighter turns. Jackson's demo fleet is decidedly biased toward big skis (no surprise) so the options for me were limited, but the shop recommended the new Bonafide's in a 183 length (my Enforcers are 186) so this would give a slightly narrower and shorter ski while maintaining great all mtn capability.
For those of you who ski Jackson you know its a steep mtn and there are some places--particularly on groomers--where you can really let the skis run and enjoy the ride. Conditions were hard packed groomers in the morning with some softening in the afternoon....but not a ton. We had spring conditions earlier in the week but not on this day. That said...these skis are so much fun. They absolutely want to go fast and they will reward active input and confident skiing. They, obviously, felt a bit more agile and responsive than my Enforcer 104's (I expected that) but I can also say they just felt like they had no speed limit that I could approach (safely of course). My skiing has gotten stronger over the years so I think I can appreciate them even more than I did a few years ago. I was skiing with some solid skiers but I constantly got to the bottom and looked back and they were WAY behind me....not b/c I had the intent go fast...they seemed like they had a mind of their own to just keep ripping to the bottom of the run. Incredibly stable ski at speed....including slick spots and chunks of refrozen crud. Tons of energy from turn to turn and so damn fun in conditions that really were. not that great. That's what was the eye opener. They were more fun on those conditions than my Enforcers which are almost always fun as well. I don't demo enough skis these days to give you the blow by blow of all the differences AND I didn't get to experience them in any other conditions than the firm ones of that day....but they are just a great ski for a more advanced skier who can stay on top of them and ski them offensively as opposed to defensively. Sitting back is not a good idea on these. I will also say that with 2 sheets of metal...these aren't a great bump ski.
I'm in the market for 90ish ski for low-snow periods. I've been thinking about the Rustler 9 b/c of its reputation as playful fun and good in the bumps when not skiing POW. I don't think the Bonafide's are different enough than my Enforcers to justify buying them but I have to tell you they are a damn fun ski for ripping groomers on and they have always been solid off-piste in mixed conditions. I'm so glad I got to try the newer version of this ski and I highly recommended them for someone looking for a super versatile all -mtn West ski with a bias toward firmer conditions...you will NOT be disappointed.
Anyhow, the last day I decided to get on something a big narrower to push around a bit less ski and carve into tighter turns. Jackson's demo fleet is decidedly biased toward big skis (no surprise) so the options for me were limited, but the shop recommended the new Bonafide's in a 183 length (my Enforcers are 186) so this would give a slightly narrower and shorter ski while maintaining great all mtn capability.
For those of you who ski Jackson you know its a steep mtn and there are some places--particularly on groomers--where you can really let the skis run and enjoy the ride. Conditions were hard packed groomers in the morning with some softening in the afternoon....but not a ton. We had spring conditions earlier in the week but not on this day. That said...these skis are so much fun. They absolutely want to go fast and they will reward active input and confident skiing. They, obviously, felt a bit more agile and responsive than my Enforcer 104's (I expected that) but I can also say they just felt like they had no speed limit that I could approach (safely of course). My skiing has gotten stronger over the years so I think I can appreciate them even more than I did a few years ago. I was skiing with some solid skiers but I constantly got to the bottom and looked back and they were WAY behind me....not b/c I had the intent go fast...they seemed like they had a mind of their own to just keep ripping to the bottom of the run. Incredibly stable ski at speed....including slick spots and chunks of refrozen crud. Tons of energy from turn to turn and so damn fun in conditions that really were. not that great. That's what was the eye opener. They were more fun on those conditions than my Enforcers which are almost always fun as well. I don't demo enough skis these days to give you the blow by blow of all the differences AND I didn't get to experience them in any other conditions than the firm ones of that day....but they are just a great ski for a more advanced skier who can stay on top of them and ski them offensively as opposed to defensively. Sitting back is not a good idea on these. I will also say that with 2 sheets of metal...these aren't a great bump ski.
I'm in the market for 90ish ski for low-snow periods. I've been thinking about the Rustler 9 b/c of its reputation as playful fun and good in the bumps when not skiing POW. I don't think the Bonafide's are different enough than my Enforcers to justify buying them but I have to tell you they are a damn fun ski for ripping groomers on and they have always been solid off-piste in mixed conditions. I'm so glad I got to try the newer version of this ski and I highly recommended them for someone looking for a super versatile all -mtn West ski with a bias toward firmer conditions...you will NOT be disappointed.
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