User Reviews

Initial Impression: My initial impression with Blizzard IQ goes back to there days when they were distributed by Dalbello. I was really not impressed do to the simplicity of the design and IMHO a sub par binding. I DID like the Titan Nine of the same generation. I skied the Cronos which was the replacement for the Titan was not near the same power as that ski. 

Along comes the new Magnum series. The feel of this 8.7 is closer to the feel of the old Titan Nine than the Cronos. In hand flexing, the Magnum has a lot of spring In hard snow it head very well and the 18M TR really allowed a much tighter TR. For a 87mm waist, the ski is very nimble and I had no problem linking shorter turns on varied conditions and steepness. 

Binding: The IQ TT Marker slid into the track better than the previous design and is a much more solid interface. I usually ski my bindings at a 12 DIN, and these did release as expected set at an 11. Both Lola and I noticed that the new TT heel (See: Jester/Griffon) required much more force to engage than a traditional heel. 

What I am disappointed in is the way the IQ is attached with a single screw. Blizzard is touting one of the benefits of the design is the ability to swap skis and binding interfaces. The center screw on the magnum series just goes into the ski, where as the Titan series has an integrated threaded nut imbedded in the ski, IMHO a better design. This is only an issue if you plan on taking the bindings on and off regularly. 

Overall: The Magnum has a very substantial feel on the snow. I like these much more than any of the Fuel series from Nordica, Magfire's from Elan or Crimson skis from Atomic. I will say what I do like about the IQ is that it is lighter than most integrated bindings, for a big powerful ski, it was light and nimble without being tossed around. For someone looking for a powerful frontside wider ski, this and its little brother the 8.1 should be on your short list.

 

 

 

Blizzard Magnum 8.7, 174 cm. I am 5’8’’ 145 lb. aggressive, all mountain skier – Level 9-10. I like to ski out back, steep couloirs, natural snow, western steep tree runs, deep pow and also high speed carve turns on the eastern and western groomers.I was looking for a pair of ski with better carving capability and quicker edge action than my Volkl Mantra ( 177 cm , 130-94-113mm, R23m) without sacrificing other qualities except perhaps deep back-country pow.I didn’t find it in Volk line ironically, in Blizzard, Magnum 8.7 ( 174cm, 128-87-113 mm , R18.5m, IQ integrated binding, also slightly stiffer).What made this ski stand out among all the other all mountains / big mountain midfat skis was its balance, stability and versatility at high performance level.If you like to finesse the edge, move from carve to skid and back at any part of the turn, adjust the amount of skid or radius and speed of carve at will, this ski is for you!What ever snow condition you are on, on piste or off piste, it would feel like the packed powder groomer. Not once I felt off balance – well may be a couple of times in the irregular icy bumps in Killington tree runs when I first put them on - don't go on your heels when in big bumps or the powerful tail will shoot the ski from under you. No matter what I tried, taking air in the park,  spring bumps, frozen rutted crud from rain fall two days ago, the alternating ice and pile in Saturday afternoon in Killington, hitting an unexpected roll at high speed ( 50 mph ) carved long turn, I remain centered, ballanced and stable. They always went where I wanted them to go, did what I wanted them to do. All at high level of performance. That is a lot to say about a pair of ski!This ski carves beautifully and moves from turn to turn with great ease and good rebound but not unpredictable or exaggerated. They are similar to my Volkl 183 GS Racing skis but with better stability in the crud and shorter turn carving ability. This was what attracted me to them when I first tried them. But then I fell in love with its ballance, stability and versatility.I haven’t tried them in deep pow but I bet that they do better than most mid fat skis specially for lighter skiers because they are not super stiff and do not have too much camber and have a relatively wide profile 128-87-113 mm. but, they are not going to float like Mantra.These are great high performance ski, a real confidence builder for advance skier who wants to have fun when performing at high level. I can’t put them down.Happy turning folks.

Skied on this ski all last winter in all kinds of Eastern conditions, groomed and ungroomed, and it worked on all of them. If you are an Eastern skier (or a Western skier looking for a one ski quiver), this is a great choice. New this year, they have a slider plate that you can mount any binding to, slide it on the ski, and attach with one screw. You can have one ski, but different bindings (tele, AT, Alpine). I have mine set up to go with either an alpine binding, or a Marker Duke. It also allows you to put bindings other than Marker on the skis.

I picked up a pair of the 2008/2009 Blizzard Magnum 8.7s from our rep in last season and I could not put these away for the rest of the season. As a shop owner, I get to ski a ton of skis and these quickly became a favorite of mine. In fact I hoarded them and no-one else at the shop got to ski them. This ski excels at almost every condition I took it in, from the Montezuma Bowl at A-Basin to the hanging valley wall at Snowmass, to bumps at Mary Jane. It was equally at home in the bowl as it was on hardpack frontside runs at Keystone. my only complaint is that I ran out of season to ski them last year and have been literally dreaming about turning them on my first run this fall!

This ski is amazing. If you need a ski that will do it all and do it all at a high performance level, look no further.

 

The one con: It isn't too happy in super hard moguls, but it will do them. Anyways, what ski likes hard moguls anyways?