WaterGirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes that time of the year when the previews of next years skis start to show up. Seems the whispering on other threads about the 78/88/98 Black Pearl for next year and no more Samba are true... there will apparently also be 2 Sheeva's - 102 and 112.
Curious if the Diva's that are testing or have been able to preview the line can shed some light on the changes........
1. If the Samba and presumably the Cheyenne are no longer in the line up, have they been re-branded as the new BP - or are the 2018 models entirely different skis?
2. What are the available lengths?
Great article here - https://www.powder.com/gear/blizzard-shoots-for-the-core/#iYo8WIjwMOjWch6j.97
Blizzard Goes for the Core with New Skis Gunsmoke and Peacemaker get dropped, making way for the all-new Rustler January 24, 2017 By Matt Hansen
Curious if the Diva's that are testing or have been able to preview the line can shed some light on the changes........
1. If the Samba and presumably the Cheyenne are no longer in the line up, have they been re-branded as the new BP - or are the 2018 models entirely different skis?
2. What are the available lengths?
Great article here - https://www.powder.com/gear/blizzard-shoots-for-the-core/#iYo8WIjwMOjWch6j.97
Blizzard Goes for the Core with New Skis Gunsmoke and Peacemaker get dropped, making way for the all-new Rustler January 24, 2017 By Matt Hansen
On the women’s side, the Sheeva returns but with the new upgrades consistent with the Rustler, with similar dimensions, including a 102mm and 112mm waist. The women’s skis also have extra carbon, for better rebound plus the same glass/carbon layer as the Rustler. Another big difference is lighter materials in the wood core. The Samba gets dropped from the line and picked up by an expanded group of the Black Pearl, which, according to Duke, is the best selling ski—men’s or women’s—in the entire U.S. This ski is available in waist widths of 78mm, 88mm, and 98mm.
Between snacks of pocket bacon on the chairlift, I asked Sierra Davis, POWDER’s associate editor, to chime in on the women’s skis:
“Often I shy away from women’s skis because of my size; I’m six feet tall. I need some real ski underfoot to support that, but that doesn’t mean I want to miss out on features of women’s skis that are designed for my body type and center of gravity. The Sheeva 10, is a solid option. It’s light and nimble, and carves like a dream, but not at all a sissy ski. My problem was the length—it maxes out at 172cm, so it wasn’t quite enough ski for me in steep, variable terrain. For comparison, I jumped on the Rustler 11 and I loved it. It was steady on fast groomers, cut the crud in the bumps, and allowed me to check my speed without too much chatter. The Sheeva 11, on the other hand, comes in the ideal 180cm and is constructed with more carbon, so it’s lighter with more rebound, and is built with a similar wood core to the Bramha (a combo of paulownia, balsa, poplar, and beech), so it’s incredibly strong.”