I bought the blaze 86 n 152!

[floridakeysskibum]

For those that know, I had been hunting for a mid 80’s ski for a number of years.
I have rented:
Wild cat (super bad tune)
Octo birdie
Santa Ana
Mantra 84w
And some others a few years ago that I no longer remember
And I tried the blaze again after demoing with ski talk a couple years ago in spring conditions and a longer ski. (163 I think) Which I felt I was getting beat up by the heavy snow, and I ended up buying the Kenja 163 from Phil and Tricia. I have since switched out to the 4FRNT 91 and prefer them in tahoe springs skiing, but they are too long for the bumps
So I have been hunting for the unicorn ski that can do all things great. Hard pack groomers, moguls trees etc. I know I need to compromise somewhere. So after trying the 84w in 156 and not liking the long tails in the bumps I tried the Santa Ana 87 (they did not have the 82) and I liked them better, but not enough to buy. So I tried the volkl blaze 86 in 152. Shelley @santacruz skier has the same pair, and we are in women’s ski week together, and we seem to ski similar, faults and all. Well, I liked them enough to buy them.
They are nimble in the bumps, are lovely on morning corduroy, and so far hold a decent edge on hard pack, which is where I’ve decided to compromise. I believe I’ve found my “Taos ski”. Yeah for me!

 

[ride_ski]

Yay! Another "Blazer". I love mine and bought them initially for bumps and trees. I have the 159s (went a little shorter as I think other Diva's did as well). They have become my daily driver. I had my Santa Ana 98's out last weekend for a day after not skiing them in a few years and couldn't wait to get back on the Blazes.

 

[MissySki]

The Blaze 86 is a great Taos ski! I think that was the first Western trip I took them on...I'm also on the 159 like @ride_ski .

 

[ski diva]

Just skied mine today. Love it!

 

[Bookworm]

Looking for the same thing. I'll have to try them next year!

 

[VickiK]

@floridakeysskibum what were your thoughts on the Mantra 84w?

 

[santacruz skier]

The Blaze 86 is a great Taos ski! I think that was the first Western trip I took them on...I'm also on the 159 like @ride_ski .

And I’m also loving my 152’s in Taos!

 

[skibum4ever]

For those that know, I had been hunting for a mid 80’s ski for a number of years.
I have rented:
Wild cat (super bad tune)
Octo birdie
Santa Ana
Mantra 84w
And some others a few years ago that I no longer remember
And I tried the blaze again after demoing with ski talk a couple years ago in spring conditions and a longer ski. (163 I think) Which I felt I was getting beat up by the heavy snow, and I ended up buying the Kenja 163 from Phil and Tricia. I have since switched out to the 4FRNT 91 and prefer them in tahoe springs skiing, but they are too long for the bumps
So I have been hunting for the unicorn ski that can do all things great. Hard pack groomers, moguls trees etc. I know I need to compromise somewhere. So after trying the 84w in 156 and not liking the long tails in the bumps I tried the Santa Ana 87 (they did not have the 82) and I liked them better, but not enough to buy. So I tried the volkl blaze 86 in 152. Shelley @santacruz skier has the same pair, and we are in women’s ski week together, and we seem to ski similar, faults and all. Well, I liked them enough to buy them.
They are nimble in the bumps, are lovely on morning corduroy, and so far hold a decent edge on hard pack, which is where I’ve decided to compromise. I believe I’ve found my “Taos ski”. Yeah for me!

I bought the same ski after recovering from a broken leg. It was a demo ski. I rented it one day and purchased it the next day. And haven't looked back. Good choice.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

@floridakeysskibum what were your thoughts on the Mantra 84w?

I felt like I was mounted too far forward. Long hard tails. Perhaps I needed them in a shorter length as well.
I was hoping that was the one, but just wasn’t happy with the tails. I think I was looking for that “volkl secret tail pop” Pat talked about.

 

[Denverokie]

For those that know, I had been hunting for a mid 80’s ski for a number of years.
I have rented:
Wild cat (super bad tune)
Octo birdie
Santa Ana
Mantra 84w
And some others a few years ago that I no longer remember
And I tried the blaze again after demoing with ski talk a couple years ago in spring conditions and a longer ski. (163 I think) Which I felt I was getting beat up by the heavy snow, and I ended up buying the Kenja 163 from Phil and Tricia. I have since switched out to the 4FRNT 91 and prefer them in tahoe springs skiing, but they are too long for the bumps
So I have been hunting for the unicorn ski that can do all things great. Hard pack groomers, moguls trees etc. I know I need to compromise somewhere. So after trying the 84w in 156 and not liking the long tails in the bumps I tried the Santa Ana 87 (they did not have the 82) and I liked them better, but not enough to buy. So I tried the volkl blaze 86 in 152. Shelley @santacruz skier has the same pair, and we are in women’s ski week together, and we seem to ski similar, faults and all. Well, I liked them enough to buy them.
They are nimble in the bumps, are lovely on morning corduroy, and so far hold a decent edge on hard pack, which is where I’ve decided to compromise. I believe I’ve found my “Taos ski”. Yeah for me!

Glad you finally found some ski that you can use on groomers and bumps with less compromise!

 

[Ms Mia]

@floridakeysskibum how tall are you and what (if you don't mind me asking!) is your weight? I'm super keen on a Blaze 86, but can't demo it anywhere near where i live. I've seen a lot of Diva's size down and it sounds like you did from the other ski lengths you described in your post.

I currently ski a Volkl Flair that's 163 and I usually go for this kind of length when demoing other skis, but curious whether I should go down for a Blaze 86. (Added incentive is I've seen a couple of 159 lengths on sale but it's harder to find longer on sale! )

 

[tahoebunny]

Great info. I might get these as a second pair that’s less wide than my current ones. Anyone know how they do in Tahoe snow?

 

[santacruz skier]

Great info. I might get these as a second pair that’s less wide than my current ones. Anyone know how they do in Tahoe snow?

Great in Tahoe in Jan and Feb

 

[floridakeysskibum]

@floridakeysskibum how tall are you and what (if you don't mind me asking!) is your weight? I'm super keen on a Blaze 86, but can't demo it anywhere near where i live. I've seen a lot of Diva's size down and it sounds like you did from the other ski lengths you described in your post.

I currently ski a Volkl Flair that's 163 and I usually go for this kind of length when demoing other skis, but curious whether I should go down for a Blaze 86. (Added incentive is I've seen a couple of 159 lengths on sale but it's harder to find longer on sale! )

I’m 5’1” and currently @130-135 but on zepbound and hope to drop back down to 105-110 before menopause weight creeped in
Santa Cruz is slightly shorter now but 105 and has the same ski length, hence why I tried it
It has the Solomon demo binding so maybe a smidge heavier but not much. I carried both skis from le ski mastery to the base one day and didn’t notice much difference as Santa Cruz has the look binding

 

[lisamamot]

I've seen a lot of Diva's size down and it sounds like you did from the other ski lengths you described in your post.

Like others I sized down as well: I usually ski a low 170s and I preferred the 166 vs the 173 in this ski.

 

[santacruz skier]

It’s really a fun ski but then I’m a Sheeva 9 and 10 fan.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

@floridakeysskibum what were your thoughts on the Mantra 84w?

Maybe shorter would have been better, I skied the156. I just felt the long stiff tails were not for me at all. I was looking forward to the poppy tail the secrets used to have. No such luck. I even inquired if I was set too far forward on the ski. Amanda at le ski mastery assured me I was in the proper line up on the demo bindings. I wear a size 6 shoe, and lined myself up with barbs 84 w and noticed my heel was much farther forward than hers (she’s a size 8) and wondered if I should have been centered. But I was afterall. :(. I had high hopes for the 84 w.
i did enjoy the m7 at snowmass quite a bit and had to talk myself out of buying them due to having a 91 4FRNT and 97 black crow underfoot already in my quiver.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Conditions in Deer Valley this week are not ideal, to put it mildly. I have my Blaze 86s (159) with me and they are serving me very well. We have solid ice on some runs - and I mean east coast style ice. There is dust on crust and chicken heads on other runs. In the afternoons, we've had ankle to mid-calf deep slush. The Blaze loves it all and I'm especially delighted with how they are performing in the deep slush. Gotta love the bounce and surf and maneuverability.

 

[Beckster]

Conditions in Deer Valley this week are not ideal, to put it mildly. I have my Blaze 86s (159) with me and they are serving me very well. We have solid ice on some runs - and I mean east coast style ice. There is dust on crust and chicken heads on other runs. In the afternoons, we've had ankle to mid-calf deep slush. The Blaze loves it all and I'm especially delighted with how they are performing in the deep slush. Gotta love the bounce and surf and maneuverability.

One of my backcountry pals just switched to this ski and I must say she looks like a completely different skier now playfully „blazing“ over everything with avengence. Cool to read your excitement!

 

[floridakeysskibum]

When I tested them with ski talk in Lake Tahoe a few years ago, It was spring sierra cement snow. I was on the 163 and I called them “zippy” but I did get pushed around a bit in the crud. I ended up taking the Kenja 88 163 home with me. Took them to Taos the next year and determined they were too long/stiff in the bumps. So a couple years later and in a shorter ski (thanks @santacruz skier ) length I bought them!!
im 56 year old 5’1” currently 130 lbs but losing weight finally!!!