Next Seasons Gear Sneak Peek: Blizzard Zero G Skis
For Fall 2015 Blizzard is amping things up for us backcountry skiers with a new line of skis called ‘Zero G’. It’s an applicable name given the light weight nature of these skis. The lightest of the bunch is the Zero G 85 which as you likely guessed is 85mm underfoot with a 116 tip and 99.5mm tail. It weighs in at a paltry 990grams (approximately) for the 164cm length. If you add 10mm to the width then you get the Zero G 95, which is a for those bigger snow days when you still want to go light and fast. With dimensions of 128/95/111.5mm and weighing in at 1150 grams (approximately) the Zero G 95 may be the most versatile ski in this new line up. My personal favourite is the Blizzard Zero G 108 which is built for those deeper days we tend to get here in British Columbia. Dimensions of 136/108/122mm and a weight of 1550 grams (approximately) are ideal for deep resort days and even deeper backcountry excursions. All of the Zero G skis use a sandwich compound sidewall construction with Blizzard’s ‘Carbon Drive Technology’ which is a fancy term that enables them to walk the walk of their tag line which is “ The best edge grip never felt before in a touring ski”.
Having skied the Blizzard Zero G 108 this winter at the SIA on-snow demo day at Copper Mountain Resort I can attest to their magical quality of light weight carving bliss. While I was not able to get them out into the backcountry I could tell that they would be pure joy given their weightless feel. At the Whitewater Kootenay Cold Smoke Power Festival about three weeks later I had an opportunity to ski the Zero G 108’s again but this time under much hard snow conditions. Scalped, icy groomers provided the ideal testing ground for the Zero G’s and they stood up to the challenge. The only condition that I have not yet skied with the Zero G 108 is deep powder and although that is in short supply this season I look forward to the opportunity next fall.
What ever magic Blizzard is packing into the Zero G line-up of skis, I like it,… a lot.
Stay tuned for a full review of these skis come Fall ’15 as we’ll have a pair on snow as soon as it flies.
