2015 Blizzard Samba Women's Ski Review
Blizzard's Flipcore skis have been some of our tester's favorites over the last few years, and the women's specific skis are no exception. The Blizzard Samba, at 98 underfoot, cuts the same profile as the hugely popular the Blizzard Bonafide - with a few changes to make it a great women's all mountain ski.
Right off the bat, we should say this is not an intermediate ski - but if you've got the skill and the desire to ski a wider all mountain ski, this is one of the absolute best.
Like the Bonafide, the Samba has a subtle rocker-camber-rocker profile - what Blizzard calls Flipcore, that makes for one of the most confidently versatile shapes our testers have skied - enough rocker to float in powder and quickly initiate turns on hardpack without giving up edge contact while carving. The tail is so subtly raised that while it's easier to brake free from a turn shape to quickly transition or scrub speed, you won't notice it when you don't need it.
Unlike the Bonafide, the Samba ditches metal laminate construction, making for a slightly lighter ski and a slightly softer flex, well tuned for aggressive women skiers.
Out on the hill, our testers said despite the elimination of the metal layer, the ski was still smooth in crud with just the right flex to power through without being bone-jarring. The subtle rocker helped here too - making it easy to pivot in the cut-up bumps compared to a traditionally-shaped ski.
In soft snow, the Samba surfed predictably and effortlessly, about on-par with similar-width rockered skis.
And on the groomers, the Samba could be pushed as hard as testers wanted, making anything from wide GS-style turns down to tight pivoting turns at slower speeds. If pressed, the ski prefers a more medium to wide turn, but it's so versatile it doesn't take a lot of work to do what you want.
So who's the Samba for? Our more aggressive female skiers with a proclivity for off-piste skiing liked it most - those who had the skill and confidence to really drive the ski were the most rewarded.