Blizzard Bonafide Review: An All Mountain Ski Gold Standard

Here in Tahoe, the Start Haus tends to recommend 98 mm underfoot skis as the best all-around all-mountain skis for local conditions.

There are a lot of good skis in this category, but the one that both Sierra Jim and Phil Pug have held as the gold standard in the category recently has been the versatile Blizzard Bonafide.

It's won numerous magazine awards, sold out last year before January at the Start Haus, and this year, Blizzard is sold out nation-wide, so once they're gone, they're gone. We've got them in stock, but they're going fast. Click here.

When these "Flipcore" skis first became available for testing, Jim, who tests every ski we carry, said this in his first Blizzard Bonafide review:
"I was so impressed by the Bonafide that I ordered a pair in 180 cm for the rest of the season and spent much of the remainder of this heavy snow year on it ... This truly remarkable blend of characteristics makes the Bonafide on of the most versatile skis that I have ever skied on and makes it a huge winner in the very competitive 98 mm width range."

Basically this ski has the uncanny ability to do it all, and do it surprisingly well. From the very first test on icy conditions at Squaw Valley, where the metal laminate and cambered section gave the ski the grip and dampness of a skinnier carving ski to soft, heavy crud at Mammoth Mountain where it busted through cut up chunks and skimmed along on top of wind-packed chalk, it's never once missed a beat.

Philpug, who also clicks into just about every ski available in a season, had this to say about the Blizzard Bonafide over at epicski.com:
"After testing about 15 98mm skis for the 2012 season, I have come to the conclusion that the Blizzard Bonafide is the best of the bunch. The way the Bonafide handles all snow conditions from hardpack to 3 feet of powder it's unrivaled in its class. If I had to take only one ski with me - east, west, north or south, it would be the Bonafide."

Those are our preferences for a western all-mountain ski - the ski that lives in our car, ready for any conditions when we get to slip away from work for a few lunch-time runs or a pre-work powder lap. But if you look around the web at other reviews, you'll find we aren't the only ones who really, really like this ski.

Ski magazine said: "Given its width and rocker, it ought to prefer deep snow, but the Bonafide is every bit as enthusiastic about groomers and even bumps," ranking it number 1 in stability and hard-snow performance and number 2 in quickness (a surprising combination).

Sierra Descents said: "The word is out: Blizzard's Bonafide is one of the best skis on the mountain today, a versatile all mountain masterpiece that consistently surpasses expectations."

Nitty Gritty: The ski has a rockered tip and tail with camber underfoot, using what Blizzard uses "Flipcore," which we find makes for a more natural rocker profile that doesn't seem to flap the way other rockered skis do at speed. The dimensions are 133-98-118.