From 'everyday fun seekers' to Freeride World Tour winners, the Rustler family of skis from Blizzard has won a loyal following. Last season both the Rustler 9 and 10 were popular among our testers - although not unanimously. How would they stand up against the current herd?
The Rustler 10 is a progressive freeride ski with a suitably complex construction; full wood core, titanal inlay in a kind of bi-directional arrow pointing out from the centre, and carbon inlays in the tip and tail. Early rise nose and 'Dynamic Release Technology' (decreased torsional rigidity in tip and tail to make for less aggression in softer snow) all add up to a super-playful package. This is a banger!
After skiing some fairly flat freeride skis the Rustler 10 shows them up - it charges just as hard as the stiff planks but is also full of life and personality. It bounces and pops like a much softer ski and flies and lands very smoothly.
But it is also solid at speed and on an edge in wide arcing turns. The only negative is fairly poor performance in short turns, but this is the freeride category, not all-mountain.
£550 doesn't make this the cheapest in the freeride category but it's far from the most expensive. Given the ride is as powerful and as lively as a bucking bronco, the Rustler 10 is a steal.
