Blizzard has installed some new technology into their Firebird on-piste series for the 2018-19 winter season and we were itching to try it out.
Interestingly they throw up some conflicting scores across our team with a split depending on the size and weight of the tester. The good news is that everyone likes them - but the lighter skiers struggled to whip them around and initiate turns. Everyone agreed they need to be worked hard, aggressively and this generally suited the larger skiers in the team.
Saying that, any expert skier should enjoy their stability at speed. They carve smooth lines, slice through even the hardest packed snow like a knife through frozen butter and start smiling at you the faster you push them.
In slower, shorter radius turns they feel more sluggish with plenty of input needed for them to change direction. They feel a little old school in that respect, but in a good way.
Our scores here reflect an average between our smaller and larger ski testers - so a larger man should add one point to the overall score and a smaller should take one away. One area we all agreed on was the edge grip where the Firebird Ti got a resounding 10 out of 10 across the board.
Overall, the Firebird Ti should suit a strong, aggressive skier who enjoys on-piste carving, especially at higher speeds in GS style turns. It also represents good value for money at £550 with bindings.
