Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

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Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby Max_501 » Sat Mar 31, 2018 5:53 pm

In general I'm not a fan of a one ski quiver but if I was traveling and only had room for one ski it would be the Blossom White Out. The White Out's big trick is being darn good in nearly any condition anywhere on the mountain.

Carving on groomers with confidence inspiring edge hold - CHECK
Banging through the bumps - CHECK
Stealing fresh pow lines from jbotti - CHECK
Ripping through crud - CHECK

I haven't skied it in spring slush or wet heavy PNW pow but I have no doubt it will handle those conditions with aplomb. Better than the Peak 78 and 84 in every category I can think of.

Mine came tuned on the aggressive side with what I'd guess is .5 degree on the base bevel and a deep structure. This makes them a handful in the sharp grabby snow crystals found in the rockies. Easy to fix with a less aggressive base structure and taking the base bevel to 1 degree.

NOTE - This is not a ski for developing PMTS movements because it's 77mm underfoot.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby CO_Steve » Sat Mar 31, 2018 7:46 pm

Chris, how does it compare the the Speedzone 12/14? I've been skiing my SZs in almost any condition and haven't found anything they are bad at. We don't have true crud here often though.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby Vailsteve » Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:20 pm

Not sure if the Hart Pulse is the same ski...I think it may be the Blossom Sonora equivalent, but the Pulse is one heck of a ski that works almost everywhere in Vail. Front , back, crud, powder...maybe a bit less edge hold on the icy crap I was skiing first thing this morning. For conditions like this I prefer my Stockli SC’s, but the snow is now softening by 10 AM or so.

And the Pulse at 77 under foot does tip beautifully! I find it to be quite PMTS-friendly... (I should say I think the ski is PMTS friendly....the skier maybe not so much...

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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby jbotti » Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:39 pm

Vailsteve wrote:Not sure if the Hart Pulse is the same ski...I think it may be the Blossom Sonora equivalent, but the Pulse is one heck of a ski that works almost everywhere in Vail. Front , back, crud, powder...maybe a bit less edge hold on the icy crap I was skiing first thing this morning. For conditions like this I prefer my Stockli SC’s, but the snow is now softening by 10 AM or so.

And the Pulse at 77 under foot does tip beautifully! I find it to be quite PMTS-friendly... (I should say I think the ski is PMTS friendly....the skier maybe not so much...

Vailsteve


This is comment that Heluva made in a previous thread about the Blossom White Out (it answers your question):

The Pulse is the same ski as a now-discontinued ski called the Snoras. It is a no-metal version of the Wind Shear (but the same shape). The White Out is the same ski as the now-discontinued Hart Striker.

I own a pair of each of the Blossom "all-mountain" skis (Wind Shear, White Out, Snoras) and they all ski a bit differently, but with the same glued to the snow characteristics that JB described above. I think the most versatile is the Snoras/Pulse. It may not be the most ideal PMTS ski however, as it requires very strong tipping ability.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby A.L.E » Mon Apr 02, 2018 5:02 pm

Plenty of us long-distance travellers are in need of a "one trick pony". I've been on the verge of credit carding up a pair of Blossoms, all based on JBotti's endorsement, nice to see yours as well Max.
I just had a couple of weeks on my new iSpeeds, which were fantastic but they are a lot stiffer than my old pre-Kers Super Shapes. Still, I loved every minute on them. Perhaps iSpeeds not so friendly in the bumps for my developing bump skill set. So the Blossoms sound like they can be that one ski set for travel.

Max_501 wrote:In general I'm not a fan of a one ski quiver but if I was traveling and only had room for one ski it would be the Blossom White Out. The White Out's big trick is being darn good in nearly any condition anywhere on the mountain.

Carving on groomers with confidence inspiring edge hold - CHECK
Banging through the bumps - CHECK
Stealing fresh pow lines from jbotti - CHECK
Ripping through crud - CHECK

I haven't skied it in spring slush or wet heavy PNW pow but I have no doubt it will handle those conditions with aplomb. Better than the Peak 78 and 84 in every category I can think of.

Mine came tuned on the aggressive side with what I'd guess is .5 degree on the base bevel and a deep structure. This makes them a handful in the sharp grabby snow crystals found in the rockies. Easy to fix with a less aggressive base structure and taking the base bevel to 1 degree.

NOTE - This is not a ski for developing PMTS movements because it's 77mm underfoot.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby Max_501 » Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:09 am

A.L.E wrote:Perhaps iSpeeds not so friendly in the bumps for my developing bump skill set. So the Blossoms sound like they can be that one ski set for travel


The Blossoms may feel too stiff for tighter bumps (at least until they've been softened up from some use).
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby HeluvaSkier » Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:21 am

Max_501 wrote:The Blossoms may feel too stiff for tighter bumps (at least until they've been softened up from some use).


The pair I have from 2012 is a nice bump ski now (after being softened up over the years), but to be honest I still prefer something narrower for bump skiing.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby A.L.E » Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:50 pm

Max_501 wrote:
A.L.E wrote:Perhaps iSpeeds not so friendly in the bumps for my developing bump skill set. So the Blossoms sound like they can be that one ski set for travel


The Blossoms may feel too stiff for tighter bumps (at least until they've been softened up from some use).


Thanks Max.....I better use them a lot :D
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby JMD » Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:20 am

My Blossom White Out Skis 176cm finally arrived yesterday. Took 31 days from ordering to delivery. Ordered with the PRD12 binding and Powerail Triflex Plate, came with the newer PRD12 'Grip Walk' model. Beautiful looking skis. I have about 2 months of this ski season still available at A-Basin. With spring conditions I'll stay with the more aggressive base structure until next fall. I'm looking forward to trying this highly recommended ski. JMD :D
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby GHagen » Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:37 pm

I skied the White Outs stock with no tune new. Loved the way they skied. When it came time for a tune I emailed Blossom and they gave me the tuning specs. .65 base / 3 side. Precision ski in Frisco CO did a great tune. They are still my favorite ski, 70 days into it
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby geoffda » Fri May 04, 2018 2:33 pm

Just skied JMD's pair of Blossom White Outs in a 176. It is a nice ski that is very versatile and handles all turn shapes well. Despite its 77mm waist it, tips onto edge easily and responds well to increasing tipping. The shovel engages nicely and will pull the ski into the turn with ease. All of that said, it is a surprisingly stiff ski and it requires some skill to extract the full measure of performance. It is a very damp ski, and while it doesn't feel particularly lively, it is far from dead. Rebound is solid, rather than springy.

Honestly, while I liked the ski, I didn't love it. 77mm underfoot isn't wide enough to offer much in the way of float and the extra width was unnoticeable to me in the deep crud. It is a burly ski and a solid crud buster, but even when skiing deep, soft crud, nothing about it made me demand to keep skiing it. While the White Out is race-like, it isn't a race ski and at the end of the day, there was nothing about the ski that made me not want my Head iSLs back. But know that I prefer race skis in all terrain and almost all conditions. Most skiers aren't like me. I concur with Max_501 that the White Out is a way better (and way more fun) ski than the Peak 78/84.

While there are plenty of reasons to like this ski, I think it is best suited for high level PMTS skiers who are looking for something a bit de-tuned from a full on race ski that they can ski fast and aggressively in all terrain and conditions. As a one-ski quiver (assuming you don't think of a slalom ski as a one ski-quiver), it is a good choice. Less skilled skiers (particularly those who are lighter and/or who lack free foot pullback) may struggle to make this ski perform.

To answer Co_Steve's question, the performance is comparable to the Dynastar Speed Zone 14. The Speed Zone 14 is narrower, but I prefer the way it skis to the White Out. IMO, the Dynastar is even damper and more glued to the snow and it has more of a race feel when you wind it up. I especially like how in short turns, the Dynastar actually gets springy at release, which is totally different from the way it behaves in medium radius or larger turns.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby JFD » Sat May 05, 2018 11:49 pm

Sorry to hijack the thread. I am an intermediate skier and just started learning pmts. I have a pair of 2018 SS ispeed. I'd like to have a pair of all mountain skis for vacations. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby Max_501 » Sun May 06, 2018 9:31 am

geoffda wrote:It is a very damp ski, and while it doesn't feel particularly lively, it is far from dead. Rebound is solid, rather than springy.


This is an interesting difference because the 2 pair that I have been on feel very lively with lots of rebound (like a SL ski).
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby noobSkier » Mon May 07, 2018 8:30 am

Has anyone tried the Dynastar speedzone 16? Dimensions are almost identical to the SS kers.
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Re: Blossom White Out, The Multi-Trick Pony

Postby jbotti » Mon May 07, 2018 9:02 am

Harald skis it. Stiff slalom carver. Not an all mountain ski. Geoff would probably love it.
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