Blizzard Sheeva 10 Review
Our Verdict
Our Analysis and Test Results
We felt that Blizzard's Carbon Flipcore DRT technology, which attempts to strengthen the area of the ski underfoot while “reducing the torsional strength of the tip and tail,” had pretty much exactly that effect. The part of the ski under our foot felt quite solid and stable, but the lightened tips and tails (done in hopes of better powder flotation and greater ease of turning) felt insecure. Unfortunately, this ski's buoyancy didn't seem to be enhanced enough to sacrifice stability.
Performance Comparison
Stability at Speed
You can see the tips flapping on the Sheeva 10 from a mile away when you get it moving at higher speeds. However, there is a certain steadiness immediately underneath your feet. Alas, the front third of the ski dancing around like a frog in a blender makes it uncomfortable at very high speeds. The edge hold capabilities are in the middle of our test group.
Carving Ability
Once again, the stability the Sheeva 10 displays underfoot make it fun for carving, if you can ignore the flappity-flop of the tips. It skis a little shorter than many others in our test and also feels surprisingly quick for its large size. The edge-to-edge agility is impressive for something as wide as 102mm underfoot. The 16m turn radius is unusual for a ski of this width, and it provides a zippy carve when laid on edge.
Powder Performance
The Blizzard Sheeva 10 is a floaty, fun ski in the powder, but it didn't blow us away in this metric as we'd hoped from a fat ski. “It did the job,” said one tester but didn't do it spectacularly. This ski was solid and reliable in the fresh snow but didn't inspire us to stick with this model until the last chair.
Crud Performance
We'd had hopes that the Sheeva 10 would be a goddess powerful enough to bulldoze the chop, but in fact, it gave us a pretty bouncy ride and felt very limp and feeble towards the front of the ski.
Terrain Playfulness
While the Sheeva 10 is more playful than expected from such a bulky shape, we still didn't find the responsiveness and rebound we were looking for in this ski.
Bumps
The strength this ski provides underfoot makes it ski fairly well in the bumps, despite its behemoth form. It is more spry than anticipated from its size and can move rapidly through the moguls when prodded.
Should You Buy the Sheeva 10?
The Blizzard Sheeva 10 is simply unremarkable. Even if you are exclusively a powder skier, this ski does not perform well enough across the board to justify it as a versatile, all-mountain option. There are certainly higher-scoring skis at a similar price point that will likely suit most skiers a bit better.
What Other Women's All-Mountain Skis Should You Consider?
The Blizzard Sheeva 10 is a jack of all trades but master of none. Although it was fun in fresh snow, the Elan Ripstick 94 W is a better powder ski. If you'd rather have a stable, front-side carver, our top pick is the Volkl Secret 96. And of course, one cannot go wrong with the Nordica Santa Ana 98, a solid crud-buster and overall the best-performing ski in our review.