2023 Blizzard Phoenix R13 Ca W

The 2023 Blizzard R13 CA is a front-side, eager to carve ski for women with a need for speed. Designed to give you the control and confidence desired to arc defined turns and fight gravity, Blizzard paid extra attention to the overall construction and design of this ski. Featuring a Women’s Specific Design, a new True Blend on-piste woodcore, and an extra layer of Titinal, you get maximum edge hold and stability for precision and control. To ensure this, Blizzard’s True Blend positions denser wood stringers directly underfoot while leaving the tips and tails lighter and more flexible. As a result, initiation into a turn and edge grip starts from the middle of the ski and reduces the swing weight. With a waist width of 76 mm, it falls under a moderate sized carving ski yet with a 13 m radius at 165 cm in length, it performs as a slalom-style ski. A light and maneuverable carving ski, you will feel confident bringing it up to top speed and will be eager to slice groomers.

Allison Kozar and Susan Dorn both skied the 160 and found it to be just right. While they both had very similar scores across the board, with mostly 4’s, there were a few discrepancies which speak to their individual takes on this ski. For Allison, she found that it performed exceptionally well except for in versatility. This makes sense as it is considered a race ski, which will ultimately affect its ability to perform its best in varied terrain. She thought it was a “great ski for someone who likes an easy turning ski, that is light, but doesn’t let the chatter come up th legs. Likes to make short fast turns.” As for Susan, with 4’s in all categories except for flotation, stability, and playfulness, she found it to be a “nice intermediate level ski. Easy to initiate. Finished turns well. Did well in everything I challenged it to. Missing a bit of pop but what intermediate can handle that?” For a seemingly singularly focused front-side ski, both of our testers found quite a bit to enjoy from it and knew where it shined.

Kristi Brown skied the 155 and felt it skied short for her. With top scores of 4’s out of 5 for forgiveness and overall impression and the rest of her scores earning a 3, her takeaway was “the Phoenix JV ski - brilliant play as feels like Blizzard is taking a top tier ski and lightening the complexities to allow a beginner intermediate to enjoy. It definitely would be an enhancer in ability. Great beginner ski but does not look like a beginner ski!” The ease of turning has a lot to do with that beginner nature, but the performance of the ski certainly goes well beyond what an emerging carver would expect.

For female skiers looking for a dynamic front-side performer, the Blizzard Phoenix R13 offers an approachable and fun experience. With a stable yet maneuverable personality, beginner to intermediate skiers will gain confidence and momentum with the ski’s ability to make quick, round turns.