2023 Line Blade W

Unchanged but for graphics, the 2023 Line Blade W is a fantastic choice for lady skiers who are looking for something unique and unlike anything else out there on the hill. It’s really difficult, if not impossible, to define this ski in our modern terms—this is one of the skis that benefits the most from a test like this because you get a lot of people’s opinions and shared experiences on this ski, and those words carry way more weight than scores. Built with an aspen wood core and a partial metal laminate (say it with me: Gas Pedal Metal!), the Blade W has the proper amount of torsional stiffness to get this ski up on edge. If it was any softer, you wouldn’t really be able to create the same edge angles that are necessary to access the crazy-short turn radius of the ski. 140-92-114 mm are the measurements of this ski, making it fall more in line with a wide slalom ski versus anything we see in the all-mountain category. Speaking of category, where do we even put this thing? It’s all over the map, and it almost negates the purpose for labels, and for that, we’re thankful to Line for re-defining what a ski can and should (or should not) be.

Danielle Nichols was on the 167, noting that it was a bit short, “but got better as I figured out the ski.” She gave the Blade W all 4’s out of 5, and we can read a few things into that. One, Danielle liked a lot of things about the ski, and felt it was better-than-average at all of these categories. Two, she didn’t know what to give the ski because it’s so unique and different that it’s hard to quantify. Either way, this type of high scores across the board is impressive from any angle that you look at it. Danielle was “Pleasantly surprised. It took a few skiddy slidey turns to figure it out, but once I got into a rhythm, they were super fun. Easy to maneuver and quite playful. Would be a tough sell for most women. Pretty heavy.” The selling point of these skis is as difficult to get a handle on as anything we’ve seen. Who is going to like this ski? Is it everyone? No one? Somewhere in between? Like a lot of things with the Line Blade W, we’re honestly not quite sure, and the strangest part is that we’re pretty okay with that.

Also on the 167, Kristi Brown notes that the ski is “Large and in charge! Whoah! Skis easier than it looks at the length and width.” I guess that means it’s true to size, but again, not quite sure, and that’s part of the fun. Kristi’s scores were a bit more defined, with top marks of 5 out of 5 given for flotation, torsional stiffness, and edge hold, and 4’s for stability, versatility, and overall impression. She notes about the ski that it’s “maybe a pickup truck or a cool dude ski???? What the heck, really...It skis much better than it looks, and is more versatile in turning and charges in crud.” I like how that quote starts off ominously, but ends up on the positive side of the spectrum for sure.

It’s probably best not to put a specific label on these skis, although I will say that they’re a ton of fun.  One piece of advice that I have from my time on the Blade is to ditch your poles for a few runs and see how it goes. It removes the static feeling that poles can create, especially if you’re looking to be on a more playful and fun-loving ski.