2027 Volkl Blaze 86

For 2027, the Volkl Blaze 86 is a carryover model featuring the same construction, shape, profile, and graphics as last year. These skis are fun, playful, and easy to use, but don't let that distract you from the fact that they can hold up to some serious skiing when asked. In the mid-80's there are a lot of all-mountain skis. These work incredibly well in bumps, trees, and softer snow. They are adventure seekers, and while they may not be as strong or stable as some other options, they certainly hold up their end of the bargain when it comes to exploration and entertainment.

Volkl keeps it pretty simple here, as opposed by some of the wider Blaze skis. One of the reasons why skis like the Blaze 86 are often overlooked, especially by advanced and expert skiers, is the simplicity of their construction. It’s just a lightweight Multilayer Woodcore, a steel band for binding retention, and Volkl’s Suspension Tips & Tails. There’s some technology in there, sure, but overall, it’s quite simple. They’re also quite lightweight. So light, in fact, that some skiers will actually choose the Blaze 86 as a touring ski, which is a very reasonable decision to make. That said, it’s great as an all-mountain ski too. We’ve had a lot of people test the Blaze 86 over the years and the reactions are almost always positive. Tester Matty Kuhnel notes that "The Blaze 86 felt very buttery and can change orientation on a dime, if not trajectory. For how floppy and easy to overpower they were, they actually held a good edge when centering edge pressure. They are most fun at slow and mid speeds because they are not stiff laterally or lengthwise. At speed their playfulness becomes a liability and have a hard time tracking. They feel forgiving at low speeds and perform better than most in that realm."

There aren't many skis at this width that function as well in softer snow and variable terrain. At 86 mm underfoot, it’s squarely in the all-mountain category. Among skis in the mid-80 mm range, however, the Blaze 86 takes more freeride influence than most. It has reasonably long rocker lines, although the rocker doesn’t rise abruptly off the snow. That means you get the maneuverability benefits of rockered tips and tails, but if you tip the ski on edge, you’re still achieving a long effective edge allowing for plenty of trust and control. Volkl also uses their 3D Radius shaping where we see longer radii in the tips and tails and a shorter radius underfoot. This lets the skier really play around with different turn shapes. The ski doesn’t pull you into a turn when you don’t want it to, giving the skier full control when varying between shorter, more pivoted turns and longer, more arcing carves. Tester Kristin Connors calls it a "Great all mountain ski, lightweight but sturdy on the hard packed. These would be fun off piste, but ripped on the hard packed."

The Blaze 86 makes a great choice for progressing skiers who are looking to dip into a bit more of an adventurous scene. You want to explore moguls and trees but don't want an overly demanding ski. The Blaze also functions well as more of a touring or a hybrid option so that further increases both the versatility and the value as you can put all sorts of different bindings on this ski.