Curated Ski Expert Daryl Morrison got her hands on the 2023 Blizzard Cochise 106 this spring and put it to the test at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in terms of speed, control, and chatter, but don’t forget, every skier is unique; if you have any questions about the Cochise 106 or would like recommendations on what ski would be ideal for your needs, reach out to a Ski Expert here on Curated.

Before we jump in, a quick note that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands, all of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

Blizzard claims that this is a really fun, hard-charging ski for daily driving. It’s a mix of a big mountain ski and more of a free ride, playful thing. They claim that this model has more energy than last year's Cochise, and they've changed things up a bit with the core.

Overall Impressions

This is going to be a great all-mountain option for someone who's skiing in an area that gets more snowfall, like Utah, Colorado, Pacific Northwest. It’s a very strong ski that will do really well in adverse conditions like cutting through crud. I had a fun time on it here in Utah today, and I was skiing a mix of ice and two inches of slush, so it’s a very versatile ski. Definitely more versatile than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a lot damper, and be just a little bit more boring. The ski has a ton of energy turn to turn. It loves to charge, loves to go fast, and I had a really great time on it.

How easy is it to control the speed?

If you are not a strong skier, the ski is going to be very difficult for you to control. This is definitely an expert ski. It needs someone who is strong on their feet, forward, and can drive the ski.

Did you feel a lot of chatter?

I felt almost no chatter. The only times that it chattered a tiny bit was just when I hit a few different bumps going down on some groomers. My one complaint about today is that the light is so low. Were the visibility conditions better, I would've had a lot more fun than I did on this ski, because I would've been able to see the terrain and grade changes, and the little differences in the snow. But it definitely did not chatter at all, no matter how fast I was going.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to?

Expert skiers, check this one out. If you are an ex-racer or someone who's super confident when they're skiing, this is going to be a really responsive ski for you, and it's going to really respond well to you driving it and throwing it sideways.

Who would you not recommend this ski to?

This is not a ski for a beginner or for an intermediate. This is a ski for a strong skier who's very comfortable being forward on their ski and driving it. The ski is not going to respond to you sitting in the back seat, being on your tails at all, or just being a little bit more timid.

Anything else to add?

I'd like to give a disclaimer on the conditions. The problem with skiing these right now is that we've had a pretty low snowfall year. I would love to ski these in some fresh snow, some lighter snow than I was skiing them in today. I’d also like to ski through the trees. Basically, anything off groomers today, the skis would stick right in when you went in the trees or even off the groomed path, so I just stuck to the center of the trail. But I can extrapolate from my own experience that these would be a really great ski for me; for skiing in the trees, or something more wide open. They're definitely more nimble than I thought they were going to be, but they're not going to be ideal for East Coast trees that are super tight.

Skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you have any questions about the Blizzard Cochise 106 or want help finding the right ski for you, reach out to Daryl or any other Ski Expert here on Curated. Note that the 2024 version of the Blizzard Cochise 106 is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: