“View freeride through a new lens.”
After dropping last season, we’ve spent a lot of time on the Line Blade Optic 96. With a new Line Chronic and Bacon that hold down the “all-mountain freestyle” category from Line, the Blade Optic series provides a chargier, all-mountain/big-mountain freeride alternative. One of our personal favorites was the versatile Blade Optic 96, so let’s dive into our Line Blade Optic 96 review.
Line Blade Optic 96 Review: Field Notes
The Blade Optic 96 is one of four in the Blade Optic collection. There’s a non-metal, playful 92, with big-mountain and powder chargers in 104 and 114. The skis blend the playful shape of the lightweight Vision skis and the sturdy metal construction of the Blade. But it gets an upgrade: “Gas Pedal Metal Overdrive“. This version tweaks the metal’s shape in the Blade Optic vs. the Blade. The “Overdrive” focuses more on the metal through the center of the ski, running into the tip and tail. You get metal reinforcement along the edges and the rad chevron-shaped horizontal pieces to provide some torsional rigidity. The long center strip should provide additional stability, especially at speed.
The substantial tip and tail rocker makes these skis almost twin-tipped, but the rocker is not quite 100% symmetrical. The tip shape tapers slightly, giving you more maneuverability there. With the mount point set back from the true center about 7cm, you get a bit more ski in front of you to stabilize your ride.
I’m about 5’8″, 130lbs, and skied the 177cm. I was a little hesitant about the length at first. Left to my own devices, I probably would have chosen the 170cm. I feel totally comfortable skiing in the mid-170s length, but it is not my first choice for all-mountain terrain like bumps and trees (where 170-ish is spot on for me). After my first lap on the ski. I was super happy with the choice. More on that later.
I got a chance to ride the Blade Optic 96 during a demo day, but we were also able to snag the whole collection for our 2023 Ski Test in March, so we’ve included some of our staff’s testing notes from that day.
Groomers
Given the slightly wild rocker profile, we were really interested in how the skis would perform on groomed terrain. To our pleasant surprise, they’re quite a blast to rip around on. They feel quick and nimble, easy to roll over on edge, and let you have a bit of creativity with your turn shape or stance. You can stay more centered and slash around, or take a more forward stance and push a bit harder.
Fellow reviewer Matt and I took the skis out and decided on a scorching fast groomer lap (when Matt says hot lap, he means scorching hot) to check out the skis. Meeting back up at the lift, Matt shouted “thank God these have metal in them!” and it’s true. The ultra rockered shape is something we don’t normally expect to feel solid at high speeds, but Blade Optic 96 totally holds it’s own against the most directional and demanding frontside skis, thanks to Gas Pedal Metal: Overdrive.
Titanal is usually double edged sword— dampening the ride and smoothing things out, but can feel heavy or overly demanding at times. The Blade Optic does a great job of incorporating metal in specific spots to give you support where you need it, without making the ski feel demanding.
If the snow is truly bulletproof (as we discovered during our Powder7 Ski Test), there was a bit of a speed limit. That said, this was a speed limit that most skis run into in those conditions. For a ski this rockered, the speed limit is particularly high.
“Carved hard! Softer tips and tails made me think it would expose it mid-carve, but I was very wrong! It laid over and cranked turns. It was very capable wherever I took it.”
– Andrew, Training and Customer Service Extraordinaire
Bumps and Trees
The Line Blade Optic 96 is a wizard in tight terrain. Or maybe, taking inspiration from the topsheet: a hacker. Hacking their way into the mainframe, learning intricate secrets and calculating the best lines through techy terrain. Either that, or it’s just a wildly intuitive and quick ski. Probably the latter.
Despite skiing something sized well over where I prefer for tight terrain, the 177cm Blade Optic was completely manageable to turn. I definitely noticed the extra length in trees, but it didn’t stop me from taking the lines I wanted. The ski feels very natural to turn, and as we noticed on the groomers, is happy to be skied different ways. You can whip this ski sideways so fast and slash your heart out. Alternatively, you can tackle the fall line more head on. It’s still a very playful ski that’s prone to drifting through turns, but you won’t go over the handlebars if you ski it more aggressively.
The progressive flex with softer tips and tails provides a nice suspension when skiing through bumps. The softer tip can absorb a stray bump, or if you wind up off your line, you don’t get completely bucked. At the same time, compared to other heavily rockered and/or lighter skis, I found the Blade Optic tracked much better through choppier snow.
Mixed Snow and Powder
Despite being 96mm underfoot, the Blade Optic 96 performs pretty darn well in these mixed conditions. While I didn’t get to ski them in deep snow, we had a few inches of fresh snow falling to try them out in. The tip shape really lends itself to floating well for the size. While it may not be the tool you reach for specifically on powder days, the Optic 96 can certainly navigate those deeper days. It would be a great choice for folks looking prioritizing all mountain and firm snow conditions, but want something that is capable in deeper stuff.
Like I mentioned above, the Blade Optic 96 tracked better through choppy, mixed snow better than I expected. For something so quick, maneuverable, and accessible, the ride stays fairly smooth when pushing through choppy snow.
That said, this is still a very playful ski, so if you prefer to charge through snow with big turns and at high speeds, there are stronger, more directional options.
“Very easy to pivot and the softer tips made sticking to a line easier, even when an unexpected bump or lump pops up letting you ride up and over it. This ski can take you anywhere you want to bop around.”
Mikey, Ski Tech and Cookie Connoisseur
Downside?
The only downside we really found while testing was stability at mega-high speeds on firm or choppy conditions. While those softer tips and tails can provide good support at slower speeds, at high speeds they don’t lock into the snow quite as well as a ski with a longer effective edge. That’s pretty typical for skis with deep rocker lines.
If you prefer to ski fast and straight, there are definitely more directional and powerful options that can blast through those challenging conditions.
Bottom Line
The Blade Optic 96 does a remarkable job of retaining Line’s characteristic flair and playfulness while also packing enough of a punch to be a legit all-mountain option for lots of skiers. Line’s past attempts to pull off versatile all-mountain skis have resulted in models like the Sick Day, Supernatural, and so on. We are confident in saying the Blade Optic is far and away our favorite. It’s still flavorful enough to keep the usual Line skier stoked, but its all-mountain chops should bring some new skiers to Line’s dinner table.