The Black Pearl 78 is the narrowest ski in Blizzard’s All Mountain Freeride collection and the 78 mm waist width actually is narrower than some of their more carving-specific Alight skis. This positions the Black Pearl 78 almost as a carving ski, although it’s rocker profile is inspired and derived by a more versatile, maneuverable, and capable-off-piste shape. The result is a ski that really should be able to do a little bit of everything. The carbon flipcore construction and wood core should provide enough torsional stiffness to hold a relatively fast, powerful carving turn, while the skis tip and tail rocker and subtle early taper give it excellent maneuverability, even in soft and/or variable snow conditions.
Tami Razinger tested the 156 cm length and found the Black Pearl 78 to be quite versatile and also gave it full scores for quickness and maneuverability. Tami commented that “the Black Pearl 78 felt stable and fun in both the hard and soft snow.” She continued to describe it as “quick, responsive, and fairly playful.” Tami thought it was a great ski for “all over the resort.” She also thought that even though it doesn’t use any metal in its construction, it “held up to any speed,” which is quite a compliment coming from someone like Tami who is used to charging down the fall line in big mountain competitions. While we don’t want to segment the ski to only women who have children, Tami did make a comment that it would be a “great Mom ski!” Chase after the kids through moguls and trees, carve some high speed turns with Dad, or just enjoy the cruisers; the Black Pearl 78 can do it all!
Katrine Wolfgang was a big fan of the Black Pearl 78, and guess what? She’s a Mom! Ok, we’ll drop the Mom idea now. Katrine has a strong skiing background and has tested an inconceivable amount of skis in her day. She tested the 163 cm length and gave the Black Pearl 78 high scores across the board and being a woman of few words, simply stated that it “initiated turns great, was steady when skiing fast,” and ultimately described it as a “smooth ski” for a wide range of terrain and conditions. We wouldn’t be surprised if we see a pair of Black Pearl 78s on Katrine’s feet this coming winter.
Julia Gill skied the 156 cm length and was certainly impressed by the fun factor and versatility of the Black Pearl 78. She commented that the Black Pearl “is a great ski for anyone looking to carve turns and play around.” She thought it had a great mix of performance characteristics, saying that it “held its edge in very firm conditions, and was easy to maneuver in softer snow.” That’s the type of versatility you need for a true all mountain ski. No matter what the snow conditions are the Black Pearl 78 will handle it. Julia even thought it had decent stability and power, as she described it as “quick and easy to turn, but powerful enough to push through rougher conditions.”
The Black Pearl 78 offers all mountain performance in a more “traditional” waist width. While it’s easy to argue that the Black Pearl 88 and even 98 are more “versatile” thanks to their increased width, the ability of the Black Pearl 78 in soft and variable snow conditions is really quite impressive and it’s that much quicker edge to edge on firm snow than its wider sisters. Blizzard has been producing some impressive all mountain skis in recent years and the Black Pearl 78 most certainly continues that trend and is part of an awesome new Black Pearl collection.
