The Queen is back for another run at the title. Probably one of the best all-mountain, all-condition, all skier-type skis we’ve ever seen. It can fit and please an extraordinarily wide group of skiers, and in the past five years or so of the model, we’ve hardly heard any bad or negative words uttered about the ski. Unchanged for 2019, the Black Pearl 88 will continue its dominance yet again—providing lightweight, stable control for lady skiers of many different abilities.
Ariel Aidala loved the versatility of the Black Pearl 88 in a 166 cm length. She referred to it as “your bread and butter single quiver ski…this ski performs better on edge but doesn’t charge well through the crud.” Perhaps attributed to the fact that there’s no metal in the ski, the crud performance would lack a bit. But we were skiing some pretty heavy stuff that day, too.
It appears as though Josi Kytle found a match with the 166 cm Black Pearl 88. “My new heaven!” she says. She gave the skis high marks in playfulness, forgiveness, and overall impression. Her continued praise and comments section was equally as effluent. “Fast, quick, flexible, yet stable” were all descriptions she used for the ultra-versatile ski. Interestingly, she felt as though an aggressive skier was needed to maximize the performance.
Elissa DeGolyer loved the versatility of the skis. Also using the 166 cm length, she praised the ski by saying that she’d “highly recommend this ski to anyone. I feel that this ski has the ability to appease many skier types. You can carve if you want to, but you can butter as well. “
From Katie Perlmutter: “Fun groomer ski. Playful and forgiving.” She continued by calling it a “Mom ski,” which I guess is a compliment, I mean I know a lot of Moms that totally shred. She loved the quickness and forgiveness of the 166 cm length.
Stability and torsional stiffness were high marks for Emily Crofton’s experience on the 166. She wrote a good amount about the skis, and spoke to the general, all-mountain nature of the skis: “I liked this ski a lot. Felt very intuitive right away. They were very stable at speed yet playful and carve-able. They felt very versatile for bumps, off-groomers, and woods.” The versatile nature of this ski cannot be understated. It’s a true all-encompassing machine that’s capable of anything and everything.
Pascale Savard echoed Emily’s sentiments and also touted the versatile nature of the Black Pearl 88’s. She gave the skis top grades in all categories except for stability, which she gave a 4 out of 5. She “could see this being my every day ski. It is very versatile, lively, fun, good at higher speed, but also fun in short power turns.” Continuing her praise, she noted that the skis are “good for all level skiers.”
Blizzard has continued to do a fantastic job making a proper ski for a lot of different skier types and abilities. It’s rare that a ski has such a long run, and has been so successful at doing so. It’s a testament to the true versatile and fun-loving nature of the Black Pearl 88—a true one-ski quiver.
