2021 Blizzard Black Pearl 82

The Black Pearl 82 is back for another season for versatility, quickness, and all-mountain fun. Blizzard made this narrower version of their popular Black Pearl 88 for the 2020 season and it quickly earned high praise for skiers who prefer a narrower all-mountain ski. There are some benefits of going with a narrower ski, increased edge grip, quicker edge to edge feel, a nimbler feeling. Sure, you give up some float and stability in choppy terrain, but for skiers who spend most of their time on groomed slopes and relatively firm terrain, that's a reasonable tradeoff. We get a wood core in the Black Pearl 82 that's supported by Blizzard's Carbon Flipcore technology. It's not a heavy, stiff ski by any means, but it certainly has some Austrain heritage in its feel as the ski has nice bite and edge grip underfoot, although does it without feeling too demanding or fatiguing. A little bit of rocker and taper helps increase versatility for moguls, which is another area where the Black Pearl 82 excels.

Sam Purnell tested the 159 cm length and thought that was a good choice for her. 5 out of 5 score for quickness/maneuverability from Sam, with flotation, stability, and overall impression all right behind with 4 out of 5. "Thoroughly enjoyed this ski. Loved the edge to edge transition feel. A little lighter than I'm used to so I couldn't ski as aggressive as I normally would." Being on the Stowe Ski Patrol, Sam logs a lot of hours on skis and we've seen her out there on much heavier, stiffer ski, so that feedback doesn't surprise us tremendously. That said, we do think the Black Pearl 82 is going to be plenty of ski for the vast majority of skiers. Not everyone gets to ski bell to bell every day, Sam. "Great for intermediates, groomers, and icy conditions too."

Kelly Carroll opted for the 166 cm length, and she too thought that was a good choice for her size and ability. 5 out of 5 scores from Kelly for both stability and quickness/maneuverability. High scores for seemingly contradicting categories always catches out attention and always tells the story of a ski with a wide range of capabilities. "The Black Pearls were incredibly easy to balance on with a great amount of versatility. You could rip large carves across groomers, but I had more fun testing it in short radius turns." Kelly did mention that when she really pushed it hard at high speeds, she started to feel some limitations, but the Black Pearl 82 isn't necessarily designed for raw speed. Blizzard has plenty of stiffer, heavier skis in their lineup, especially if a woman decided to go over to the "men's" line. As far as we're concerned, the Black Pearl 82 is still a high performing ski, and that's reflected in her 5 out of 5 score for stability and the fact she was ripping big arcs on it. Just don't expect to go Super-G speeds. Susan Dorn went for the 159 cm length and gave us some simple, straight-forward feedback. All 4s and 5s out of 5s for scores, and she described it as a "peppy and strong ski. Carved really well, easy to initiate turns. Good in bumps too. Quick, nice, light."

The Black Pearl 82 is a versatile, agile, and super-fun all-mountain ski. Its 82 mm waist width is blurring the lines between frontside and all-mountain, although considering its performance in moguls and its playful feel, we certainly wouldn't want to pigeon hole it to just groomers. A lot of skiers will enjoy this ski. From intermediates who spend most of their time cruising groomers to more advanced skiers who like to manipulate turn shape and explore trickier, steeper terrain.