2022 Blizzard Black Pearl 82

The Black Pearl formula is tried, tested, and true. These skis all work so well for a huge number of skiers, and it’s as simple as that. I think we’ve been conditioned lately to believe that 82 mm underfoot is too narrow to be an all-mountain ski, and that’s not always the case. With a ski like the Black Pearl 82, which is basically mostly shared DNA with all other Black Pearl as well as Brahma/Bonafide on the men’s side, the top end of the performance is difficult to find. These skis have so much versatility to them, and if you’re being honest with yourself about the terrain and conditions that you most often ski, the 82 mm waist just makes a lot of sense. Quick enough to make short turns on the groomers, and agile for the bumps and trees, the Black Pearl 82 has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. In the 166, this ski generates a 13.5-meter turn radius, so it’s on the short side for sure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t open them up and let them run. The carbon in the tips and tails makes sure that the skis stay on their intended line, making skiers feel more confident to drive the shovel through the mid-foot of the ski.

Alli Ruschp has skied her fair share of Black Pearl skis over the years, and she’s as big of a fan as you’ll find. On the 166 that she felt skied true, Alli did not disappoint, with scores of all 4’s and 5’s right across the board. The high scores were given for playfulness, forgiveness, quickness, and maneuverability—all total hallmarks of the Black Pearl 82. Alli states that it’s “fun and easy to ski, and will take you most places in the resort. Nice waist width to hit the groomers all day long but the shape will allow you to pop into the bumps and tress with ease. Confident feel, and smooth ride. Not meant for aggressive carving.” And that’s a nice point, that while the overall shape is on the narrow side, the ski still has more of an all-mountain/freeride personality, just in a smaller waist.

Pascale Savard was also on the 166, and had fairly similar scores as Alli. With a low and unsurprising 3 for flotation, the rest of her scores were all 5’s right across the card. This scoring is consistent with a well-rounded ski with a very high top-end. She states: "I’ve skied this ski before and loved it, and still do! It’s a perfect ski for Stowe, versatile and fun for short, medium and longer turns. Lively, edgy. Yet easy to control and turn on all terrain.” The ease of use stands out for me for this ski, as it’s just so simple to get up on edge, and it pulls nicely through the turn. Alix Klein also skied the 166 and had an overall impression score of 5 out of 5, as well as 5’s for playfulness, forgiveness, quickness, and maneuverability—much like Alli. Alix notes that “this ski was super fun! It made wonderful carving turns and great pivot/hop turns. It felt responsive and stable no matter what turn shape or speed I was going! I was surprised how fun it was for a waist width of only 82mm.”

Seriously, everyone loves this ski. Our testers are pretty high-end skiers, and they give it some of the highest consistent scores out of almost any ski in our test. They are simple, fun, and kind of elegant but not too much. Like most everything else with this ski, the strength of the character lies right smack in the middle of it all, and since they do it in such a fun and pleasing manner, so many skiers are getting the benefits of these amazing all-mountain skis.