If the Blizzard Black Pearl 78 were an All-Mountain East model, we’d have nothing negative to say about it. But then, if the Black Pearl 78 were 1cm wider it would be the Black Pearl 88, the most popular ski in America. In its actual dimensions, the Black Pearl 78 brings a backcountry sensibility to the on-trail experience. For a ski that’s rockered at tip and tail, the Black Pearl 78 reaped rave scores for its connection to the top of the turn and its natural facility at short-radius turns.

The Black Pearl 78 gets its sneaky quicks from its Flipcore baseline. The secret to Flipcore’s success is that it places no stress on the transition between the slightly elevated tip and tail and the camber zone underfoot. As soon as the ski is tipped, any amount of pressure melds the rockered areas with the middle, creating a continuous edge that doesn’t need any extra oomph to hold, even on groomers.

McKenzie Coles works at Sturtevant’s of Sun Valley, at the base of one of the best collection of cruising runs in the country. She dealt the Black Pearl 78 a full house of 10’s and 9’s for its carving properties, declaring it “Great for Baldy’s fast groomers!” Jolee from Footloose in Mammoth Lakes, California, like Sturtevant’s proximate to a big mountain that lends itself to high-speed hauling, had the same impression, describing it as “Very fun ski on the groomers and hard pack. Easy to engage and release the turn,” she says, citing another behavior attributable to Flipcore’s invisible effectiveness.

For a ski with such a high performance ceiling, the Black Pearl 78 owns the distinction of earning the highest score in the genre for Short-Radius Turns and the second highest for Low-Speed Turning. Put these two attributes together and you have the makings of a marvelous mogul ski, cobra-quick with catch-and-release extremities that won’t hang up in boxy bumps. For such a big performance envelope in a narrow ski, we award the Black Pearl 78 a Silver Skier Selection.