2020 Blizzard Black Pearl 82
1

Ski Stats

Sidecut 121/82/105 g
Radius 17m @ 173cm
Lengths 152,159,166,173
Weight TK
MSRP $600
FIND
3
1
1
At a scant 4mm wider in the waist than the Black Pearl 78, the new 82 shares a lot of its attributes, including a somewhat surprising preference for the consistency of groomed runs over the anything-goes conditions encountered off-trail. Perry Schaffner, like her dad Jim an archetype of racing power and efficiency, filed this report after a couple of turns on the dance floor with the Black Pearl 82: “The Blizzard Black Pearl in a 173cm length was really great on freshly groomed snow. I can make both large- and short-radius turns very easily and carve while carrying good speed if I want it, but I also have the ability to slow myself down. When I skied off the groomed run into some of the skied-out powder from yesterday it felt like it didn’t perform quite as well as I got bucked around a bit, so I would definitely say you could go in all conditions but it’s probably better to stick towards groom surfaces, especially with the longer length I skied.” Bear in mind that Perry can load the Black Pearl 82 just looking at it, and the pace at which she felt “bucked around a bit” would win a skiercross. For skiers who don’t have Perry’s power, the Black Pearl 82 feels just right.

You can’t blame Blizzard for extending its supremely successful Black Pearl franchise by stringing a new Pearl on the strand between the 78 and 88. No women’s ski in modern skiing’s short history had ever out-sold the unisex field; the Black Pearl 88 has done it four years in a row. Blizzard would have been crazy not to clone it.

At a scant 4mm wider in the waist than the Black Pearl 78, the new 82 shares a lot of its attributes, including a somewhat surprising preference for the consistency of groomed runs over the anything-goes conditions encountered off-trail. Perry Schaffner, like her dad Jim an archetype of racing power and efficiency, filed this report after a couple of turns on the dance floor with the Black Pearl 82:

“The Blizzard Black Pearl in a 173cm length was really great on freshly groomed snow. I can make both large- and short-radius turns very easily and carve while carrying good speed if I want it, but I also have the ability to slow myself down. When I skied off the groomed run into some of the skied-out powder from yesterday it felt like it didn’t perform quite as well as I got bucked around a bit, so I would definitely say you could go in all conditions but it’s probably better to stick towards groom surfaces, especially with the longer length I skied.”

Bear in mind that Perry can load the Black Pearl 82 just looking at it, and the pace at which she felt “bucked around a bit” would win a skiercross. For skiers who don’t have Perry’s power, the Black Pearl 82 feels just right. “I loved these skis, enthuses one of Willi’s Divas. “They felt really stable. Nice feeling on edge – it felt engaged without over-gripping. I was able to rip down Wagner (blue run) with a decent amount of speed through some crud and felt completely secure.”

For the way it coddles intermediates yet has a high performance ceiling, we recognize the Black Pearl 82 as a Silver Skier Selection.

Test Score Data

Total Score: 80.63
Early to Edge:
Continuous Carve:

Rebound/Turn Finish:

Stability/Accuracy @ Speed:
Short-radius Turning:
8.44
8.69
8.00
8.88
8.38
Off-piste Performance:
Low-speed Turning:
Forgiveness/Ease:
Drift/Scrub:
Finesse/Power Balance:
5.88
7.00
8.50
8.06
8.81

Women’s Test Data Advisory

Please be advised that our 2022 women’s ski reviews do not show any test data, on either our public or members’ sites. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we haven’t been able to collect sufficient test results to justify showing a statistical summary.

While Realskiers members won’t be able to see stats on women’s reviews, they will see a longer, more in-depth narrative than what’s posted on our public site.

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