Both the Sheeva 9 and the Black Pearl 88 are descendants of a line of off-trail parents; the template for the Pearl was the Brahma, the little brother of the mighty Cochise and Bodacious; the model for the Sheeva 9 was the Rustler 9, a spin-off of the Rustler 10 and 11. To better understand the nuances that distinguish the Pearl 88 from the Sheeva 9, it helps to understand the families they come from.
Distilled to its essence, the Pearl 88 has a smidgeon more aptitude for hard-snow skiing. Its Flipcore construction allows the forebody to join the rest of the ski on edge once it’s tipped and pressured, so the skier has the sense of riding the entire ski and not just a section of it. The front of the Sheeva 9 is made to be looser, to intentionally forego early connection to a fully carved turn. That it still feels solid throughout is a testament to the security imparted by a trimmed down top laminate of Titanal.
In light of its overall gentle nature and bias for off-road conditions, the Sheeva 9 is an ideal set of training wheels for the gal who is ready to get off groomers. Supple enough to slither through bumps and agile enough to dart through trees, the Sheeva 9 can give an off-trail newbie the confidence to try it all.
The fraternal relationship between Blizzard’s two All-Mountain East entries, the elder brother Brahma 88 and its upstart sibling, the Rustler 9, encapsulates the contrasting cast of characters that populate this crossroads category. While both skis belong to off-trail families, their personalities couldn’t be more different than, well, two brothers.
Put in Realskiers’ terms, the Brahma 88 is a Power ski while the Rustler 9 is a Finesse ski. The Brahma 88’s best scores are for performance criteria like carving accuracy and stability at speed; its GPA drops off for comfort qualities like forgiveness and low-speed turning. The Rustler 9’s marks reveal a model with a high aptitude for off-trail conditions with a peppy personality that’s easy to get along with. It’s not that it’s bad at edging, it’s just doesn’t care for the regimented lifestyle of a carving ski. It prefers life off-trail where it has the freedom to smear every turn.
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.
The Blizzard Black Pearl 88 is the Michaela Shiffrin of the U.S. ski market: now in its fourth year of dominance, it’s crushing the women’s field and setting sales records that leave all the men’s models in the dust, too. Like a cartoon snowball rolling downhill, its sales success grows each season as a new legion of adherents joins the chorus of praise, spreading the gospel in countless one-on-one chairlift chats.
If you break down the dynamics of a ski sale, you’ll discover how the Black Pearl 88 edges out the competition. Every sale hinges on a description of a skier’s current status and her wish list of what she wants the new ski to be able to do for her. It almost doesn’t matter how a recreational skier assesses her ability or her desires, the Black Pearl 88 will end up on the very short list of most desirable alternatives.
The Pearl 88 can be legitimately recommended to any ability range from terminal intermediate to budding expert and is suitable for any terrain from groomers to 18 inches of fresh. That’s an 8-lane freeway in terms of how many different skier styles and preferences can be accommodated by this one ski. It’s light, easy to skid or carve, ideal for developing confidence in off-trail conditions and won’t wilt under pressure on hard snow.
Blizzard’s Flipcore baseline, the heart and soul of the Black Pearl 98, has probably been the most commercially successful execution of a double-rockered baseline since rocker first reared its ugly head (and tail) over a decade ago. Flipcore certainly has left a mark on the women’s market, where the Black Pearl franchise is a well-oiled sales machine.
The Black Pearl 98 isn’t the sales phenom that it’s little sister is, but then nothing can match the records being set by the Black Pearl 88. The reason for the sales imbalance is simple: the BP 88 is an everyday ski, the proverbial one-ski quiver if ever there was one. While the BP 98 could be the regular ride if the pilot is a strong skier, both physically and technically, but more often than not it’s going to a second pair reserved for powder and powder-ish days.
Whether or not the Black Pearl 98 is right for you is answered by a simple equation. If you spend half your ski day (or more) as far from groomers as you can get, the Black Pearl 98 is your ideal mate. If you’re spending more than half your time on prepared slopes, hook up with its little sister.
