Last season Blizzard pulled off a coup that was, as far as this ski journalist is aware, a singular one in the annals of ski sales: a women’s ski, the Black Pearl, emerged as the top selling ski in the specialty channel. The reason the event was unprecedented is that women make up at best 40% of the new ski market. To be the number one ski means the Black Pearl had to dominate women’s sales. What voodoo did Blizzard do to make the Black Pearl so supernaturally successful?

Three major factors drove the Pearl’s progress to the top. First, last year’s ski benefited from sales momentum built over the prior four years. Word of mouth and all kinds of awards created an aura of desirability. Second, construction. Blizzard moved to a genuinely made-for-women platform called Women’ Specific Design (W.W.D.) last year, which took full advantage of carbon’s light weight and high strength, incorporating it both in its glass laminates and in a unidirectional top frame that’s all carbon. Third, baseline. The Black Pearl uses a Flipcore design that rockers tip and tail to optimize its off-trail character, yet when tipped and pressured the rocker zones blend seamlessly into the cambered area underfoot.

All this adds up to a ski that can handle any terrain and make it look easy. So what did Blizzard do to this universally admired ski? It made the Pearl better, widening the tip and tail a touch and tampering with the baseline to increase snow contact. In its new incarnation, the Black Pearl 88 will only increase its fan base. It’s an instant injection of confidence for intermediates and it has the stuffing to titillate experts.

“Loved this ski!” raves Skylar from Aspen Ski and Board. “The edge hold at faster speeds was outstanding. The ski was easy to turn and felt very stable.” Mary Geddes of Sturtevant’s of Sun Valley, likewise “loved how this ski handled on a charging groomer and off piste.” Liz Elling of Gravity Sports echoes these assessments, saying “Carvy and easy to turn – love the new changes!”