Twenty-five years ago, Jason Levinthal began making skiboards, skis just long enough to make room for a primitive, non-releasable binding. Because they were first, foremost and forever about tricks, they had curled-up tips at both ends. It wasn’t long before Jason graduated to making full-length twin-tips, which attracted the attention of kids who wanted to take skiing in a new direction. Little by little, Line infiltrated the mass market, not by adopting its rules, but by being change agents who would help redefine the sport.
Just how high Line has climbed in market share is hard to say since online sales bypass monitored retailing, but it’s safe to assume Line has been the most successful start-up since its inception. Because the kids who continue to be its principal patrons are all about breaking the rules and taking the party to the slopes, its communications focus on fat, smeary powder skis and terrain-park twins.
But Line might not have made it to 25 if it hadn’t been for skiers over 40. For several seasons it cultivated quite a following for its Prophet series, all-mountain tools with an oddly trimmed topsheet of metal that gave them power that a lightweight skier could engage. This same principle is what helps the Supernatural 92 strike a balance between Power and Finesse properties that tilts slightly towards the latter because of its off-trail personality.
This is going to seem like an odd way to begin a review of the returning Line Sick Day 104, but if you love skiing powder – and I know you do – you have got to ski the 19/20 version of the Sir Francis Bacon. One of Eric Pollard’s original signature models, the SFB has been subjected to a series of tweaks over its long tenure. Now something very much like the original (143/107/139) is back, and it’s crazy good.
As for the Sick Day 104, the narrowest of Line’s Big Mountain bunch, it’s like the bright, bored student who could get good grades for edge grip but would rather skip class than let The Man tell it how to ski. Its natural tendency is to show up a little late for the turn, gradually roll up on its side then bank off its broad base to finish the arc. Given a choice between drifting and carving, the Sick Day 104 will take the slacker route every time.
The position of the Black Pearl 78 in our test over the last two seasons has to be the most anomalous in the entire test. The Frontside category is supposed to the province of dedicated carvers, skis with extravagant sidecuts, shock-sucking interfaces and elevated binding systems. How did this flat, plain Jane with a shallow, off-trail shape and double rockered baseline not only end up in this den of carvers, but leading it in Power points?
One possible answer is the Black Pearl 78 actually is the best carving tool in the Frontside drawer. Its test scores, which admittedly can be misleading, lead the large field in early turn entry, continuous, accurate carving and short-radius turns. That’s a tough trifecta to simply dismiss as anecdotal. Hell, all scores are anecdotal, but we wouldn’t use them if they didn’t tend to accurately reflect behavior.
One stat we don’t capture – because it doesn’t exist – is holding power per ounce, or grip per gram. The 1350g Black Pearl 78 would lap the field. Its relatively tiny, 78mm waist helps it move nimbly edge to edge whether it’s decorating groomers with twin rail tracks or threading through tortuous troughs, the skinniest Pearl in Blizzard’s oyster bed stands out for its ease and accessibility.
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.
