Blizzard’s Black Pearl 94 was the skinniest all-mountain ski we had at our ski test, but it stood out from the rest, and not just because of its narrow waist width. Completely redesigned for this season, the Black Pearl is a hardpack ripper that blew away testers with its unique combination of stability and a friendly, approachable demeanor. It shares a similar core construction with the men’s Anomaly series, with one less sheet of metal, and was designed as part of Blizzards Women2Women initiative to focus on what will make the best women’s ski gear. The Black Pearl 94 brings top-speed power to a broad spectrum of skiers with its easy-to-ski character.
Groomers & Resort Skiing:
To nobody’s surprise, the Black Pearl 94 absolutely rips on hardpack. The edge hold and quiet ride while carving were unparalleled, with the metal construction muting and dampening all matter of on-piste vibrations. Our favorite terrain was undoubtedly early-morning corduroy laps, where we could harness the energetic ski to its full potential and crank turn after turn on top-to-bottom groomer laps. At 94mm underfoot, it’s incredibly quick edge to edge, encouraging you to let off the brakes and really rail carves.
While riding chopped-up moguls, windblown chalk, and hunting soft stashes in the trees, testers also loved the forgiving nature of the Black Pearl 94 that allowed for varying turn shapes, slashes, and releasing the tails through tighter terrain.
"I LOVED this ski! I immediately felt in control once I put this ski on. It was easy to turn and drive through crud and more icy conditions. It isn’t super stiff so it was very forgiving and playful for carving around and hitting small side hits!" - Rylee Hackler
Powder & Mixed Conditions:
Given that the Black Pearl 94 wasn’t designed as a soft-snow ski it’s not fair to say that its lack of float or agility in deep snow is a compromise. But it should be said that while they will handle some crud and mixed snow, the float really isn't there with such a narrow shape and they certainly don't go sideways in deep snow particularly naturally, meaning these are more of a speciality resort tool than a one-ski-quiver.
Park & Jibbing
There isn’t much in the way of tip and tail rocker or taper on the Black Pearl 94 but the surprisingly forgiving flex meant our testers quite liked these for pressing and playing around on groomers. Blizzard recommends a very traditional mount point at -10.5 from true center, but testers noted it felt appropriate and quite balanced for this type of ski–you’ll want to be driving this ski through the front of your boot and the very directional mount helps. What it doesn't help with is swingweight, which is way off. These are primarily a resort crusher but if you like to flex your ski a bit too, these have your back. The softer-than-expected flex was a delight to testers, with one saying, “I immediately felt in control once I put this ski on. It isn’t super stiff so it was very forgiving and playful for carving around and hitting small side hits.”
Who's it for?
Do you like sunshine, blue skies, and an entire mountain of fresh groomers. The Black Pearl 94 would be an excellent choice for all-day on-piste laps at a mountain like Sunshine Village, Vail, Sun Valley, or even as a specialty ski to break out of the quiver early season in a place like Jackson Hole.
Groomers & Resort Skiing:
To nobody’s surprise, the Black Pearl 94 absolutely rips on hardpack. The edge hold and quiet ride while carving were unparalleled, with the metal construction muting and dampening all matter of on-piste vibrations. Our favorite terrain was undoubtedly early-morning corduroy laps, where we could harness the energetic ski to its full potential and crank turn after turn on top-to-bottom groomer laps. At 94mm underfoot, it’s incredibly quick edge to edge, encouraging you to let off the brakes and really rail carves.
Skier: Lisa Cormier. P: Hanne Lundin Wallengren
While riding chopped-up moguls, windblown chalk, and hunting soft stashes in the trees, testers also loved the forgiving nature of the Black Pearl 94 that allowed for varying turn shapes, slashes, and releasing the tails through tighter terrain.
"I LOVED this ski! I immediately felt in control once I put this ski on. It was easy to turn and drive through crud and more icy conditions. It isn’t super stiff so it was very forgiving and playful for carving around and hitting small side hits!" - Rylee Hackler
Powder & Mixed Conditions:
Given that the Black Pearl 94 wasn’t designed as a soft-snow ski it’s not fair to say that its lack of float or agility in deep snow is a compromise. But it should be said that while they will handle some crud and mixed snow, the float really isn't there with such a narrow shape and they certainly don't go sideways in deep snow particularly naturally, meaning these are more of a speciality resort tool than a one-ski-quiver.
Skier: Rylee Hackler. P: Hanne Lundin Wallengren
Park & Jibbing
There isn’t much in the way of tip and tail rocker or taper on the Black Pearl 94 but the surprisingly forgiving flex meant our testers quite liked these for pressing and playing around on groomers. Blizzard recommends a very traditional mount point at -10.5 from true center, but testers noted it felt appropriate and quite balanced for this type of ski–you’ll want to be driving this ski through the front of your boot and the very directional mount helps. What it doesn't help with is swingweight, which is way off. These are primarily a resort crusher but if you like to flex your ski a bit too, these have your back. The softer-than-expected flex was a delight to testers, with one saying, “I immediately felt in control once I put this ski on. It isn’t super stiff so it was very forgiving and playful for carving around and hitting small side hits.”
Skier: Rylee Hackler. P: Hanne Lundin Wallengren
Who's it for?
Do you like sunshine, blue skies, and an entire mountain of fresh groomers. The Black Pearl 94 would be an excellent choice for all-day on-piste laps at a mountain like Sunshine Village, Vail, Sun Valley, or even as a specialty ski to break out of the quiver early season in a place like Jackson Hole.
