BLIZZARD Black Pearl 88 26/27

The Blizzard Black Pearl 88 is a women's-specific all-mountain ski, 88mm at the waist, the middle width in the Black Pearl line and the one most women should look at first. It adds W.S.D. FluxForm metal for edge grip and stability while keeping a light, forgiving build. For 26/27 it wears new Blue graphics over the construction Blizzard redesigned two seasons ago, a repaint of a proven ski rather than a new one.

Blizzard builds it with W.S.D. FluxForm All Mountain: one sheet's worth of titanal, thinner than the men's Anomaly, cut into three strips, a central band plus a full-length strip down each edge, across two laminate layers. Where the men's Anomaly 88 adds a second, full-width titanal sheet in its 2Ti build, the Black Pearl runs a carbon-infused fiberglass laminate instead, a big reason it is lighter and easier to drive. Underneath sits a W.S.D. TrueBlend woodcore with dense beech underfoot tapering to softer poplar at the tip and tail, on a rocker-camber-rocker profile. At about 1,770 g per ski it is light for a metal all-mountain ski.

It is the fan-favorite one-quiver 88mm width for intermediate-to-advanced women who ski groomers plus light off-piste, and for lighter or less-aggressive skiers who want quick, easy, forgiving carving over heavy damped power. It is not a deep-powder ski, since at 88mm the float is only okay, so soft-snow-first skiers want the wider Black Pearl 94; and it is not for true beginners in steep terrain, or for skiers who want maximum planted authority at high speed in crud, where a heavier, damper ski wins. Our full review covers how it skis and how it compares to the 84, the 94 and the men's Anomaly.

The Black Pearl 88 comes in six lengths from 146 to 176 cm. It is sold flat, so a binding is a separate purchase; we mount it and help you set the right length and size in-shop.