Let’s roll the dice on some new skis, shall we?

[Mudgirl630]

Also glad to hear that some of you aren't Black Pearl fans. I bought a pair last year and have been underwhelmed.

Did you get on them before buying?

 

[Mudgirl630]

I am in your tribe.


I really thought I was the only person who didn’t like the Black Pearls. Too funny how we get this sort of impression, when a ski is popular.

I even tried on two different seasons - two different models. Yikes!

 

[MissySki]

I even tried on two different seasons - two different models. Yikes!

Same here, I dislike most of the new Black Pearls that everyone else seems to love. Though I still have the original Black Pearls as rock skis from long ago that are nothing like the current iterations. And I love Blizzard in general.

I always try to demo before buying. I’ve had a few times where I couldn’t get off of a ski fast enough when demoing, and times I don’t want to get off of a pair of skis for the rest of the day.

 

[SmuggsSkier]

Did you get on them before buying?

No. I get pro deals and will ski on just about anything, even if the ski is not great. The only skis I've ever had that I loved was a pair of Dynastar Edens. Those were great skis. Several women I teach skiing with had the Edens too and loved them. Mine are too old and beat up to ski on anymore. I miss those skis a lot. In between the Edens and the Black Pearls, I bought a pair of Volkl Flairs, which were good but not a likely and responsive as the Edens.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Same here, I dislike most of the new Black Pearls that everyone else seems to love. Though I still have the original Black Pearls as rock skis from long ago that are nothing like the current iterations. And I love Blizzard in general.

I always try to demo before buying. I’ve had a few times where I couldn’t get off of a ski fast enough when demoing, and times I don’t want to get off of a pair of skis for the rest of the day.

It is always preferable to get to demo before purchasing needless to say.

I cannot remember one women specific skis that I liked.....

 

[santacruz skier]

I cannot remember one women specific skis that I liked..

Thought you have 2 pairs of Kenjas!

Yes to demo-ing. I always demo before purchasing because I don't want to base my purchase on "what everyone else likes." That goes with boots too.
I'm 5'1 @105 and not your typical size woman.

 

[Mudgirl630]

No. I get pro deals and will ski on just about anything, even if the ski is not great. The only skis I've ever had that I loved was a pair of Dynastar Edens. Those were great skis. Several women I teach skiing with had the Edens too and loved them. Mine are too old and beat up to ski on anymore. I miss those skis a lot. In between the Edens and the Black Pearls, I bought a pair of Volkl Flairs, which were good but not a likely and responsive as the Edens.

Flairs are beginners pair, so I assume super floppy and not responsive.
Try unisex pair. Women specific skis are very floppy in general.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Thought you have 2 pairs of Kenjas!

Yes to demo-ing. I always demo before purchasing because I don't want to base my purchase on "what everyone else likes." That goes with boots too.
I'm 5'1 @105 and not your typical size woman.

Kenja are made the same as Kendo, which are mens skis. Kenja just got more feminine top sheet and offer shorter version.

 

[santacruz skier]

Kenja are made the same as Kendo, which are mens skis. Kenja just got more feminine top sheet and offer shorter version.

I recently gave a pair of 2012 Kenjas to a friend who was skiing on some old old skis..... she loves them.

 

[Abbi]

Glad to hear that I am not the only person who is not a Black Pearl fan.

Definitely not just you! I tend to try them once every year as I have a friend who totally believes in the Blizzard product. He has finally even given up looking sad when I take them back and just say “no“!

 

[MissySki]

Definitely not just you! I tend to try them once every year as I have a friend who totally believes in the Blizzard product. He has finally even given up looking sad when I take them back and just say “no“!

Have you tried any other Blizzard skis though? I love Blizzard, just not the Black Pearls.

 

[Abbi]

Have you tried any other Blizzard skis though? I love Blizzard, just not the Black Pearls.

Probably not recently. I might play with that this year if I find anything that looks interesting in the store.

 

[santacruz skier]

@MissySki if you're looking for narrower skis, how about the BP 78 or Cheyenne 78? Have you tried them? Maybe similar to Sheevas only narrower?

BTW, I was in St Moritz and Davos/Klosters in 2019 and could not for the life of me find a ski wider than 78 as "nobody here wants skis that wide." So I took out the Stockli AX78 and I was a disaster on them. It was snowing really hard with zero visibility and tons of deep, chopped up snow. I could not see 2 ft in front of me and had no idea where I was. My friend was sick the first ski day so was solo at a huge Swiss ski resort. I fell once and realized I was outside the piste markers and in a ditch. That being said, they were okay on the groomed runs but guess I'm not much of a carver!

 

[MissySki]

@MissySki if you're looking for narrower skis, how about the BP 78 or Cheyenne 78? Have you tried them? Maybe similar to Sheevas only narrower?

BTW, I was in St Moritz and Davos/Klosters in 2019 and could not for the life of me find a ski wider than 78 as "nobody here wants skis that wide." So I took out the Stockli AX78 and I was a disaster on them. It was snowing really hard with zero visibility and tons of deep, chopped up snow. I could not see 2 ft in front of me and had no idea where I was. My friend was sick the first ski day so was solo at a huge Swiss ski resort. I fell once and realized I was outside the piste markers and in a ditch. That being said, they were okay on the groomed runs but guess I'm not much of a carver!

The Cheyenne was mentioned on SkiTalk too, and actually seems to check the boxes really well for what I was hoping to find when I read some reviews. Stinks it isn’t made anymore to demo.. is the BP 78 a thing still?? The Cheyenne from 2017 is available new for sale online for like $250, so hardly a big expenditure to try..

I also wasn’t sure which size I’d go with in this type of ski. Do I go shorter to 156.. or 163 which is in the range I’d normally ski for an all mountain ski?

 

[santacruz skier]

The Cheyenne was mentioned on SkiTalk too, and actually seems to check the boxes really well for what I was hoping to find when I read some reviews. Stinks it isn’t made anymore to demo.. is the BP 78 a thing still?? The Cheyenne from 2017 is available new for sale online for like $250, so hardly a big expenditure to try..

I also wasn’t sure which size I’d go with in this type of ski. Do I go shorter to 156.. or 163 which is in the range I’d normally ski for an all mountain ski?

Hmm I don't know about size when it comes to a narrower ski? I have always (except for decades ago) skied on skis in the 150's to 162 range. My longest and favorite skis were Salomon 180's......crazy, huh?

ETA: just looked up the ski BP 78. I would get a 151..... I'm tempted too....

 

[marzNC]

Hmm I don't know about size when it comes to a narrower ski? I have always (except for decades ago) skied on skis in the 150's to 162 range. My longest and favorite skis were Salomon 180's......crazy, huh?

ETA: just looked up the ski BP 78. I would get a 151..... I'm tempted too....

It's hard to say. You know I liked the BP88 and BP98 when renting at Taos. I demo'd the BP78 elsewhere and didn't like them. Didn't even like the Cheyenne either even though I liked the original Black Pearl @88 underfoot and every other version of the BP88 that came out before 2019.

 

[MissySki]

Hmm I don't know about size when it comes to a narrower ski? I have always (except for decades ago) skied on skis in the 150's to 162 range. My longest and favorite skis were Salomon 180's......crazy, huh?

ETA: just looked up the ski BP 78. I would get a 151..... I'm tempted too....

Is the BP 78 the same as what the Cheyenne was? I never kept up with the iterations for these models..

For reference, which size do you ski the Sheeva in? I ski that in 164. Since the Cheyenne/BP 78 have some tip and tail rocker, I wonder if the 156 would feel obscenely short..

 

[santacruz skier]

It's hard to say. You know I liked the BP88 and BP98 when renting at Taos. I demo'd the BP78 elsewhere and didn't like them. Didn't even like the Cheyenne either even though I liked the original Black Pearl @88 underfoot and every other version of the BP88 that came out before 2019.

What I remember is you thought you were on the BP 88's in a 152 but I was looking at your skis and saw they were the 145's ! Right?

 

[santacruz skier]

And the following year I thought I was on the SA 93's in a 153 and returned them and the shop guy said, "how did you like the 161's?"

 

[santacruz skier]

Is the BP 78 the same as what the Cheyenne was? I never kept up with the iterations for these models..

For reference, which size do you ski the Sheeva in? I ski that in 164. Since the Cheyenne/BP 78 have some tip and tail rocker, I wonder if the 156 would feel obscenely short..

Don't know but curious for that price ........ Sheeva 9's are 157 and Sheeva 10's are 156........