Ski for East Coast - Blizzard 82 vs 88?

[leisure skier]

I am buying my 16 year old daughter her first pair of skis she will own after many years of renting.
will be using them in the northeast (Southern VT, NY, PA) where there is ice, crud, slush, etc.
She can ski down any hill all over the mountain, would be an advanced to expert skier, and as she has gotten older she has not been as aggressive of a skier (except when he sister wants to race), but is quite skilled.
Her build is tall and slim (5'9", approx 115 lbs)

She mainly stays on the pistes, but will go into the trees once in a while.
Last year she demo'd a couple of skis, and her favorites seemed to be the Black Pearl. She tried both the 82 and the 88, in a couple of lengths, and is very indecisive, so I think I need to just pick one for her.
Does anyone have an opinion on these 2 width skis for the northeast? (Or anything else that would cause us to purchase instead? We do not have much time/ proximity to so much demoing).

 

[nopoleskier]

I like Blizzards "flip core" technology-

I'd say 82 for our slicker more hard pack than powder conditions, they will be quicker edge to edge, if she wants to go into Race mode :-)

88's are fun when we have more snow. I have old 88 black pearls, I don't like them on firm snow (the tips shake and bother my old used up knees) I LOVE Them in spring snow.

 

[leisure skier]

Thank you! I had a hunch that the narrower would be best for the east coast hard pack. She is only getting one ski. How is the 82 once things get slushy in the East?

(I also just realized I posted this before typing a proper title to identify it. I will also repost under a new title).

 

[RachelV]

(I deleted the other thread (which had no replies) and updated the title on this one.)

 

[MissySki]

I like Blizzards "flip core" technology-

I'd say 82 for our slicker more hard pack than powder conditions, they will be quicker edge to edge, if she wants to go into Race mode :-)

88's are fun when we have more snow. I have old 88 black pearls, I don't like them on firm snow (the tips shake and bother my old used up knees) I LOVE Them in spring snow.

I think the new 88s are much different than the old BPs though. Much more front side oriented than they began a decade ago on the pair I still have as my rock skis. I see a ton of people on the 88 in the East in every condition, and they seem to love it as well.

 

[elemmac]

She mainly stays on the pistes, but will go into the trees once in a while.
Last year she demo'd a couple of skis, and her favorites seemed to be the Black Pearl. She tried both the 82 and the 88, in a couple of lengths, and is very indecisive, so I think I need to just pick one for her.
Does anyone have an opinion on these 2 width skis for the northeast? (Or anything else that would cause us to purchase instead? We do not have much time/ proximity to so much demoing).

If she plans to continue staying mostly on trail and on groomed terrain, I would err narrower and go with the 82. If she wants to start venturing into the trees more and start seeking ungroomed terrain, go with the 88.

 

[leisure skier]

Thank you! I had a hunch that the narrower would be best for the east coast hard pack. She is only getting one ski. How is the 82 once things get slushy in the East?

(I also just realized I posted this before typing a proper title to identify it. I will also repost under a new title).

 

[leisure skier]

She is between sizes, and could ski the 159 or 166 (she has tried both). Is one better than the other for her height, weight, ability for the northeast? (5'9"/ 115 lbs/ athletic/ advanced skier blues, blacks, occasional double black, a little bit of tree skiing).

 

[scandium]

I think at 16 and being athletic and taller, the 166cm is better if she is continuing to get better and will offer her more stability on the ice, crud etc.

She is also likely to gain a little more weight in the next couple of years as most young women continue to until around 18 (adult bone density is mostly achieved during puberty, plus adult fat distribution and body shape), as well as that she may put on more muscle mass + get stronger if she is very active. I am the same weight but much shorter at 5'2", and would ski the 158cm as an intermediate.

 

[MissySki]

I think the 166 is a good way to go. I'm 5'4" and about 10 lbs heavier, and mid 160s is my length of choice in most skis. Her additional height gives her a lot of leverage over the ski, as long as both lengths felt good I'd say the 166 gives more room for growing in both stature and skill.

 

[Analisa]

One consideration I haven’t seen made is that the 82 has a metal plate under the binding, but the 88 has 2 full sheets of titanal. The latter will have a lot more capacity for speed, power, and weight. That also might be a good deciding factor for sizing (round up if you go with the 82, down if you go with the 88).

Most of my friends skied their “teen” skis through college and 1-3 years after. If she’s staying in the northeast after high school, either one is a safe bet, but that extra width might come in handy if she happens to be looking at options out west.

 

[elemmac]

One consideration I haven’t seen made is that the 82 has a metal plate under the binding, but the 88 has 2 full sheets of titanal. The latter will have a lot more capacity for speed, power, and weight. That also might be a good deciding factor for sizing (round up if you go with the 82, down if you go with the 88).

I believe metal was added to the 2022 version of the 82, and is now the same as the 88.

 

[shadoj]

Just gonna chime in, as I own the 2022 BP82's in 152cm (4'10" / 105lbs, athletic with achy joints).
I ski the midwest (MN, mostly), which I understand is somewhat similar to East Coast conditions (ice/rocks/slush/manmade/wintry-mix/refrozen-corduroy/potatoes + amazing grooming crews; trees are tight), though we don't have your vertical.

I also wavered between the 82s and the 88s, but realized most of my skiing would be done on hardpack, and a teeny less knee strain and less weight for when I have to skate uphill swayed me to the narrower width. I can always demo on vacation if there's a big storm!

Being a smaller person, I had no problem in ~1ft of fresh, fluffy powder in the UP & ~6-8" at Lutsen this past winter on the 82s. Bumpy tree runs were super fun. There's a nice progressive feedback reward to these skis -- they never bit me too bad when lazy but were very responsive when staying forward and pushing them into variable turn shapes.

The 82s do have some metal, plus carbon, plus their special wood core to control the flex. Despite the double metal in the 88s, the 82's often measure slightly stiffer at the same length (but how this translates to energy and dampness and chatter, I do not know).

Either 82 or 88 will likely be fine, and yes, the longer (166) length. Best part is your daughter will have some awesome and consistent skis to grow on for a few years!

 

[leisure skier]

Just gonna chime in, as I own the 2022 BP82's in 152cm (4'10" / 105lbs, athletic with achy joints).
I ski the midwest (MN, mostly), which I understand is somewhat similar to East Coast conditions (ice/rocks/slush/manmade/wintry-mix/refrozen-corduroy/potatoes + amazing grooming crews; trees are tight), though we don't have your vertical.

I also wavered between the 82s and the 88s, but realized most of my skiing would be done on hardpack, and a teeny less knee strain and less weight for when I have to skate uphill swayed me to the narrower width. I can always demo on vacation if there's a big storm!

Being a smaller person, I had no problem in ~1ft of fresh, fluffy powder in the UP & ~6-8" at Lutsen this past winter on the 82s. Bumpy tree runs were super fun. There's a nice progressive feedback reward to these skis -- they never bit me too bad when lazy but were very responsive when staying forward and pushing them into variable turn shapes.

The 82s do have some metal, plus carbon, plus their special wood core to control the flex. Despite the double metal in the 88s, the 82's often measure slightly stiffer at the same length (but how this translates to energy and dampness and chatter, I do not know).

Either 82 or 88 will likely be fine, and yes, the longer (166) length. Best part is your daughter will have some awesome and consistent skis to grow on for a few years!

All of this is very helpful! Thanks everyone. It sounds like we will get her the 166 length. And the Midwest conditions you describe sound just like the northeast. Plus my daughter does also like bumpy skinny tree runs sometimes as well. It is good to know these work well on all of that! i am considering getting a precious year's leftover model for the price point.

 

[liquidfeet]

If she plans to continue staying mostly on trail and on groomed terrain, I would err narrower and go with the 82. If she wants to start venturing into the trees more and start seeking ungroomed terrain, go with the 88.

The tree skiing I am familiar with in New England is bumped up usually the day after the snow falls. With our freeze-thaw cycles, which happen all season long, those bumps are going to get warm one day then freeze up at night. They won't get groomed. So .... ice bumps. Or at least mostly hard snow bumps in the trees.

The 82 will be better in there, as long as she has the skill to ski the terrain. IMO.

If she is indeed an advanced skier, then the 82 will be just fine on/in spring slush. She will be able to handle that by edging the skis and letting them make the turn.

 

[leisure skier]

The tree skiing I am familiar with in New England is bumped up usually the day after the snow falls. With our freeze-thaw cycles, which happen all season long, those bumps are going to get warm one day then freeze up at night. They won't get groomed. So .... ice bumps. Or at least mostly hard snow bumps in the trees.

The 82 will be better in there, as long as she has the skill to ski the terrain. IMO.

If she is indeed an advanced skier, then the 82 will be just fine on/in spring slush. She will be able to handle that by edging the skis and letting them make the turn.

Yes, the trees that she dabbles in are normally very narrowly spaced, and often have icy trenches/ moguls where the turns are tight.
She also likes to do a frontside large mogul hii is ll sometimes too.

 

[leisure skier]

Yes, the trees that she dabbles in are normally very narrowly spaced, and often have icy trenches/ moguls where the turns are tight.
She also likes to do a frontside large mogul hii is ll sometimes too.

*mogul hill

 

[leisure skier]

Does anyone know if there have been any major changes to this ski from 2021/22/23 from year to year? I am seeing some that are at a reasonable price from previous years, and deciding between that, or if the 2023 is a major change then going with that since she will have it for a while.

 

[shadoj]

The 82 & 88 were supposedly softened a bit at the tips for '23.
Other than that, the BP88's are consistent from '21-23.
The BP82's had the FlipCore upgrade in 22, so the prior year's models may vary a bit it torsional/longituinal stiffness (FWIW, my friend got some '20 BP82 demos on killer deal and loves them, but I think they're stiffer than the '21s in the same length).

Which year's model did your daughter demo? If she liked them, that's probably the "best" choice!

 

[leisure skier]

The 82 & 88 were supposedly softened a bit at the tips for '23.
Other than that, the BP88's are consistent from '21-23.
The BP82's had the FlipCore upgrade in 22, so the prior year's models may vary a bit it torsional/longituinal stiffness (FWIW, my friend got some '20 BP82 demos on killer deal and loves them, but I think they're stiffer than the '21s in the same length).

Which year's model did your daughter demo? If she liked them, that's probably the "best" choice!

Good to know! I will check to see which year the skis were that she demoed last winter.