2021 Black Crows Camox

Black Crows offers a wide range of skis these days. From skis focused on carving to giant rocker powder skis, the brand pretty much has something for everybody. In that sense, the Camox would be for all-mountain skiers who value playfulness, versatility, and fun factor over just raw power or endless edge grip. There's some obvious freestyle influence in the Camox with its distinctly twin tip shape and tip and tail rocker. Black Crows also uses a progressive flex pattern, relatively stiff underfoot with much softer tips and tails to allow for playful techniques like butters, slashes, and smeared turns. That stiffer flex underfoot combined with classic camber and the ski's poplar wood core gives it some nice edge grip. It might not have quite the same precision or torsional stiffness as a ski like the new Justis, but for skiers who like to look at the mountain as their personal playground, and also for those who might like to venture into the terrain park from time to time, the Camox is a sweet ride.

Jeff Neagle tested the 180.4 cm length in the Camox and was pretty blunt in his feedback, "Although I enjoy most of Black Crows skis, the Camox might be my favorite. This is pretty much exactly what I look for in a daily driver ski. It's fun, playful, and easy to maneuver, but it doesn't feel too soft or wildly unstable at speed. I felt confident skiing pretty fast on groomers, it doesn't feel too chattery and there's enough edge grip. That said, the highlight is its playfulness. Super easy to release the tail edge and slash a quick turn, feels good skiing switch even though it's more of a directional shape, and it's really fun to use for natural hits. If I was using it as a park ski, I might mount it a little further forward, but it performs really well on the recommended line and I think most will prefer that spot, unless you're specifically looking for park performance." Jeff spends a significant time in the park, so it's good to have that feedback. We get a lot of skiers asking us for good all-mountain skis that are also capable in the park, and the Camox is a pretty perfect example of that type of ski. That said, plenty of non-park skiers will enjoy it too, especially if you value catch-free maneuverability. You won't find Dave Carter in the terrain park, but he really enjoyed the Camox after skiing the 174.2 cm length. "Good overall ski! Stable at speed and versatile for the bumps."

Bob St.Pierre has a knack for describing skis. He got on the same 180.4 cm length that Jeff did and have us a great response. "I had a blast on the Camox.  As a long-time upper-90's twin-tip skier, I'm all about the shape and profile.  The Camox has a bit more snap and energy to it than the Slicer or Black Ops 98 as well as a more poised overall feel.  Not quite the cambered pop of the Soul Rider 97, but good in its own right.  Enough of a twin tip to make it playful in the woods and bumps, and if you're interested in the tricks/freestyle aspect of skiing, these add that dimension at no cost to the overall performance.  Just like other Black Crows skis, the Camox has a unique feel to it that has some sports car feel but with some luxury built in.  Kind of like an Audi Allroad.  While accessible for both intermediate and expert skiers, they fall pretty squarely in the "advanced" range with a not too high nor too low level of performance." High scores from Bob, 5 out of 5 for quickness/maneuverability, playfulness, and versatility. The only score that dropped below 4 out of 5 was torsional stiffness/edge grip, still a reasonable 3 out of 5.

What the Camox lacks in edge grip or precision, it more than makes up for in playfulness, versatility, and fun factor. Actually, it wouldn't even really be fair to say it lacks those things, as that's not what it was designed for. How can something lack a characteristic if it was never intended to have it in the first place? Anyways, I digress. If you're looking for a playful all-mountain twin tip that's perfectly appropriate on groomers, in the trees, in the park, and even in deeper snow conditions, the Camox better be on your list, it deserves to be.