2021 Black Crows Ferox Freebird

Black Crows is well-known for their soft snow oriented, backcountry capable skis, and the Ferox Freebird is a fantastic example. All the Black Crows Freebird skis are part of their touring collection: skis designed both for uphill efficiency and downhill performance. The Ferox Freebird is a particularly good choice if you anticipate touring in a lot of deep snow conditions. It's 110 mm underfoot and uses abundant tip and tail rocker. That shape gives it really good float and maneuverability, even when you're not skiing fast. In other words, the shape helps the ski plane above the snow surface super easily. With camber underfoot and Black Crows' H-Shaped core design, you get reasonably good stability out of the mid-body of the ski as well, which is important for a touring ski, as you'll often encounter variable, firm conditions when traversing or maneuvering to a pocket of deeper snow. That said, the Ferox Freebird isn't designed for stability above all else, the goal is powder and the sensation of floating on snow without giving up too much of that necessary and valuable stability. While we tested the Ferox Freebird in an alpine environment, we thought it best to reach out to the athletes and ambassadors who put this ski to the test on a regular basis.

Christian Pondella describes it as an "all around great backcountry powder ski. Would say it is playful and stable at speeds, and a really fun ski. My go to ski when I know I will mostly be skiing powder." Black Crows is able to get the weight down to just 3600 g per pair in the 181.4 cm length, which is pretty darn light for a ski this wide. We expected the Ferox Freebird to feel playful thanks to that lightweight feel and the tip and tail rocker, but what really impressed us was the level of stability it achieves, which was confirmed by Black Crows' athletes. Mike Henitiuk had a similar description of the Ferox Freebird, and he too specifically noted that stable feel. "An extremely light and stable ski. Fast and effortless on the up, rips on the way down. Confident in any conditions."

Because of the combination of lightweight feel for the ascent, playfulness, and stability, these athletes have found they can do a lot on the Ferox Freebird. Joe Schwartz particularly stood out in his feedback, noting that he had a hard time choosing any other ski over the Ferox Freebird, even for a variety of conditions and terrain. "The one ski quiver to rule them all. Such a confident ski in a multitude of conditions and applications. I have a solid assortment of skis to choose from, and I kept coming back to the Ferox time and time again, because I knew it'd deliver, no matter the circumstance." It's hard to think of higher praise for a ski than admitting to having a huge quiver, and also admitting that you usually just reach one a single pair of skis. Beau Fredlund gave us some really valuable feedback on two different lengths, 176.7 cm and 186.2 cm. "176: my go to ski for powder filled couloirs. Nimble and playful and floaty. 186: it likes to charge! When I ride it, I take out my old Vulcan's and go fast! It's really fun to float weightless between turns with all that camber also."

Lightweight for the ascent, playful, nimble, and floaty in powder, yet also stable at speeds… Sound too good to be true? Kind of does, doesn't it? Rest assured, if these ripping athletes find the Ferox Freebird enough ski for them, it's plenty for the rest of us. If you're looking for a touring ski for powder conditions, you should certainly have the Ferox Freebird on your list of potential candidates.