2022 Black Crows Mirus Cor

Yes, it’s a very strange name. Fortunately, the good people at Black Crows had the good sense to make a strange-looking ski to go along with it. At first glance, you wouldn’t think the Mirus Cor would hold up to aggressive skiing, nor would you think it would make some of the cleanest and roundest turns on the market, but here we are, and we are as delighted as we are surprised about it. With an 87-mm waist, the Mirus Cor is one of the narrower of the all-mountain skis from Black Crows. To go along with that waist, the ski produces a paltry 13-meter turn radius, so this thing arcs on a dime. This is getting more into competitive slalom turn radii here, but since it’s in more of a friendly build and profile, skiers looking for something fresh, unique, and different have come to the right place. Built with a poplar core and a fiberglass laminate, the Mirus Cor also has a titanal plate underfoot, and this is a good thing for edge grip and adding torsional stiffness. The thing that stands out the most—things, rather—are the tips and tails. The shovel shape is very blunted, making the ski incredibly light for swing-weight purposes. There’s still a fair amount of taper, which is necessary to create that short arc, but it doesn’t quite look normal from a visual perspective. At the other end, the fish-tail shape with the split in the tail is totally interesting in allowing the inside edges of the tail to flex more and provide an incredible amount of smoothness when you’re getting from one turn to the next. So while you can lock yourself into a 13-meter circle, you can also release and play with the shape and duration of the turn, which is something that a lot of skiers do and will like when they get on the Mirus Cor. All of our testers were on the 178 cm length, and they all thought it skied a bit short.

Ryan Daniel has a lot of racing experience, so it’s interesting to get his take on an all-mountain ski with a slalom cut. While most slalom skis for men are in the 165 cm range, he still found the 178 to feel on the short side, as it is supposed to be more of a front-side/all-mountain ski. Ryan scored the ski 5’s out of 5 for quickness, maneuverability, and playfulness, but was not a huge fan of the stability of the ski, especially at higher speeds. Ryan knows how to drive and turn a ski, so this is not terribly surprising, more so if one is expecting a race-like performance. Stability and versatility received lower scores of 2 out of 5. Ryan states that the Mirus Cor “Loves smearing SL turns. A do it all ski for the tight turn lover. Did not really like being pushed hard.” Matt McGinnis had a bit more to say about the Mirus Cor: “Being my first ski of the day, I’m not sure I was quite ready for the quickness these skis not only offer, but almost demand. On the first couple of pitches, I was treating them like a ski with an average ability to go edge to edge. It was when I hit rim rock though, surprisingly, that I realized how much “bounce” these skis offer. While it shouldn’t be surprising as the ski has a turn radius of just 13m, rarely have a been on a ski this eager to jab short, tight turns, each one rocketing the skis into the next. What ultimately makes these skis stand out to me though, is that they’re twin tips. A ski with this much quick energy is rare, but a *twin tip* with this personality is maybe, truly one of a kind. As someone who skis switch on nearly every run, I had to put these to the test. I’ll admit I was nervous about being able to handle their tight radius switch, but ultimately that nervousness gave way to pure joy as I experienced something I never have before: a switch slalom carve. So, who are these skis for? Anyone who wants an incredibly responsive, snappy ski. The perfect skier for these also ride park and has freestyle tendencies. To be fair, that’s a pretty unique/specific skier, but something tells me these skis have the power to inspire the right skier to do things they’ve never done before. Finally, on a closing note, I will say that these skis worked me. I don’t know if that’s necessarily because I needed to put as much energy into them as I did, or if that was a reflection on just how much fun these are going edge to edge. Once you unlock their “bounce” feature, you’ll have trouble holding yourself back.”

Jeff Neagle had a similar experience as Matt, noting that “this (Mirus Cor) is probably one of the most unique skis I've been on in the past few years. There's really nothing like this on the market, at least nothing that I can think of. It has the playfulness and versatility of a twin tip, but you can make slalom turns on it, which is such a crazy combination. I would love to ski this for a week or so in the park to really get a hang of it and what it can do. I think it would be super fun for carving off jumps and stuff like that, but then the tips and tails are soft and supple, so you could also butter, smear, slash, and all that fun stuff. I suppose the downside, if you want to call it that, is it's not tremendously stable at speed. With the short turn radius and soft tips and tails, it can get a little squirrelly at higher speeds and especially through bumpy terrain, but as Black Crows has plenty of other skis that are designed for speed, I don't think that's a bad thing, just an important characteristic to keep in mind if you're considering picking up a pair.”

There are a few skis that have fallen into this category recently, and I think the Line Blade is a fair comparison. I’d also put the DPS Pagoda 90 RP in as well as a short-turn all-mountain ski. Very different from anything else on the market, and for a lot of skiers, that’s something to look forward to. Skiers who love the art of the short and controlled turn, but who do not want a race ski, now have a viable option for versatile all-mountain skiing, and like I said before, we’re all about it.