“Is that an NFT?”
A new year means new Black Crows skis and fresh candy colored art across the board. The Chamonix based ski brand remains a top pick for Powder7 staff and customers alike. A common question we hear on the phone goes as follows, “do you all sell Black Crows?” Yes, yes we do. We’ll dive into what’s new, what’s returning, and what quotes are on the sidewalls for Black Crows skis in 2024.
What’s New
The biggest news from Black Crows comes from their biggest ski: Nocta. The ultra playful 122mm underfoot ski is a powder machine. Perfect for heli drops and the deepest days you can dream of, Nocta always makes a trip to Wolf Creek with the Powder7 staff when we head down there. In 2019, the Nocta lost camber and went to a full rocker shape for the last few seasons. This year, it goes back to its roots.
The new Nocta gets a more traditional freeride rocker shape, with deep rocker in the tip and tail, significant tip and tail splay, and camber underfoot. This should improve performance on less-than-powder conditions, and brings a more traditional powder ski feel. Black Crows also softened the skis up a touch, maximizing powder play and butter-ability.
We’ve already got some staff on the new Nocta at the Powder7 Ski Test, here’s what they had to say…
Jonathan: Soft tips and tails, very easy to turn and pivot. Very surfy underfoot feeling, I’m sure it is very good and surfy in deep powder. Easy to whip around in bumps and trees. Good pop and balance with the mount point, but when you get in trouble you can lean into it underfoot and it keeps you stable. Typical Black Crows, even though its a pow ski it still does everything well.
Phil: Very poppy, playful, quick, and maneuverable! Has a surfy feel, and feels very easy to pivot and slash through soft snow.
Other Highlights
A new Draco Freebird ski that replaces the Ferox Freebird. Black Crows uses glass and carbon fibers in addition to the paulownia and poplar core to add stiffness and dampness to the ski, similar to their Corvus Freebird. It’s no skimo ski, at 3800 grams for the pair in a 181. We haven’t gotten to see it in person yet, but Black Crows athlete Nikolai Schirmer has been shredding on them for a few weeks…
The rest of the skis get new graphics. Skinny ones feature chevrons that get smaller, while wide skis get fatter chevrons. Nice touch.
The world famous Atris and Atris Birdie got a major update last season. Read Matt’s review of the new sticks here.
