Black Crows Navis Freebird Alpine Touring Ski for Sale, Reviews, Deals and Guides

Go ahead and eat that extra burrito, because the Black Crows Navis Freebird Ski is going to get you up those peaks, and back down, even if you've eaten a few too many beef 'n' beans. It's basically a tweaked version of the regular Navis—a reasonably traditional all-mountain charger—that's been lightened up to make the backcountry world your oyster. The standard Navis is built on a poplar wood core, but the Freebird employs a blend of poplar and paulownia, which helps it save nearly a pound per pair.

Don't worry about the descent, though, because the Freebird feels just about the same as its heavier hermano. The core is light and energetic, and Black Crows laid it up with layers of fiberglass and carbon fiber to keep things stable as a table when you're maching through chunder or hitting big lines at high speeds. The tip and tail have gentle taper, which prevents them from hanging up when you're riding in soft snow, too, so you can throw 'em sideways like bigger powder boards without worrying about getting bucked like you're trying out for the rodeo.

Wanting to blend stability with quickness, Black Crows built it with a semi-cap construction, which employs ABS sidewalls that taper to a cap construction toward the tip and tail, giving you tons of edge bite underfoot with a quick, poppy feel in the extremities. This construction works in concert with the "single beak and a half" rocker profile—progressive tip rocker, camber underfoot, and a slightly raised tail—to give the Navis Freebird a solid feel in variable snow, float in pow, and quickness in tight spots, so you can really rally your whole backcountry playground without sweating the small stuff.