2023 Black Crows Ferox Freebird

On the burlier side of a touring ski, you’ll find the Black Crows Ferox Freebird. These skis are on the wider side of the touring spectrum, and will figure to do well in North America and Europe, as the wider, beefier touring ski is certainly coming into style these days. At 110 mm underfoot, the Ferox Freebird loves to be in fresh and soft snow, but it also has some interesting aspects of its construction that make it stand out from a competitive field of dual-use touring skis. First and foremost, the build of the ski contains an H-Shaped reinforced core that gives power and precision to the edges without making the whole ski beefy and burly. With a blend of poplar, paulownia, and even isocore (foam composite material), the Ferox has a lot going on in there, and skiers who are looking for a lighter weight ski with a heavy-duty personality will love the sophistication and attention to detail found in the Ferox Freebird. With quite a bit of tip taper, and a relatively flat tail, this ski will cut through the fresh fluff and float on top of quite a bit of snow. In addition, the longer 21-meter turn radius makes this ski a straight-shooter that has a pretty high speed limit. If you want a ski that does it all in fresh and soft snow, the Ferox Freebird is quite a solid contender.

On the 181, Dana Allen notes that he’d likely size up to the 186. At 5’10” and given the ski’s light weight, that certainly makes sense. Lots of 4’s on Dana’s scoresheet, including flotation, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and versatility. For a 110 mm underfoot touring ski, that’s a pretty impressive lineup of 4’s. A lowly 2 was given for playfulness, showing that the ski does have a bit of stiffness and grip to it. “While not a bad ski at all, the larger lightweight tips (3D construction in the shovel to reduce swing weight) deflect in chop and crud more than I expected. Coupled with a softer tail, this definitely doesn’t make them ideal for manky conditions. In more even snow, whether firm or soft, I think it would be a different story as they are plenty torsionally stiff to hold an edge. I’d personally put them in the soft snow category, although the rep claims they like hard snow too.” Sometimes the build idea of the ski doesn’t quite line up with the real-world performance, so those bulked up sidewalls are meant to hold on firm snow, but Dana found them to be more apt in softer stuff. By making the tips thinner than the rest of the ski, that deflection in crud and chop that Dana experienced certainly makes sense, but that’s the price you’re likely going to pay for having a lighter, wider touring ski.

Phil McGrory got on the 186 and noted that it was just right for him. Phil had a wider span of scores, with a bunch of 4’s and 2’s out of 4. 4’s for flotation, stability, torsional stiffness, edge grip, and versatility are impressive, and 2’s for quickness, maneuverability, forgiveness, and playfulness show that this ski does have the tendency to run, especially in the 186. Phil notes that “the Ferox Freebird is a powerful touring ski with the ability to float in deep snow but give you stability when the conditions are less than ideal. The torsional stiffness gives the ski the ability to grip when the terrain is variable. Ski also has the ability to power through crud and chopped up snow. The ski is not very forgiving and definitely prefers the skier to put power to the front of the ski. Advanced to Expert skiers.” That “powerful touring ski” is kind of oxymoronic, and it takes a lot for those two things to jive well, hence Phil’s wider span on the scoring spectrum.

For mostly softer snow, and the deeper the better, the Black Crows Ferox Freebird loves to be put to the test. If you’re an advanced or expert skier who is looking for a backcountry ski that can also serve as a resort snow day ski, this is a great place to be. Thanks to Black Crows’ ability to make a light ski have power and precision over the edges, they have successfully blended the ski’s ability to float with its firmer snow capabilities, and the winners are the skiers who do it all.