2023 Black Crows Serpo

When the Serpo came on to the scene last year, we were pretty stoked. Returning unchanged for 2023, the Serpo continues its excellent all-mountain performance capabilities with a slight graphics refresh. At 93 mm underfoot, these skis are right in the sweet spot for one-ski quivers with a ton of versatility and well-rounded energy. Built with a poplar wood core and fiberglass laminate, the skis also feature a double titanal plate underfoot that extends into H-shaped arms in the tips and tails. This not only puts more pressure on the edges of the skis, but also allows the forebody as well as the tail to articulate in the turns. As a result, you get better contact and a smoother overall feel in the ski while keeping it playful in the central portion. In the 180, the skis produce a 20-meter turn radius and tip the scales at 1825 grams per ski. This is on the lighter side of the 2000-gram mark, but not by a whole lot, so you’re getting a nice blend of active energy to go along with a strong, sturdy, and stable ride.

Ryan Daniel skied the 180, noting that it felt a hair short, so he’d likely size up to the next level. On the scorecard, we see a clean-sweep of 5’s out of 5 in all categories, showing a well-rounded and high-performance character to the Serpo. While his scores speak volumes as to the ski, he kept his comments on the short side, noting that “this thing held like crazy. Super playful, but felt a bit short.” Josh Wolfgang was also on the 180 and felt it was just right for him. Josh had high marks of 4 out of 5 for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, forgiveness, torsional stiffness, and edge grip. He gave 3’s for overall impression, versatility, and stability, stating that “It was a more fun ski than I remembered. Smeary ski that likes sliding more than an aggressive carve but for the right type of skier it can be very fun.” Dave Hatoff calls it “A very capable all-mountain ski with freeride flair. Nice floater, damp and has a nice edge hold. Quiver of one for East. Great daily driver for the western skier as well in between storm cycles. Advanced to expert skiers.” Dave liked his 180 cm test length, scoring it mainly 4’s including overall impression and stability.

Jamie O’Brien and his race heritage found the 180 to be the right length, maybe a bit short, but scored it 4’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. He gave his top marks of 5 out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and playfulness. This ski allows you to stand on it when you want and play when you want. Very versatile!” It’s that type of well-roundedness that makes a strong skier like Jamie very happy. Bob St.Pierre found the 180 to ski true to size, albeit it was a bit short for him—he'd opt for the 186 for sure. He scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge grip and stability. “This is one of those skis that has sneaky grip and energy. I guess I should have known, since it’s basically a narrower Justis, but the rebound on these skis is just wild. I found that I could make very quick and agile carves—not really adhering to the 20-meter radius, but kind of implementing my own instead. When I did that, it made some of the quickest and cleanest short to mid-radius arcs that I’ve done in quite some time. The ski is very well balanced from tip to tail and provides as much fun as it does versatility. A very well-rounded ski for advanced and expert skiers. High-precision and quality feel to it as well.”

We’re very happy to see the Serpo return for 2023, making life a lot more fun for skiers who are looking for an all-mountain carver that has few to zero limitations. It’s got the strength and power to match its agility and versatility, and this is a pretty rare combination in a ski. The quiet and smooth nature of the Serpo puts it above most other skis in this low to mid-90's range, and we’re all about it.