2026 Black Crows Octo

This ski has a lot going for it when it comes to style and energy. The people at Black Crows know what they’re doing when it comes to ski shaping and design. The 2026 Black Crows Octo is a perfect example of their brilliance. The Vertis was an awesome ski. Whoever skied it loved it. The problem was that it just wasn’t that appealing to a broad audience. By replacing it with the Octo (not an official statement from Black Crows, just our take on the situation), they made the Vertis cool and desirable. This ski is billed as an on-piste and has a lot of value here. They make short turns, are quick and agile, and generally put smiles on people's faces. This is more of a traditional ski, but with a modern twist. With a new graphic but the same structural ski, we get another crack at this great carver.

There’s nothing wild about the parts and pieces of these skis. Built with a poplar core and fiberglass laminates, the Octo has a pretty simple construction. The ski uses a semi cap construction and full sidewalls all around. This is basically the same build as the Vertis, using that blend of light weight wood, energetic glass, and stiff consistent sidewalls. In the 179, the stated weight of 1675 grams per ski is certainly on the light side, putting the Octo into the highly mobile category for skis of this ilk. We get a mini swallowtail here with an aluminum insert. This gives a bit more pressure to the back end of the ski while allowing it to flex out of the turn and rebound into the next. Pop was a big thing with Vertis, and it continued on forward into Octo. What it doesn’t do, due to the build, is rip high-speed GS turns on firm snow—this ski’s construction leans more to the moderate. Jeff Neagle notes that the Octo is “Definitely best on groomers, although I think it would be a good mogul ski too. Like the Mirus Cor, soft snow groomers will be the sweet spot, and it won't love anything super steep as it doesn't have strong edge grip. It's fun to ski and a great tool for many skiers, it just has its limitations, which is fine.” That lack of power in this ski is fine—that's why Crows makes other great models like Serpo and Justis to complement the lighter and more agile Octo. It’s also very unique, so no other ski can do what Octo does.

We get a bit wilder in the shape. The 179 generates a 14-meter turn radius as the 84 mm waist is bookended by 130 mm tips and 117 mm tails. This is a nice short arc. When paired with the lighter nature, the ski comes around very quickly and easily. There’s decent taper in the tips and tails, putting the modern spin on the ski. While this won’t win any flotation contests with wider and more rockered skis, it still helps, as this Octo does want to take on the “piste-side” of the mountain as well as the groomers. Tester Jeff Carpenter states that “The Octo was really fun to make short snappy turns down the fall line and easy to carve on the loose frozen granular, but you would likely sense the lack of metal in its construction while trying to make higher speed carving turns on hard snow.” The lack of a top end is fine here, as most skis won’t truly support both. Balance is key here as well—if you have a strong skillset, you can push it pretty hard. Accessing the entirety of the flex and the sidecut are the most entertaining parts of this ski.

The Octo will continue to surprise a lot of skiers. While the ski lacks the top end of more metallic performers in this class, it certainly has the lightweight and mobile side of the spectrum well covered. Intermediates looking for a high-end ski will fare the best here. We started noticing that certain companies do more than others in providing intermediates with good skis that are properly shaped and engineered. Black Crows has a big-time winner here among this crowd with the Octo. It’s on the pricey side, though, so keep that in mind.