2026 Black Crows Sato Birdie

The 2026 Black Crows Sato Birdie is a new ski for this year featuring an 88 mm waist and an all-wood core construction for modern all-mountain skiers. For most skiers, at least from a mainstream perspective, the Sato Birdie fits super-solid within the all-mountain category and it works great both on and off-trail for a variety of skiers. This ski works great in all-terrain conditions and can go between bumps, trees, groomers, and light powder with ease. While the Sato Birdie does not contain metal, it’s got a thicker wood core that allows it to feel powerful and energetic on the feet of a variety of skier types.

Black Crows, somehow, manages to make skis feel like they have so much going on in there when in reality it’s far simpler. Black Crows uses a full poplar core here to go along with fiberglass laminates. They do more with the milling of the core and the thickness of the wood to make for more of an insulated feel. The smoothness and power stands up to some aggressive skiing while the quickness of the ski makes it peppy and fun. In the tail, the thick wood core continues, providing a high end feel throughout the arc of the ski. Tester Annie MacDonald notes that it is “Easy turning/schmearing with lots of camber but not as much rebound as I was expecting. Nice to feel an all wood ski though…old school feels!” We totally get that more traditional label here, as the Sato Birdie does feel like a throwback ski with a modern twist.

At 88 mm underfoot, the Sato Birdie fits squarely into the all-mountain category. It works great on-trail as a result of the high camber and long effective edge. There’s some rocker in the tips and a higher splay in the tails than one may guess, but overall, this is a traditionally shaped and profiled ski. The 167.2 cm length produces a 17-meter turn radius, making it slightly longer and smoother at speed than the Octo Birdie. It’s kind of a mix of skis, with the Sato looking like it has the shovel of the Captis and the tail of the Serpo, mixing all-mountain applications for a variety of skiers. Tester Lauren Simmers calls it a “fun zippy ski. Best for versatile terrain. Can go most anywhere. Wouldn’t be my choice for deeper days.” That’s totally fair—the 88 with not a lot of rocker won’t float nearly as well as some wider and more curved skis for sure—this one’s shape leans more to the groomers.

In that light, the Sato Birdie is an excellent ski. It rips on groomers and delivers a lot of electric energy to the snow. These skis jump off the trail and make excellent round turns. They’re natural, easy, and intuitive, but won’t be winning any local races—they prefer to be used in the more moderate zone. And that’s totally fine, because the vast majority of skiers spend most of their time in this realm.