Black Crows Orb Freebird Skis

The Orb Freebird Skis are one of the lightest skis we've reviewed to date and definitely the narrowest underfoot. Previously we reviewed the much more aggressive Black Crows Corvus Freebird Skis which are 107 underfoot and weigh a full 1,150 grams more. The Corvus Freebird Skis are an all-mountain ski that is stiffer and able to take on deeper snow and more challenging terrain whereas the Orb Freebird Skis are more of a niche ski ideally suited for spring missions and traverses. Make no mistake, however, Black Crows mission with the Orb Freebird Skis was not to create a crazy light ski but instead to make a great skiing ski that was also very light.

For 2022 Black Crows made the Orb Freebird Skis not only lighter but also integrated a lightweight Titanal plate in the binding area to improve screw retention. They also maintained the ski’s uniform mid/soft flex which is pretty consistent from tip to tail with the tails being a little more soft and forgiving. Black Crows give their Orb Freebird Skis a flex rating of 75/78/67 with the skis being slightly stiffer underfoot for better rebound and softer in the tips to help them float in deep snow. Their lightweight to dampness ratio is impressive for a ski of this narrow width and is achieved thanks to the combination of carbon and fibreglass integrated into the ski’s construction in a biaxial and triaxial weave. This allows the ski to retain its lateral stiffness as the ski flexes while the Paulownia wood core keeps the skis light. This all comes together to make the Orb Freebird Skis fairly confident in steeper technical terrain without being overly chatter and solid throughout the turn with a good amount of pop and personality.

Wide floating tips and a narrow waist provide a tight turn radius of only 18 metres allowing the Orb Freebird Skis to be nimble yet stable as can be seen in their 127/90/112mm shape below.

A moderate amount of camber underfoot combines with the progressive tip rocker and minor amount of tail flare to provide a good balance of secure grip on firmer snow while still being able to surf fresh snow when needed.

The narrow 90mm waist of the Orb Freebird Skis is contrasted with shapely and much fatter tips that provide some float in fresh snow and make up for their thinner profile underfoot. 

In the tails there is a minor amount of tail rise along with a built in tail cap for durability and a skin notch to ensure your skins stay put on the skis.

A solid addition to the Orb Freebird Skis is Black Crows Meta Poles which use an 18mm diameter Aluminium alloy 5083 to keep them light with a reduced swing weight. Their 90mm baskets are ideal for the resort and wide enough for any tours outside the boundaries you may want to take. The adjustable straps provide a good secure fit combined with Meta’s rubber grips. Available in lengths of 110-135cm, the Black Crows Meta Poles come in several solid colours with chevron accents to pair perfectly with the design of the Orb Freebird Skis.

• Full Paulownia Wood Core
• Mixed Glass / Carbon Fibre Laminates 

• Front rocker and early-rise tail.
• Titanal reinforcement under mountain area.
• Sidewalls Semi Cap Construction
• Medium Classic Camber – Classic camber underfoot with moderate ski/snow contact, giving a good balance between stability and maneuverability.
• Intermediate Flex – Tolerant and comfortable skiing.

I spent several spring days testing the Orb Freebird Skis after the local resort closed and was lucky enough to get them out in a variety of conditions. While deep pow is rare this time of year I had to be happy testing them in corn snow and fresh skiffs of snow maybe 5cm -10cm deep. Having received the Orb Freebird Skis in early May my touring and testing options were limited but luckily I had one day with 5cm of fresh snow in late May that slowly turned to corn snow as I lapped a few runs.

I found the Black Crows Orb Freebirds to be extremely poppy skis with a lot of energy return, as you complete one arc they push back and rebound you into the next. Given how narrow these skis are it was easy to transition them from edge to edge and link up tight radius turns. At speed, the Orb Freebird Skis were a little less stable which is understandable given their 90mm waist. This is of course on hardpack snow, corn snow and light snowfalls. In deeper fresh snow the fat shovels on the Orb Freebird Skis are really appreciated to not only keep the skis on top of the snow and push any crud out of the way but also to help initiate a turn as they have considerable shape and therefore love to carve. While the overall dimensions could always be more generous this would also add to the Orb Freebird's weight so it is a delicate game of give and take.

While the Orb Freebird Skis are ideal for spring traverses and ski-mountaineering, they do lack a generous amount of surface area so they are a niche ski for sure. I could easily find the sweet spot on these skis as they were very agile, nimble and quick edge-to-edge. They were full of personality and fun in the right conditions and while I didn’t ski the previous version of the Orb Freebird Skis I’ve been told that the design of this updated version has less hook on the tips and tails, a similar flex, is more aggressive overall and weighs about 300 grams lighter.

I found the Black Crows Orb Freebird to be an energetic ski that is quick and precise thanks to the traditional camber underfoot. The flat tails were strong and enabled a clean full turn that you could easily power off of. It was stable for a ski of this width/weight and was extremely playful and fun in light to moderate snowfalls.

To ensure the Orb Freebird Skis remained as light as possible I combined them with the Marker Alpinist 12 Bindings and skied them with the Scarpa F1 LT Alpine Touring Boots. Since I didn’t have any brakes available at the time of mounting the Alpinist 12 Bindings this setup was even lighter. The Orb Freebird Skis are truly made for crushing vertical on spring tours, they are light and so responsive and versatile in spring corn snow. While I don’t think that they’d be very confident on the many deep Selkirk powder days we get for most of the winter, they are ideal for locations that get little snow or smaller powder dumps and of course spring tours!