Outdoor Retailer and Black Crows

We were in Denver for the new Outdoor Retailer show last week and saw more gear than you could imagine. There were many highlights and we'll be sharing them with you over the coming weeks.

One brand that stood out was Black Crows. Based in Chamonix, the brand is making serious inroads into North America, and Canada in particular (just look at their athlete roster). I had a good long chat with Julien Regnier and Chris Booth. Julien worked for Armada and designed the iconic JJ ski for them. He's now the Black Crows' shaper. These guys are the real deal—super passionate, knowledgeable, accomplished ski folk. They are modest as well, which is always appreciated.

Though they'll have a few new models for next season, current model options cover the needs (and wants) of most North American ski tourers. The sampling below from their Freebird line goes from the Vastus at 76mm underfoot to the Anima at 115. If we had our druthers, we'd probably go with the Corvus or Navus at 109 and 102mm respectively. A more "traditional" ski, the Corvus has front progressive rocker and slightly tapered sidecut. Nice. They weigh in at a respectable 3600g for a pair of 175cm. Not super-light, and that's OK.



As you can see below, Black Crows is now into apparel as well. Some of the kits seem like overkill for ski touring, but the Ventus Light jacket and pant at right looked bang on. A subtle, funky design sense (you should check out the gaiters...), 3L Gore-tex with a C-knit backer. Bingo. A great outer layer combo for all-day tours.