The Black Crows Navis Freebird is a 104mm touring-freeride ski, fully redesigned for 26/27, built for backcountry skiers who go uphill for the descent. This is the fourth generation of the ski Black Crows aims at touring skiers who choose their lines for the descent, and the widest pure-touring Freebird below the Draco. The redesign touches nearly everything: the waist grows from 102 to 104mm behind a refined tip, the sidecut is now listed at a 21m radius, and the size run resets to four lengths from 165 to 186cm.

The build is a touring layup with descent priorities. A paulownia and poplar core replaces the old all-poplar core, laminated with glass and carbon fibers. Construction is semi-cap: cap in the tip and tail where saved grams cut swing weight, ABS sidewalls underfoot where edge grip and the binding platform matter. Titanal is limited to a reinforcement under the bindings — this is not a metal ski, and it rides like the light ski it is, not like a damp resort freeride build. The payoff: between 1,450 and 1,650 grams per ski, roughly 10% less than the outgoing generation, a claim that checks out against Black Crows' own published weights.

It suits 50/50 tourers — advanced and expert skiers whose climbing is in service of the descent, in big open terrain where a single 21m radius can run. It is not for gram-counters (the narrower Mentis, Ova and Orb Freebird climb cheaper), not for tight-tree short-turn skiing, and not a resort daily — Black Crows' own Atris is the damper lift-served ski at nearly the same width. One caveat: the fourth generation is new this season, and downhill claims like "better grip" and "increased stability" are the manufacturer's own — independent reviews of it do not exist yet. The proven third-generation 102mm ski is still in our shop.

The Navis Freebird ships as a bare ski, no binding, no skins. We carry the 172.2, 179.4 and 186.2cm lengths, and we help you choose a touring binding, mount it, and get the length right.