The Black Crows Anima is a big-mountain freeride ski with a 115 mm waist, built around an unusual pairing: stability at high speed and quick, agile handling for its width. Black Crows frames it as the creative gun of its freeride range, made for big lines and jumps, for quick pivots and riding switch.

The shape carries the idea. Rocker at both ends flanks a short classic camber under the binding, shortening the running length so a ski this wide pivots and releases without a fight, while the long 19 m sidecut — Black Crows' own reasoning — keeps it composed and gripped as speed builds. The flex is soft and progressive at the extremities and firmer where the ski contacts the snow: ends that flex into soft snow, a midbody that keeps its bite on firm snow. The build is semi-cap over full-perimeter ABS sidewalls, with a poplar and fiberglass core and carbon/kevlar stripes for reinforcement — no titanal anywhere.

It is aimed at experienced freeriders after a single wide ski for winters that lean toward deep and mixed snow — riders who pivot, jump and ride switch as readily as they point it. It is the wrong ski for beginners and cautious intermediates: the width, the -6 cm directional mount and the long radius all ask for an active pilot, and the independent reviews (prior-generation, same dimensions) lean advanced. It is the wrong ski for a groomer-heavy season, too — its hard-snow ability is measured against its width, per Black Crows' own qualifier. And at 2250 g per ski in the 182.1 cm length, it is not built for long climbs; the Freebird models cover the uphill.

Black Crows splits its big-mountain lineup three ways. The Nocta, at 122 mm, is the pure deep-snow surfer; the Corvus, at 110 mm, adds a single titanal plate for a damper, more hard-snow-biased ride; the Anima takes the middle job — the playful one that still charges. It ships flat: the binding is a separate purchase, and we mount it and help you pick the right length.