The Black Crows Draco Freebird is a freeride-touring twin, 110-112 mm at the waist - the one twin-tipped model in Black Crows' Freebird touring range, and its downhill-first pick. For 26/27 it is a straight carryover of last season's ski with a new coral-pink topsheet: same lengths, shape, build and price.

The construction reads touring, the intent reads freeride. A paulownia and poplar core with fiberglass - no metal in the materials list - sits in a semi-cap layup: cap ends in tip and tail to save weight, ABS sidewalls underfoot where the edging loads live. Rockered tip and tail over cambered midsections keep the running surface short, so the ski pivots fast in steeps and soft snow while the camber keeps its bite. The flex is firm with a progressive tip, the sidecut slightly straight for stability. At 1,700 to 1,925 g per ski it skins uphill honestly, but this is a freeride ski that tours, not a light tourer that just gets itself back down.

The right owner earns big lines, couloirs and soft snow, and skis with a loose, drifty style, washing the twin tail out to shed speed instead of braking on edges. It wants an active, advanced-to-expert pilot. It is the wrong ski for gram counters: the narrower Mentis, Ova and Orb Freebird exist for distance-first days. Cautious or passive skiers will find the firm flex gives little back, and groomer-primary skiers are holding the wrong tool. If you are buying 110 mm for maximum float: independent reviews rate its float as average for the width - the Nocta is the float ski in this family.

Within the range, the Navis Freebird (104 mm) is the more versatile everyday touring pick; the Draco is the wider, looser specialist. It ships flat, so plan on a pin or hybrid touring setup - Black Crows is explicit that telemark bindings must never be mounted on this ski. We mount and adjust bindings to your boots, and Pilus pre-cut skins exist for it in all three lengths - we will sort the pairing.