Black Crows Captis Birdie Review

The Black Crows Captis Birdie has a lot going for it in terms of playfulness, and it provides a responsive ride in tight spaces. However, this ski was a liability when we made it go fast or placed it in challenging conditions such as powder or crud.

Performance Comparison

A shark in a mogul field is not a fish out of water on these Black Crows; they butter, pivot easily, and flex nicely in the troughs.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Stability at Speed

At first, on soft steep groomers, we were surprised at how this relatively soft ski held an edge and didn't chatter. After bringing it up to speed, however, our fears about the ski's flexibility were realized. There is a continuous flap at the tips, as well as a general sense that it was not designed for high speeds. We also noted a feeling of discomfort around its construction; it skis much shorter than its advertised length, and we regularly felt like we were about to go over the handlebars at higher speeds.

As depicted by the extreme bend along the length of the ski in this shot, the Captis is too soft to provide a stable ride at high speeds.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Carving Ability

The rebound we love about this ski made it feel fun in a carved turn, but only if the snow was consistent and forgiving enough to allow us to build the speed to make it pop. Given the relatively narrow 90-millimeter waist, the Captis Birdie feels fluid and fast when moving from one edge to the other. We agree that the 18-meter turn radius seems accurate, though because the ski is so pliable, we could bend it into a tighter turn if we felt comfortable building the forces to do so (which wasn't often).

The Captis can hold an edge and carve even tighter than the 18-meter turning radius in easy snow conditions.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Powder Performance

While the Captis Birdie is one of the narrower skis in the range of "all-mountain" with a 90-millimeter waist, we don't believe that fact alone excuses its lack of prowess in this metric. It was understandable that it flounders in heavier snow, but even when we took it out in six inches of blower pow, it couldn't stay on track.

We didn't like how the Captis performed in even a little bit of fresh snow.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Crud Performance

This ski is simply not adept at handling variable snow conditions. We found ourselves getting bucked around all over the place, even in what should have been manageable chop. It is too soft to plow through and unpredictable in the way it reacts to any undulations.

This Black Crow does not have the power for confident crud skiing.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Terrain Playfulness

In this one metric, in particular, the Captis Birdie captured our hearts. We loved the spring-back it gave us when we pressured and released them; it was more pronounced on this ski than on many in our review. The tricky part was that we needed to be on consistent, forgiving snow in order to feel confident building the speed and forces necessary to make this pop happen. The Captis Birdie is super lightweight and is very easy to get airborne, but again we wanted to make sure our landing was going to be very soft and gentle before committing to it on this ski.

The one thing we really loved about the Captis was its playful pop.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Bumps

A ski that likes to butter the snow and pivot quickly, the Captis Birdie is an enjoyable and easy ride through the moguls. In this terrain, its ability to change edges quickly, bend easily, and move nimbly allow it to thrive. Once again, however, it could only handle a mogul field with bumps cushioned by soft and predictable snow; anything too deep, hard, or chunky would send us flying in unknown directions.

The soft, bendy, and light characteristics of the Captis serve it well in the moguls.

Photo: Scott Rokis

Value

While this ski is fairly affordable, it doesn't provide the value in versatility that we would prefer for a one ski quiver.

Conclusion