2012-2013
the sixth Black Crows winter collection

For a quality product dedicated to the pleasure of doing something you love.

This new collection follows the direction we chose from the beginning : to build quality skis designed for performance, and founded on an authentic passion for skiing

Black Crows is a garantee of quality, performance and authenticity.

Black Crows is a passion for perfection, a passion for a quality product, a passion for skiing.  We aim to share this approach of skiing by building freeride tools destined to fulfil this search for pleasure in all it’s forms.  We therefore build all our skis, whatever their defining strengths, to correspond to the 4 criteria which define our vision of skiing : all terrain, all snow condition, ease, performance.



This 6th collection of skis is built around 3 disciplines :

All Terrain Freeride ( Divided into Big Mountain and All Mountain ) : for a smooth and savage all terrain ski.

Freestyle Park: for park and piste precision.

Mountain touring : skis to take you to the other side, into the no man’s land, where the call of the mountain echoes.


And this year also sees the introduction of our first collection of uninhibited accessories and après-ski textiles.


freeride
by Camille Jaccoux & Bruno Compagnet

The freeride has for a long time been what each person made it, everyone having their own vision and definition, when all it really consists of is free skiing off-piste.  Put simply, freeriding is built on an elementary trilogy : man, skis and snow covered mountains.  The technical level hardly matters, it is after all a personal commitment involving authenticity and passion.  Oh, and sharing, if you like.

Our freeride range is divided into two segments : Big Mountain and All Mountain, from the widest to the narrowest of our models.  Each of these models has it’s own specialities and unique qualities based on their purpose and demands. Yet always with the Black Crows philosophy in mind : skis made for all types of snow and terrain.  From the first to the last snowflake, from the nearest bowl to the farthest hidden slopes.

Free skiing, depending on how you approach it, is one of the last remaining zones of complete freedom and total autonomie.


freestyle
by Julien Regnier

Some of the Black Crows veterans come from the era of what is now known as “old school” freestyle, an acro-artistic discipline of unlimited perspectives where we used somewhat long skis and poles, and were sometimes naked.  Our bodies had been forged on the mogul fields, ski jumps and acroski pistes, and these memories of our younger years spent trying to do a double daffy or a spread eagle with grace and style left their mark on us.

“In 2013, the damn kids seem to reinvent the laws of gravity every winter, equally in the park as freeriding off piste, and are reaching a technical and aesthetic level which is quite simply phenomenal.  The evolutions of equipment and infrastructures responded to the creativity of this new generation and also made the sport much more accessible.  Jibbing along the piste and having your first kicker session is now open to everyone, the pleasure of playing with your skis comes very quickly and opens the door to a rapid progression” - Julien Regnier

The new Viator, doted with the flat double beak technologie, is there to serve this creativity practised in the park and around the piste.  For jibbing and carving in all forms, this playful, sparkling and resistant ski, available in 4 sizes and as many colours, isn’t made to look at.


ski touring
by Bruno Compagnet

Ski touring is nowadays divided into two easily distinguished sectors.  One which aims for performance, uphill speed records, rugged and audacious courses where ski-mountaineers rapidly climb steep slopes with skis lighter than a crow’s feather.  The other, in the midst of a revolution, is constantly searching for better snow and conditions, far from the bustle of ski resorts, the objective to contemplate the surroundings and share the physical effort.  Add to that the travelling, the discovery of new mountain ranges, learning about mountain skills and autonomy, you have all the values which carry our vision of this unique means of transport.

For us, a high mountain ski is a simple equation : light but skiable, trustworthy and solid.

In our new high mountain “Free Bird” range, we offer 2 new types of construction with 2 different shapes.  This season sees the beginning of a new Black Crows project, always with the same ambition, highly efficient on the uphill and unlimited pleasure on the way down.

design
by Yorgo Tloupas

The Black Crows logo is a V form evoking the silhouette of a bird in flight.  “I wanted to create a simple and geometric symbol, in keeping with the ski logos of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  No 3D, no shadow, no multiple colours, just a monochrome silhouette” explains Yorgo.  “The simplest drawing of a bird in flight is the V.  Like when a child draws birds. And finally, an upside down V becomes a mountain, the sommets to conquer.”

Multiplied, this V – or chevron - becomes a flock, representing the Black Crows community.  As such, the association of chevrons naturally became the brand’s identity.  “The Black Crows spirit is also a community of skiers with similar passions and ways of life.  A squadron of free and unique skiers.  Even if Crows don’t fly in flocks, the six chevrons together resemble birds in flight.  The originality of this logo is that it has an infinite number of possibilities, creating an illusionary perspective, in optical art style.
For 2013 the range has grown alot, so we had to simplify the understanding and visual identity of the skis.  The big change this year is to have single colour on each ski : block colours, monochrome with varying shades.  So each range is one colour in three different shades, with different graphic positioning depending on the size of the ski.  As of now, a grand Corvus can be distinguished from a small Corvus by the arrangement of the colours, rather than the colour itself.
The monochrome skis of the Free Bird light touring range (red or yellow) are a new approach which treats the skis as a whole object rather than a composition of base - edge - topsheet.  It’s a monobloc appearance, to combine with monochrome bindings and a monochrome outfit.  One way to transform yourself into a red or yellow albino.  If you like that is! Yorgo Tloupas, known as “the Greek”, 6 generations of design.



Have a good ride.