1 / 10Black Crows Octo birdie 2026/2027
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PTO Verdict
“A swallowtail carving toy for groomer days - quick edge to edge, easy to finish, and honest about not being a race ski.”
Best for: Women who ski groomers first and want carving to feel quick, playful and unhurried rather than race-serious. Progressing intermediates get a ski forgiving enough to learn real carving on; advanced skiers get a piste toy that stays entertaining at sane speeds. It rewards skiers drawn to the swallowtail character - a piste ski that refuses to look traditional.
Not for: Powder-first and off-piste-first skiers: at 84 mm the float is modest, and this is a piste and piste-side tool. Strong, aggressive skiers who want stiff, damp, locked-down high-speed grip: it is lively rather than damp, softer than a traditional carver, and the Octo family has a ceiling a strong skier will find. Anyone who wants a traditional carving ski or a traditional freestyle ski - the swallowtail concept deliberately sits between the two camps and looks like neither. And one-ski-quiver buyers who genuinely ski the whole mountain: that ski, in this line, is the Camox Birdie.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible ski bindings.
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The Black Crows Octo Birdie is a women's on-piste carving ski, 84 mm at the waist, that makes short carved turns feel easy rather than race-serious. Black Crows calls it "a UFO for carving" - a swallowtail piste ski that mixes angular carving with a newschool-flavored ease, aimed at groomed runs and the soft snow beside them. The tail is cut into a swallowtail around an aluminum insert, and the brand's own copy says the shape is "there again, for style" - so anything about what that tail does on snow is third-party opinion, not an official mechanism.
The build is glass, not metal: semi-cap construction over ABS sidewalls all around, a poplar and fiberglass core, and no metal sheet in the layup. That holds weight between 1450 and 1550 g per ski and keeps the character lively instead of damp. Every length carries the same 14 m radius, so the turn you buy is the turn you get whether you pick the 155.3 or the 167.2 - quick from edge to edge, with a finish that does not feel hurried. One independent test crew calls it more forgiving than race-bred carvers - and one of its testers put it plainly: "not as stiff as other carving skis." Both halves of that sentence matter.
It suits women who spend their days on groomers and want carving to stay playful; progressing intermediates can learn real carving on it, and advanced skiers keep it around because it is fun. It is not for powder-first or off-piste-first skiers - float at 84 mm is modest. Strong chargers who want locked-down high-speed grip and damping will find its ceiling, and anyone shopping one ski for the whole mountain should look at the Camox Birdie (97 mm) in the same line instead.
The Octo Birdie is sold flat, without bindings. We mount and adjust bindings in-shop and will help you settle on the right length - and if you need to size past the in-store run this season, the unisex Octo continues the same construction in longer sizes.
Specs
- Construction: Semi-cap, ABS sidewalls all around
- Core: Poplar / fiberglass
- Added material: Aluminium tail insert
- Waist width: 84 mm (all lengths)
- Dimensions (per size, tip/waist/tail): 124/84/113 mm (155.3) · 126/84/113 mm (161.2) · 126/84/113 mm (167.2) · 127/84/114 mm (173.4)
- Radius (per size): 14 m at all four lengths (155.3 / 161.2 / 167.2 / 173.4)
- Weight (per size): 1450 g (155.3) · 1500 g (161.2) · 1525 g (167.2) · 1550 g (173.4) — per_ski
- Sizes: 155.3 · 161.2 · 167.2 · 173.4 cm (official run); PTO ordered 155.3 / 161.2 / 167.2 for 26/27 — 173.4 not ordered
- Gender: Women
- Program / terrain: On-piste and piste-side skiing — 'a UFO for carving'
- Lengths: 155.3 cm · 161.2 cm · 167.2 cm · 173.4 cm
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Black Crows
- SKU
- 102358-155
- UPC / GTIN
- 0887445459811
155
Black Crows Octo Birdie
By PTO Team, Based on the manufacturer’s published specs and published third-party testing · Spec analysis and published third-party testing
The take
“A swallowtail carving toy for groomer days - quick edge to edge, easy to finish, and honest about not being a race ski.”
Black Crows' Octo Birdie is the women's size run of the Octo, Black Crows' swallowtail carver, and the two are the same ski where it counts: the official materials fields read identically - semi-cap over full ABS sidewalls, a poplar core wrapped in fiberglass, an aluminum insert set in the tail - and the lengths the two models share print the same dimensions, radius and weight. It also helps to know where the official data stops: the spec sheet's weights land at 1450-1550 g per ski, but Black Crows does not publish the profile - light tip rocker over camber is third-party consensus - and there is no official flex number either.
On snow, the Birdie-specific writeups converge on one trait: quick edge-to-edge transitions and arcs that finish without hurry. One test crew describes a ski that is easier to bend than a typical frontside carver, which is exactly why progressing intermediates get on with it quickly. The ceiling is real, though - a review of the unisex Octo warns that a strong skier can ask it to rip turns it cannot fully support, and this is not the ski for locked-down speed. As for the swallowtail, officially it is styling, full stop; one independent review credits it with an easy turn release and a smeared, drifty way to close a carve, and that squares with the ski's character - but Black Crows itself claims nothing mechanical.
Against the obvious rivals, the Octo Birdie reads as the playful pick. One independent comparison finds the Blizzard Black Pearl 82 more composed when speed climbs, and the Nordica Santa Ana 84 more conventional and more planted - the Octo Birdie nimbler than the first, easier to pivot than the second. Inside Black Crows' own line, the Mirus Cor at $999 is the sharper, more demanding version of the same carve-meets-freestyle idea; the Sato Birdie at $739 is the conventional playful piste ski for skiers who do not want a swallowtail; and the Camox Birdie - 97 mm, $849 - is the pick when off-piste days are genuinely on the menu.
Sizing is simple because the radius does not scale: 14 m in all four lengths, 84 mm underfoot in all of them, so choose by height and weight and the turn shape stays put. The official run spans 155.3 to 173.4 cm; PTO stocks the 155.3, 161.2 and 167.2 this season, and a skier who needs the 173.4 can take the unisex Octo at that length - the figures match column for column. The Octo Birdie retails at $949, the same price as the unisex Octo, and ships flat: bindings are a separate purchase, chosen and mounted at the shop bench.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski - bindings are a separate purchase and need mounting. Our pick: Marker Griffon 13 (Black Crows bundle option; PTO stock pairing).
- Marker Griffon 13The bundle option PTO stocks
One of the binding bundles Black Crows offers with this ski on its own product page.
- Salomon Strive 12 GWThe other official bundle option
Also shown as a bundle with the Octo Birdie on the Black Crows page; not a PTO stock item right now.
Black Crows publishes no mount-point or brake-width restriction for the Octo Birdie. Binding choice and mounting are handled by a technician at the shop bench.
Common Questions
- What is the difference between the Black Crows Octo Birdie and the Octo?
- The size run. Construction, materials, radius, weight and price match - we compared the official spec fields line by line - and the two lengths both models offer, 167.2 and 173.4, carry identical numbers. The Birdie runs 155.3-173.4 cm; the unisex Octo runs 167.2-185.4 cm.
- What length Black Crows Octo Birdie should I get?
- Pick by height and weight: with an 84 mm waist and a 14 m radius shared by all four lengths, size does not change the turn shape. This season PTO carries the 155.3, 161.2 and 167.2. If you need the 173.4, the unisex Octo at 173.4 matches it spec for spec.
- Is the Black Crows Octo Birdie good in powder?
- No. Its float is modest at 84 mm, and its official program is groomed runs and their soft edges. For genuine off-piste use in the same family, look at the Camox Birdie at 97 mm or the Atris Birdie at 105 mm.
- Is the Black Crows Octo Birdie good for beginners?
- One independent review pegs the sweet spot at solid intermediate to advanced, with ambitious intermediates progressing fastest; Black Crows' own copy is broader, welcoming 'fanatics and novices alike'. Between the two, side with the review: it is forgiving for a carving ski, not a first-lesson ski.
- What does the swallowtail on the Black Crows Octo Birdie do?
- Officially, nothing mechanical - Black Crows describes the tail shape as being there for style, with an aluminum insert set into it. One independent review says it helps turns release easily and finish with a smear; treat that as opinion, not spec.
