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PTO ReviewAll-Mountain

Black Crows Camox Birdie

By PTO Team, Based on official specs and independent gen-4 testing · Spec analysis + third-party gen-4 test review on this ski

Black Crows Camox Birdie 26/27 ski
Black Crows Camox Birdie, 26/27.
CarvingParkPlayful.Forgive.Stabili.Powder
Carving
Park
Playfulness
Forgiveness
Stability
Powder

The take

Pivot-first, playful, 97 mm underfoot — calmer and quicker in gen 4, and honest about what that calm cost.

The Camox Birdie is the women's build of the Camox, the all-terrain platform Black Crows has taken into a fourth generation. At the lengths the two share, the published specs are identical — Birdie here means the short-length run of the platform, with its own colorway. The build is semi-cap, ABS sidewalls running the full perimeter, over a poplar core that carries a pocket of ash reinforcement; no metal laminate appears in the official materials. Gen 4 shortened the radius to a printed 18 m at each length, evened out the flex and made the pivot more responsive.

On snow, the fourth-generation Camox Birdie tested as a pivot-first ski that has grown calmer. Independent testers — three women, on the current ski — scored stability 9/10 and called it fun to go fast through steep crud. Playfulness scored 10/10, with heavy slush singled out as its element. One tester turned in the same 8/10 in category after category, which is about as clear a picture of a daily driver as a scorecard can draw.

The Camox Birdie's limits are just as well documented. It does not encourage wide carving turns, and the testers split on the edge: one scored grip 9/10 and praised the hold, another found it unresponsive when pushed into hard carving. Read that split plainly — it grips well for a playful 97 mm ski, and it does not carve like a frontside ski; the piste-oriented Serpo exists for the skier who wants that. Gen 4 also traded some of the old freestyle bounce for its composure — one tester said it lacks pop — and at 1,550-1,900 g per ski it is mid-weight resort mass; one tester called it heavier than she would have liked. That mass is part of why it stays quiet in crud, and anyone planning real touring should look at the Camox Freebird instead.

In deep snow the Camox Birdie reaches its ceiling: flotation scored 6/10 — enough for slush and fresh resort snow, out of its depth on true storm days, which is the 105 mm Atris Birdie's job ($929). Skiers who equate ice-day security with metal should also look elsewhere; a metal-laminate ski in the Nordica Santa Ana 98 class is more damped and more locked down, where the Camox Birdie's whole argument is maneuverability. It comes in four lengths from 156.1 to 175.2 cm — the two shortest exist only in the Birdie — at $849, sold flat: the binding is a separate purchase, and we mount and adjust it in the shop. Skiers earlier in their progression have an in-line route too — Black Crows positions the narrower Captis Birdie ($669) as the accessible women's entry below it. For a woman who steers her skis actively and wants one of them to handle the whole mountain, this is the Black Crows to start with.

Bindings we'd pair with it

Mount point: Comes flat — the binding is a separate purchase, mounted and adjusted in the shop. Our pick: Marker Squire 11.

Black Crows bundles the Camox Birdie with resort bindings on 100 mm brakes and with touring setups on its own site. Release values are set by a technician at fitting, to your boot, weight and ability. Boot-sole compatibility is never assumed from a model name — it is checked against your actual boots at fitting.

Common Questions

What is the difference between the Black Crows Camox Birdie and the Camox?
They are the same platform. At the shared 169.1 and 175.2 cm lengths the published specs — radius, dimensions, weight — are identical, and the construction matches. The Birdie runs shorter, adding 156.1 and 162.3 cm, while the unisex Camox runs to 188.3 cm.
Is the Black Crows Camox Birdie good in powder?
It handles soft resort snow and slush well, but flotation scored 6/10 in gen-4 testing — it is not a deep-powder ski. For storm days the wider Atris Birdie (105 mm) is the women's Black Crows built for float.
What changed in the fourth-generation Camox Birdie?
Black Crows shortened the radius to 18 m, made the flex more homogeneous and made the pivot more responsive. Independent gen-4 testing found it more stable at speed and in crud than its predecessor, though one tester felt it lacks pop compared with the old ski.
Does the Black Crows Camox Birdie have metal in it?
No. The official materials list a poplar core reinforced by a pocket of ash, in a semi-cap build with ABS sidewalls — no metal laminate. Its calm in crud comes from the ash pocket and its mass, not from a metal sheet, so it pivots easily but is not an ice-day damping machine.
What length Black Crows Camox Birdie should I get?
It comes in 156.1, 162.3, 169.1 and 175.2 cm, with an 18 m printed radius at each length. The right length depends on your height, weight, ability and how you ski — tell us and we will recommend one.