• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

black crows skis customer service = A+

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
i got black crows corvus last summer. of the 34 days this season, i've skied the crows the most of my 3 skis, so about 17 days on them. at gore 2 weeks ago i grabbed my skis from the rack to go back to the car and noticed that the tails werent sitting flush when the skis were together and locked at the brakes to be carried. on closer inspection i located a ~6 inch long separation between the topsheet and sidewall, that was packed out with snow so it was about half an inch of open space. after the snow melted the space decreased but there was still a very obvious separation, on both the left and right side of the ski. all this was under the rear portion of the binding.

filed a warranty claim with black crows and after a reasonable amount of back and forth and information and picture gathering, they are sending me a brand new pair of the same skis at no charge, and arent asking me to return the old ones.

i'll try to epoxy the old ones back together to use as a rock ski. and now i can try to mount my marker barons on the new ones, which my nyc based shop totally fucked up last time (i made a thread when that was a thing)

stoked. give black crows your money. they will do right by you.
 

sledride

New member
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
29
Points
0
Curious if you think the Barons will change the way the Crows ski as it's a frame binding? I recently acquired some skis with Guardians and they just don't feel as fun as my old skis with regular alpine bindings, even though the new skis are wider, newer, and a better ski. They ski fine and I'm not sure exactly what it is but I feel like I have more fun on my old skis. Kind of wish I just got Solomon Shifts for my old skis. Frame bindings seem to put you up too high or change the flex of the ski.
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
i have lots of experience with frame bindings.

i had guardian 16s when they first came out. buddy with a salomon connect got me them very cheap. they actually went on my kastle bmx118s, which are not a light ski by any means, and the guardians have wild weight. so the skis were bomber as fuck going down and fast, but the few times i used them to tour it was not an ideal setup. frame bindings do put you high, but it didnt bother me.

the barons were on my moment belafontes. my favorite ski ever but also a bit of a 2x4 in terms of being stiff and heavy. i liked the barons better than the guardians. they felt lighter and lower profile and were less bothersome on my occasional tour.

that being said, my other skis have rossi fks (a newer pair of kastle bmx 118s) and look pivots (dps wailer 105), which is the polar opposite in terms of having a bombproof but very lightweight binding.

anyway, once i get the new crows i will put the barons on them and then will be able to do a direct 1 to 1 comparison of the black crows corvus with marker griffons vs marker barons

my quiver is sexy, but a bit one dimensional in that i really just like stiff directional chargers and never go for anything with more flex.
 

jaybird

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
277
Points
28
On a delam like that, most manufacturers would respond similarly. Crow top skins have been known to break away but it's usually a tip or tail separation. Lots of down country shops don't properly match binders to ski flex. With a longer boot, the rear track can impact tail flex and contribute to the problem you describe.

Frankly, a 4 pair quiver results in way more surface tuning than I'm willing to do without my own wintersteiger.
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
Ya I am done letting the Brooklyn shop, or paragon, or rei, mount skis for me. These nyc shops are for family tourist skiers, not 50 day aggressive skiers with high end gear
 

jaybird

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
277
Points
28
.. a pair of Marker MRRs likely would have prevented your delam.
Best 2 piece binding ever in minimizing chord stress.

What size shoe do you wear ?
 

jaybird

Active member
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
277
Points
28
MRRs replaced the Rotomat.
They are tough to find now.

With only a 27 shell, unless the heel plate is very long, perhaps you just got a bad batch of Crow glue.
 

Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,430
Points
113
Location
Mad River Valley / MA
On a delam like that, most manufacturers would respond similarly. Crow top skins have been known to break away but it's usually a tip or tail separation. Lots of down country shops don't properly match binders to ski flex. With a longer boot, the rear track can impact tail flex and contribute to the problem you describe.

Frankly, a 4 pair quiver results in way more surface tuning than I'm willing to do without my own wintersteiger.

But you're a Blizzard kind of guy I thought......;-)
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
ya the problem looked glue/bond related. anyway, they did right by me so hopefully the next pair doesnt experience a similar fate. love the brand, the style, and the way these corvus ski. but i put my skis thru the ringer and need something burly that holds up. nothing will ever beat the moment belafontes. i could do anything to those and they would be fine.
 

Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 22, 2016
Messages
2,430
Points
113
Location
Mad River Valley / MA
I just demo'd the Crow's Atris last week. That is a great ski for all round conditions. 108 under foot, 20M radius with a little tip rise.
 

KustyTheKlown

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
5,365
Points
113
Location
Brooklyn
i was choosing between the atris and the corvus. this is from a few seasons back but is a generally good comparison. https://blisterreview.com/gear-reviews/black-crows-corvus-vs-black-crows-atris

the corvus sounded more my style, and i was also a sucker for the black and pink, especially since my kastles are white and pink.

i want to get an all black outerwear kit with bright pink accessories - poles, gloves, goggles, etc.
 
Top