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2021 Black Crows Justis

SkiTalk Test Team

Testing skis so you don't have to.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Mar 5, 2017
Posts
1,202
Philpug: Finally I got see what others have seen in how a Black Crow should ski. After numerous attempts over the years with little success, I was finally able to get on a Black Crow that skied up to expectations. I got on the 100mm -- err, 10.0cm -- wide Justis in a 183 -- err, 183.1 -- in Colorado in conditions that allowed the ski to show its best attributes: late-day 4 to 6 in. of cut-up snow. The Justis did the Black Crows' name just that, Justis. The all-new design handled these variable conditions with power and confidence. If you are looking for a ski that won’t take any guff from the mountain and will punch it in the throat, look no further. The Justis is your ticket to ride.
  • Insider tip: Duh, Pivot 15 in gold. Easy peazy.
 
Awards
Who is it for?
Those looking for a charger that is not a mainstream brand.
Who is it not for?
Finesse skiers might get overwhelmed by this one.
Skier ability
  1. Advanced
  2. Expert
Ski category
  1. All Mountain
Ski attributes
  1. Off Piste
  2. Trees
Segment
  1. Men

Specifications

right ad
Available sizes
171, 177, 183, 189
Dimensions
138-100-123
Radius
20m@177cm
Rocker profile
  1. Camber with tip and tail rocker
Construction design
  1. All new
Binding options
  1. Flat
Last edited by a moderator:

peterm

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Jan 9, 2016
Posts
451
Location
New Zealand (previously SF Bay Area)
more more! thoughts vs atris, others? cage match!! :D

Funny that you should ask that!
I was skiing today and was surprised to see that one of the local shops had set up a demo stand for Black Crows skis. The first ski I hopped on was a 177 Justis. Overall impressions were quite good. The ski did feel a little short, but held up well when I cranked up the speed a little and pressured the ski. Was also reasonably damp when skied off piste thru refrozen snow of varying degrees of firmness. Would like to have tried the 183 but they didn't have it. For reference I'd been skiing a 180 Brahma all morning.
The other ski I tried was a 184 Atris. I'd tried (and liked) the ski once before on a Colorado powder day, so was curious to try it in different (and far from ideal) conditions. It's certainly a very different ski to the Justis, in fact the Justis has more in common with the Brahma. To be honest today I had some trouble getting the Atris to bite and engage the turn crisply. Felt better on my last run, so maybe I adjusted somewhat. Btw, the previous time I tried them I had them mounted 2cm back but not this time, so that could be a factor too.
For NZ conditions I think the Justis is a better resort ski.
 

AlpedHuez

Chasing that Odermatt form
Skier
Joined
Mar 4, 2020
Posts
432
Location
Oakland/Tahoe expat in London
I have the Atris and Corvus Freebird, and am keen to add the Justis to my Alps quiver. Atris and Corvus Freebird my ideal two ski quiver for Chamonix freeriding, while the Justis should be great for bombing Grands Montets and Courmayeur. Here's hoping Mont Blanc sorts out a sensible social distancing policy for the Aguille du Midi cable car and the Arret of the Valle Blanche.
 

anders_nor

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Posts
2,597
Location
on snow
So this is a fun ski! before takeing it out today I only skied it at indoor resort, and ... it was just sad there, couldnt get up enough speed/room and it was just unhappy.

So finally, bluebird day on forcast, , up 06:00 to get first gondola, weatherchange from above zero + snowdump to -8c , perfect groomers, just perfect, no ice under but a soldi sole + some not awesome pow leftovers from fri/sat.

For frontside/carving, it feels like a 102FR met a mantra 102, I didnt go to fast but probably clocked around 50mph on carve? edge angle wasnt at my usual angles as I'm recovery from knee injury, but I could tell it definetly wanted to run. Stability was superb when scrubbing speed, the resort has mostly red/black runs and my knee felt happy with them and that it smoothed a lot of stuff out with beeing a bit on the damper side, especially for a black crows. They didnt do anything weird even as day progress and conditions were less stellar groomers, and more variable.


We skied through some flatter areas with pow leftovers and forest they floated surprisingly good for a 100mm, I didnt do any crazy manovours though, ref knee, but it did feel like a 102 FR here.


189cm says radius 21, but you could flex it shorter than that
 

anders_nor

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Posts
2,597
Location
on snow
@anders_nor it sounds like you’d give it a slight edge over the 102FR?
For frontside carving, yes, for playfullness probably not. Its playful vs a mantra, but not vs a 102FR. for pow the 102FR is actually 107mm underfoot in 191 lengt, + rocker just makes it float better + more maneuverable. But justis wins for something chargy that can do some pow/woods duty. taking the mantra 102 in tighter slow terrain is horrible, justis did it with ease. I did a few laps on the 191CM 102FR for comparison. I had kitted a few buddies with same shell sizes for skis today so we could swap around for testing, you could say there were a lot of happy people :p I had like 6 pairs of skis with me for loaners today ;)



For how heavy the justis is with a pivot 15, they do not feel heavy while skiiing, in air for a tiny shifty here and there, some sideways action for a spray over a knucle, or a quick scrub of speed. ( again knee limits me)

The dampness + torsional stiffness on the justis makes them confidence inspiring. I'm definetly keeping them. They were so good I did probably ski 90% of the day on them.
 

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DB Cooper

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Jan 31, 2017
Posts
134
Is love to see a write up of the justis vs camox. Just got an Atris and I really really like it so I am eager to assemble myself a murder of black crows skis.
 

anders_nor

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Posts
2,597
Location
on snow
The justis wants to go hard, charge, get higher edge angles and lay trenches, but can still be taken into woods, has some float, can pivot when you need to, heck even go switch a bit.

Camox is just a mellow ski, you can still go 50-55 fairly easy on carve, even on harder'ish surface, but it is a chill ski and is like saying, hey Im onboard, but your pushing it, no metal here. When surfaces gets to hard it will skid carve very predictable, and not even talk to much. Still lets you ski switch on suggested mount point. For trees etc the ski feels much lighter and friendlier than justis,

I think weight comes to play here, me beeing a fairly tall and heavier rider, also used to stiff skis, I think I just favor the justis for my style, but I have to say the camox impresses. Like someone said, atris is just a bigger camox

my camox lives a bit dangerous as I have two (184/191cm) 102 FR, which it does feel a lot like it, the camox may be on the friendlier side of the fischer. I have quite a bit of quiver overlap, so working on solving it.

Quick summary, justis is more chargy, camox more friendly
 

Stocked2022

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Mar 22, 2022
Posts
10
Location
Sunday River, Maine
I bought a pair of 183cm Justis's in 2021 after watching 2 positive video reviews on uTube. I wanted a playful. powerful stiff ski that I could put on edge in roughed up afternoon snow and just blast through it at speed. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they carved, how quick they could turn and how fast I could ski them in conditions. I'm a senior skier, 5'10", who weighs 160. These are also great looking and well made.
 

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