Black Crows skis with the “Cor” moniker come from the more eccentric side of the press. The Mirus Cor is the first iteration of these left-field sticks from Black Crows and we're here to tell you a little bit more about them. The Cor series strives to push boundaries and to take an alternate look at skiing, with the aim of producing unique and fresh skis every time. Julien Regnier, the shaper behind this swallowtail freestyle ski (yes, you read that correctly), says that all the skis coming into the Cor lineup have been built with the spirit of experimentation; slight gamble on saleability be damned.

The ski has a totally unique-looking shape, pulling ideas from across the ski spectrum. It has the 87mm waist of a traditional park/piste ski, the 13m radius of a slalom ski, the rocker profile of an all-mountain twin, and a medium-soft flex, resulting in a playful yet extremely carvy ski. With a swallowtail just for flair.

It’s unlike pretty much any other ski on the market. Comparisons are naturally going to be made to the Line Blade with a ski like the Mirus Cor. Although at 95mm underfoot it’s a heavier, less agile option - the Mirus Cor is lighter and more nimble, and more hardpack oriented with that narrow waist.

Showing off this hybrid beast

_

Julien, the ski's designer, is completely open about the superficiality of the swallowtail and discusses comparisons to perhaps the most similar ski on the market right now, the Line Blade:

“Well, the swallowtail doesn’t do anything. I actually can’t stand the concept of a swallowtail having any use! Certain shapes are exceptions to this but I can’t understand any powder ski that has a swallowtail for example. It looks good but it’s purely aesthetic on this ski, the swallowtail is really on the last 10-15 centimeters, really out of the rocker and onto the tail part of the ski so if you find yourself putting pressure on this part then you’ll be on your back in no time. In any case, the answer is simple, it doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t add anything, it’s pretty.

Compared to the Line Blade; the Blade is wider, everything is magnified, and more lumbering, it's heavier underfoot. It’s not a responsive ski and doesn’t have the panache or desire to perform like the Mirus whose limits are only down to the fact it’s also a freestyle ski. But then you have something that you can attack with, something more aerial.”

Anttu Oikkonen, Black Crows rider and star of the recent Mirus promo edit, also shared his thoughts on the skis:

“Something myself and most NS readers likely have in common is that I have never skied a regular tight radius race ski. The contrast between all-mountain skis and the Mirus Cor is big.

They are aggressive and I feel like the optimal habitat for Mirus Cor is when slopes are; icy, small or you just don’t feel like going big that day. At high speed and on big jumps they might be on the aggressive side but on the other hand, you just get so much more from medium speed slopes and obstacles. When I ride park on them I feel like I reach obstacles way more spontaneously than I’m used to. I might just see something out of the corner of my eye and I still can get there because of the quick radius. That’s super fun and refreshing because you can find lines that you didn’t know existed.

Also if it’s too icy or foggy or you just don’t feel like riding park these make carving pretty fun also on smaller hills.

They have quite a lot of rocker and they are flexy so it’s great for swerving for sure. I’m looking forward to seeing them in the streets because that's where you find yourself in tight places most often. It’s nice to have something specific so you can get the most out of every day on the slopes”

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1018099/Air-Carving-Vol-2---Anttu-Oikkonen---The-Mirus-Cor

Anttu putting the Mirus Cor through its paces:

_

The Mirus Cor is certainly hard to pin down but looks like a lot of fun. Perennial Newschoolers’ favorite and recent addition to the Black Crows roster, Remco Kayser, had a few things to say about where he sees the Mirus Cor fitting into the current state of skiing;

"There’s a real revival amongst the younger generation, searching for turns, dressing in nineties fashion, doing some carves in little quarter pipes… I think this ski is interesting for jibbing as well, it’s got pop, a little rocker I could do some real nose butters with, more so than with the Camox for example, there’s more flex toward the end… Even for the approach to rails, or potentially in the street, you can use a big carve to get into specific spots.”

Tight, full commitment, high consequence street spots have become a staple of Remco’s skiing of late. The Mirus creates many opportunities as a result of its shape:

“I’ve got this street spot in mind where there’s a little narrow ledge that turns sharply onto a rail. I think that with a normal ski, I wouldn’t manage to set the edge and turn quick enough to stay on top but with the Mirus, I’ll be able to turn quickly enough before the rail. For butters, they seem really responsive too. And if there are several rails in quick succession you can quickly carve between the kickers thanks to the shape.”

_

What’s awesome about the Cor ideology is that each ski comes with a roll of the dice. It’s great to see Black Crows allowing themselves, and their shapers, the freedom to push the envelope and evolve with our fast-paced sport. More brands should have an arm of their ski department aimed at producing slightly whacky, hybrid-designed skis. The honesty of the Cor suffix is something I think we can all get behind.

Speaking of honesty, Julien also talks openly about the shortcomings of the design. It’s not in the Mirus’ DNA to charge flat-out, the flex is intentionally on the more playful side than traditional piste-oriented, tight-radiused skis. Of course, this is a hybrid so that comparison can’t be made directly, but it’s nice to know for potential buyers. He also suggests they might be a bit soft for jumps. They seem to be the truest iteration yet of skateboarding/snowboardings’ fun shapes in the ski world. For those of us who aren’t looking to push the limits in one particular direction, these are a ski designed simply to be fun and easy.

Laying trenches in the fresh corduroy

_

As such, it feels like the skis are destined for a broad audience, designed with many styles and approaches to skiing in mind. We see this ski as being at home on a resort skier’s feet; someone who loves a tight radiused ski for its fast turns and agility but does not want to commit to the stiffness of a more traditional slalom ski. Or for a park skier after a daily driver; wanting something that will stay exciting on low snow days with its ability to carve tight turns but without sacrificing a twin tip shape and softer flex more conducive to the side-hit style of riding.

Kevin Guri, a Black Crows rider of three years, nailed it when describing the resort-oriented side of the Mirus Cor, saying he had, “found a real slalom ski that’s less dangerous than a real slalom ski, less responsive, so really fun to ski on.”

The color and aesthetic make the Mirus Cor a flashy ski that’s going to turn heads in the lift lines and put a smile on faces - mainly yours - when you bring it out on those days destined for pistes and lift lines.

My understanding of the Mirus Cor is that it has the top speed of a playful park ski - i.e not massive - but the nimbleness of a slalom ski. The ski offers a broad scope of riding styles, a mishmash of the things we love in skiing. What screams “soul skiing” more than laying trenches and getting jibby?

Nobody ever said those couldn’t be the best kind of days on the hill - we just needed to shift some perspectives. Black Crows have done just that, finding versatility in absurdity and producing a hybrid resort bashing freestyle ski we didn’t see coming.

Listen to more of what Julien Regnier has to say on the ski here.

-Brought to you in part by Black Crows-