Having a ski for never-evers and beginners is nice and thoughtful, but it's not really Black Crows' MO. The Chamonix-based setup likes to build boards that go fast and big, and their women's skis, like the Navis Birdie Ski, are no exception. A slightly tweaked version of the men's Navis, the Birdie is a reasonably traditional all-mountain charger that's been tweaked in a few key spots to make it a little more versatile and fun. Wanting to blend stability with quickness, Black Crows built it with a semi-cap construction, which employs ABS sidewalls that taper to a cap construction towards the tip and tail, giving you tons of edge bite underfoot with a quick, poppy feel in the extremities. This construction works in concert with the "single beak and a half" rocker profile—progressive tip rocker, camber underfoot, and a slightly raised tail—to give the Navis a solid feel in variable snow, float in pow, and quickness in tight spots, so you can really rally the whole mountain without sweating the small stuff.

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To lighten things up for smaller riders, Black Crows built the Navis with a poplar wood core, which is light and energetic, and laid it up with multiple layers of fiberglass to keep things stable as a table when you're maching through chunder or hitting big lines at high speeds. The tip and tail have gentle taper, which prevents them from hanging up when you're riding in soft snow, so you can milk pow slashes like it's no big deal. The Birdie also has a slightly softer flex than the men's Navis, and Black Crows built it with the recommended mounting point a little bit forward, so you don't have to fight to stay aggressive and in the front of your boots.