Black Crowes Daemon

[mn_teleswede]

Never really explored Black Crowes, but the new 99m waisted Daemon is peaking my interest as a DD to mount up with NTN. Anyone demo them or spend some time on them yet?

[XavierD]

Haven’t skied them but my first thought was the ski is a cm too wide.

[gregL]

Haven’t skied them but my first thought was the ski is a cm too wide.

They make that too, it's the Captis. I haven't skied the Daemon either, but I thought the Camox and Navis both ripped . . .

[XavierD]

If the Captis keeps the same shape as the Daemon its might be worth a look. Kinda over 95-105 non touring skis, there the ‘let’s just be meh at everything since my wife won’t let me get 2pairs and I’m scarref of a 110mm wide ski.

[ClarkleberryFinn]

Captis isn't full rocker like the Daemon.

Fun ski. A lot like the Mantra when it was full rocker. Great for ungroomed hardback and smearing into tight bumped out chutes, but definitely a smaller sweet spot than similar cambered skis - gotta work a bit more to stay balanced.

I think they'll be quite popular 'cos of:

my wife won’t let me get 2pairs and I’m scared of a 110mm wide ski.

But OTOH some will also be scared of the full rocker.

[mn_teleswede]

The fact that it is fully rockered with a versatile width makes me interested as the skinnier ski of a two ski travel quiver.

[XavierD]

Didn’t realize it was full rocker. Interest deflated.

[Doeschna]

Hopefully it is a more playful Mantra. The metal doesn't extend to the very tip and tail like it does in the Mantra. Supposed to have them in the local shop this year

[brown9]

Any thoughts on how this ski compares to something like the bonafide, at least on paper? Isn't bonafide flat/reverse, metal layup?

[mn_teleswede]

Hopefully it is a more playful Mantra. The metal doesn't extend to the very tip and tail like it does in the Mantra.

I also like the fact that it comes in a longer length for us North of 6’/200# . Not sure if they are as versatile as a cambered ski like the 189 Wren 98 though.

[brown9]

I think on paper I've narrowed my daily driver for west coast skiing is either the Rustler 10, the Navis or the Daemon. Curious if others have experience with the R10 or the Navis. I want a fun ski that's versatile and yet can rail turns since I'm more of a weekend warrior these days. I'm curious if others that have skied any of these, would you even put them in a similar category.
I'm not looking for a deep snow ski as I have that covered already.

[sierraskier]

Can't comment on the others but I have the Navis Freebird as my spring touring setup with Dyanfits. Fun, versatile ski still with some backbone, actually skied it at the resort on Saturday since it is the narrowest thing I own and pretty fun on everything from groomers to chop. Doesn't really RAIL groomers like it's on rails, tips are still pretty slarvy, but that could more be due to a combination of de-tune and dynafits. Thinking seriously right now about either Navis or Daemon mounted up with some alpine binders as my resort DD. Probably leaning towards the Navis at this point as I'm not too stoked about full rocker and thinking the full blow Navis will alpine binders would really make the ski come alive.

[taoslcl]

I think on paper I've narrowed my daily driver for west coast skiing is either the Rustler 10, the Navis or the Daemon. Curious if others have experience with the R10 or the Navis. I want a fun ski that's versatile and yet can rail turns since I'm more of a weekend warrior these days. I'm curious if others that have skied any of these, would you even put them in a similar category.
I'm not looking for a deep snow ski as I have that covered already.

Considering same skis as I got rid of my Cochise this year. Got to the point where I just thought they were boring so something a little more playful is intriguing to me. Haven't heard a lot of first hand impressions of the R10 or the Daemon. Hoping there is a demo day coming up in Dec at Bachelor but interested to hear if anyone gets on these in the near future.

[Andyski]

I think on paper I've narrowed my daily driver for west coast skiing is either the Rustler 10, the Navis or the Daemon. Curious if others have experience with the R10 or the Navis. I want a fun ski that's versatile and yet can rail turns since I'm more of a weekend warrior these days. I'm curious if others that have skied any of these, would you even put them in a similar category.
I'm not looking for a deep snow ski as I have that covered already.

Didn’t you have Meteorites? That’s the ski I considered strongly before going R10 last year. Really similar shape overall. R10 is lighter for the width and a bit more high-strung than the Meteorite, though I only skies that one demo day.

[taoslcl]

Yeah I did. Was using it for BC and thought it was too skinny and short for mostly powder touring. Had the 177 which was a mistake. Would have like it more in a larger size. Put my Kingpins on a V Werks Katana which I'm liking a lot but now I don't have a resort ski.

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[brown9]

Didn’t you have Meteorites? That’s the ski I considered strongly before going R10 last year. Really similar shape overall. R10 is lighter for the width and a bit more high-strung than the Meteorite, though I only skies that one demo day.

I do have meteorites in the 177 length. I haven’t skied them on groomed snow to assess them but in soft snow they are pretty fun. Predictable but as speed increases in soft snow they got more twitchy. They had a great loose feel when my legs had more energy though. Look forward to skiing them more this season and will likely use them to teach my daughter to ski.

[taoslcl]

I do have meteorites in the 177 length. I haven’t skied them on groomed snow to assess them but in soft snow they are pretty fun. Predictable but as speed increases in soft snow they got more twitchy. They had a great loose feel when my legs had more energy though. Look forward to skiing them more this season and will likely use them to teach my daughter to ski.

Yup, I would say perfect mellow ski for soft snow days. I may still put some Alpine binding on them and use them inbounds occasionally...or they may be in gear swap soon to finiance something new. Daemon in 184 may work well for me but also considering something a little larger like Kartel 108. Ah, quiver games...

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[brown9]

I spoke with someone at Evo a couple weeks ago who noted The Bird man was recently in the shop speaking about how fast the ski is. It just wants to rip. Which seemed like a fun endorsement.

I'd definitely agree that the R10 has more backbone than the meteorite, so the shape may be similar, but turn shape and backbone are not going to be the same.

[Noodler]

Anyone tried the new Corvus? The big mtn one, not the hot pink touring model.

[brown9]

Curious if there are any more on-snow updates to the Daemon out there. Specifically looking for a ski that is for days with less than a foot of new snow, and is fun and energetic to ski all over the hill. Also considering the Enforcer 100, the M5 Mantra, Rustler 10, Kore 105. All these skis have their own character and style of skiing, probably can't go wrong.

[lrn2swim]

Curious if there are any more on-snow updates to the Daemon out there. Specifically looking for a ski that is for days with less than a foot of new snow, and is fun and energetic to ski all over the hill. Also considering the Enforcer 100, the M5 Mantra, Rustler 10, Kore 105. All these skis have their own character and style of skiing, probably can't go wrong.

I'll let you know soon, just got a pair of the 188.7's shipped to my front door 10 mins ago. Need to get em mounted up, will report back.

[lrn2swim]

Finally got some good time on the 188 Daemons. 3 days of all spring skiing so I haven't gotten them out in normal season conditions.

Verdict so far: Love these skis, exactly what I was looking for (I think). First day was really tough though, never skied anything with this profile before. The long but subtle full reverse camber pivots like crazy and are really quick but have about as much grip as snow blades on hard snow if you keep the bases flat. As soon as you tip them over and engage the whole ski they bite hard. All you gotta do to release is tip them back flat again. Love it, super versatile once you get used to it.

They're fairly light yet also seem fairly damp although no where near as much as my other daily's (Helldorados) which are super damp.

[kalisto]

Anyone tried the new Corvus? The big mtn one, not the hot pink touring model.

got some waiting to be mounted up.. ask again next season? hah

[lordf]

Finally got some good time on the 188 Daemons. 3 days of all spring skiing so I haven't gotten them out in normal season conditions.

Verdict so far: Love these skis, exactly what I was looking for (I think). First day was really tough though, never skied anything with this profile before. The long but subtle full reverse camber pivots like crazy and are really quick but have about as much grip as snow blades on hard snow if you keep the bases flat. As soon as you tip them over and engage the whole ski they bite hard. All you gotta do to release is tip them back flat again. Love it, super versatile once you get used to it.

They're fairly light yet also seem fairly damp although no where near as much as my other daily's (Helldorados) which are super damp.

I demo'd a set for they day in Verbier this year. I was on the 183's as that what they had. My quiver is a lot stiffer than these (Explosvi's, Katanas and MX88's). I loved the Deamon, it ripped around the pistes well and I could get my knuckle down which is always fun.

I want to try them against the M4 Mantra before I make up my mind, the 188 Deamon is on the radar as a do all ski for me.

[DGamms]

I demo'd a set for they day in Verbier this year. I was on the 183's as that what they had. My quiver is a lot stiffer than these (Explosvi's, Katanas and MX88's). I loved the Deamon, it ripped around the pistes well and I could get my knuckle down which is always fun.

I want to try them against the M4 Mantra before I make up my mind, the 188 Deamon is on the radar as a do all ski for me.

Care to make any specific Katana vs Daemon comparisons? I used to ski the metal 183/184 Katanas as the daily driver for 4-5 seasons. Loved them, but I always felt like the mount point was a little too rearward. As a subtle reverse camber ski with metal and a more progressive mount point, the Daemon looks super intriguing to me on paper.

Anyone had time on the women’s Daemon? My wife still skis her 176 metal Katanas most days, but sometimes wishes for an “easier Katana” when it’s not time to charge. Wondering if this might be the ticket...