I didn’t really need new poles but something grabbed me about these in the shop – perhaps the bright luminous yellow colouring, I don’t know. 
These Black Crow Furtis poles set me back a cool 90 euros after bartering with the shop owner and getting 10 euros off the asking price. Still felt a bit pricey but hey I was never going to lose these bad boys on the slopes was I.
So what are they actually like then?
The pole is made of a 22mm aluminium shaft which is, according to the manufacturer, practically unbreakable, making it a true freeride pole for any occasion.
The first thing you astute people will notice (although I didn’t) is that there are none of those bits which stop your hands moving down the grip at the top of a standard pole. Instead, one has to rely on the hand strap which can be adapted to your preference or taken off completely if you really want. This, for me was one of the weirdest feelings, having skied with traditional poles since I was young. I was almost ready to give them back at the end of the first day but every-time I looked at them, I reconsidered and persisted. By the end of the second day I was loving the ability to rely on the straps as I’d put more trust in them. I felt a little freer in fact. Hard to explain but I’m super glad I stuck with them.
The basket is large, great for playing in powder. Unfortunately I didn’t find any powder that week (I was lucky enough to find snow!) so can’t really comment much on that.
I don’t know if I’ll go back to standard poles with normal grips after these, but I’m going to have fun for a few seasons before I find out.
All in all, well done Black Crows.
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