Before we take a deeper look into the Opedix S1 tights I’d like to say few words about the company who sent me this product. Opedix Labs is a company that designs and manufactures performance-based ski and running tights. The S1 tights are designed to minimize load on an athlete knee, aligning the joint better and helping it work more efficiently, essentially reducing wear and tear and the accompanying side effects that come with it. Their running tights, posture shirts and ski/snowboard tights are proven, through scientific studies, to improve joint alignment in the knees and shoulders.

Opedix tights retail for 190 dollars and their compression should reduce muscle fatigue to allow for longer ski days..

Opedix S1 ski & board tights in review

It took me a while before I got a change to review Opedix S1 ski & board tights because I got an infection in my ankle while training for upcoming half-marathon. After resting two weeks my ankle felt better and I was ready to rock. So, few days ago I went skiing and running with Opedix tights. Although Opedix S1 ski & board tights are not optimized for running I also wanted to check how it’d feel with these tights.

I opened the “bazooka” package that my son so loved and found a smaller “cartridge” from inside. Again inside this cartridge I found the Opedix S1 tights. I carefully took them out of the cartridge but I managed to rip them a bit by accidentally pulling them against the sharp edge of the silver colored cartridge. Hopefully the damage is not that big, most probably it won’t matter at all.

After unboxing the Opedix S1 ski & board tights I checked all the papers that came with the product. I found details of the product, instructions and some marketing material. It makes sense to read those few lines manufacturer has written because there are always things you might not know about the product. For example I didn’t know that the easiest way to put on the tights is when sitting. They are so tight that putting them on like jeans won’t happen easily.

Before wearing my Opedix S1 ski & board tights I wanted to “inspect” them a little bit. I found out that the sewing is done well. There are no sewing mistakes, no holes or anything that would indicate low quality. I was pretty happy with what I saw, except of one issue. I put my hand inside one leg of the tights, and realized that the sewing ripped off a little bit. The damage is minor but it might expand one day, but this can be only be seen after a longer test.

It was late night when I unboxed the Opedix tight package so I did my test in the next morning. I woke up early, enjoyed a quick breakfast and hit the road. I drove to my local hill in order to test my Opedix S1 ski & board tights on slopes. It was a warm morning (only -3 centigrade), so I wore the tights as the only layer under my ski pants.

I sat down and took some time to figure out how to put on the Opedix tights. As the name says, they are a bit tight, so that’s not a super quick process. Although I am used to putting on tights for  running I wanted to wear Opedix tights right because the knee support system must be located in the right place – around persons knee. After a minute I had them on and they felt good.

Opedix S1 ski & board tights feel really good when skiing

Wearing Opedix S1 ski & board tights my first thought was “man, these tights feel very good!” Yep, they’re tight, but alsoflexible. The knee support system is exactly around my knee, and I can easily go up and down without feeling pressure.

Opedix S1 tights felt also good on slopes. I went skiing couple of hours, and during that time I had no problems with the tights. They felt really good under my ski pants. It never felt like my tights would “drop down”. They kept their position all the time, even though I went from backcountry skiing to cliff dropping and jumps, as well as fast giant slalom type skiing on slopes.

After couple of hours of skiing I had a little coffee break. While drinking my coffee I realized that I didn’t even remember I was wearing the tights. Opedix tights are tight around knees because of the knee support system, but that tightness is not disturbing at all.

As an experienced skier I can say I am very satisfied with my Opedix S1 ski & board tights. They are great for skiing.

Also running with Opedix S1 tights feels good

I am currently training for upcoming half-marathon races here in Finland. I usually run one long and 2-3 short runs in a week and on that day I was about to run my long run. Even though Opedix S1 ski & board tights are not optimized for running, I wanted to find out how it feels running with these tights. So, in the end of the day I went running in the nearby forest wearing my Opedix tights.

Just like when skiing, you don’t really notice that you’re wearing Opedix tights. They feel very good and natural, even though I was a bit cold since in the end of the day the temperature went down to -12 centigrade. In summertime this problem naturally won’t exist.

Opedix S1 ski & board tights minimize load on an athlete knee, aligning the joint better and helping it work more efficiently, essentially reducing wear and tear and the accompanying side effects that come with it. It is difficult to notice this feature in one day, so I guess I will see the effect of Opedix S1 tights during the next few months. Anyhow, I am really satisfied with my Opedix tights and I believe that the knee support system will bring benefits in the long run.

The Opedix webpage has more information & pricing of these tights.

Almost every major manufacturer is offering an AT boot these days. So, this shouldn’t be big news. However, Dalbello boots have a certain cult following as do Full Tilt boots too – they’re kind of the descendants of the legendary Raichle Flexons that still have fanatics fans all over the world. And many of the big name freeriders/freestylers all over the world swear by the original flexon system, as you can read on my last winter post Dalbello Krypton Il Moro Ski Boot Review.

Basically ski boot reviews are pretty useless – it is all about the last and fit anyway. Flexons/Kryptons/Full Tilts are a bit different though. At least I believe that the basic design of these boot have something very special on them. I was a strict Lange guys (those just fit my feet) for years but after trying Il Moros for even couple of days, I was immediately a believer of the Flexon design (in freeskiing, gates might be a totally different thing) So, if some of those three brand’s boot  fit, it is at least wort a try. Still, some skiers love this desing, some don’t consider it any better than “normal” ski boot design/engineering.

Well, at least the legendary Glen Plake is on Dalbellos. And one of the posters in TGR forum already speculated that Plake tours quite a lot these days, and Dalbello wants the mohawk man (=their most visible skier) on their boots and not a competitor’s pair. Sounds quite wise to me!

The final version is said to be Dynafit compatible, which probably is a delight to all the hard core touring guys/girls. The weight shouldn’t be too much either, around 1600 gr. Time will tell if this boot is cabable of driving big skis and take “freeride” type skiing approach… or is it more up-hill and long tours oriented? In best case the Krypton/Flexon desing can offer the best of both worlds?

Here are some more pictures (picture source: www.skiforum.it)

The testers stats:

• 185cm (6′)
• 67kgs (147lbs) .. and yes I know I’m skinny
• 100+ days on snow for last 4 seasons in Austria, before that 30+ days/season on the icy pistes of Finland
• Not super technical, no race background, lately developed a liking for stiffer skis (Explosiv)

Construction and build quality of Praxis Powder Boards

I got the Praxis Powder Boards during the first season of their existence, in the late season 06/07. The model is still unchanged. Since the purchase, I’ve had over 110 days on these skis (estimated).

Already while unwrapping them the build quality of these skis impressed me, sidewalls and the layup of the ski seemed solid.. but at this point I am totally convinced. Although I’m a light guy I’m still not exactly light on my gear. After over 90 days the normal wear and tear is somewhat noticeable and the topsheet is scratched, but I have experienced no topsheet chipping or similar problems whatsoever. I’m usually not the one to believe the stories about this and that ski’s bases being super durable, but when it comes to Praxis Powder Boards I’m the one to make such comment myself. Sure, my Praxis have some scratches in the base, but no core shots! Now for someone who takes good care of his/her skis that might not be amazing at all, but I’ve always thought that a good powder run is worth a few stone hits, and have skied these babies in shallower conditions also. The p-tex on these skis seems to be holding up amazingly well. The edges are thick also. These skis are not afraid of use.

Flex and weight

The Praxis Powder Boards are by no means noodles, like for example the K2 Pontoons are. The flex is nice and even, getting progressively stiffer towards the waist. Underfoot the ski is plenty stiff. And what comes to weight; these planks are light. They’re noticeably lighter, a lot lighter actually, than my 179cm long Seth Vicious’.. The light weight is very impressive considering the build quality and the relative stiffness of the ski.

How Praxis Powder Boards behave on snow?

The Praxis Powder Boards were the first funshape skis that I had ever skied. The first runs on these skis were a bit confusing. Getting used to the idea of reverse sidecut & camber took me some time and I didn’t feel confident on them first, but after couple days the problem was gone.

In soft snow, which is what these skis are made for, the Praxis Powder Boards excel. Sinking the tip is practically nearly impossible, it stays on top of the snow even on low angle runs. I use my Praxis on days with only 10-15cms of new snow since they will float on the top anyway. In soft snow and wide open areas I haven’t really found a speed limit, although they have a different feeling to them than a “normal” ski at very high speeds and it is not always as confidence inspiring as on normal skis, but these skis are still by no means unstable in soft snow. The “different feeling” is what best describes the way these reverse/reverse planks ski. It is a feeling that some might not get used to, for example a skier who likes to rail big turns on very stiff skis might have some problems adapting or might not adapt at all. I’m not saying that doing big turns on the Praxis is hard or more uncomfortable than on “normal” fat skis, but some might dislike the feel of the ski and the slight adjustments one might need to make to his/her technique. Having said that, I ski stiff skis also and very much enjoy the way they ski, but still am still in love with the Praxis. Someone who wants to retain the feeling of a normal sidecut ski might want to look into skis with just rockered tip. Some of them are mentioned in our Rocket Revolution article.

In powder it is possible to ski the Praxis the way normal fatties are skied, but dividing weight more on both feet and standing in the middle of your ski, slashing and sliding your turns, will open up another dimension of powder skiing. Real sliding in soft snow is really hard with “normal” skis but with a bit of practise the Praxis Powder Boards make it easy. The turn initiation is also amazingly easy and fast while the shape of the ski still allows the skier to choose the size of your turns. In chopped up, tracked out powder, the different feel of these skis becomes evident again. On big stiff skis you’re charging it, killing and going through everything that is in your way while blasting some heavy metal from your mp3 player; on Praxis Powder Boards you rather switch your music choice to some funk and let the skis run, at higher speeds they will stay on top of the chopped up stuff, instead of going through.

Praxis Powder Boards Rip the Trees, Crust & Heavy Snow

The best area of use for the Praxis Powder Boards is clearly the trees. The easy turn initiation and the ability to throw your skis sidewards to scrub speed at any point you like is so so great. Skiing trees just became much more fun! Being on these planks in trees feels like cheating, it enables me to ride much faster and with more confidence in tight spots. Earlier on I mentioned how someone might not like the Praxis Powder Boards as much for skiing wide open areas than a normal fat ski, but in trees I think it’ll be impossible to find a ski that rivals the reverse/reverse design.

Another area where I’m really happy to be on Praxis Powder Boards is snow with some kind of breakable crust layer on top, be it either wind- or suncrust. With normal planks, especially ones with a lot of sidecut the problem with a ski “locking” into a turn is very evident. If the crust is not thick and I’m on Praxis it nearly feels like skiing powder. Thicker crust becomes a lot more manageable also. No worries about catching an edge. Just like when skiing trees, this is another area where I personally feel like cheating.

Heavy snow is no longer a problem either. Because of the massive surface area and decamber the tip of the ski just refuses to go under, and the overall shape of the ski will help in making turns. Bottomless rotten slush is now skiable, just remember keep those bases well waxed!

The Downfalls of Praxis Powder Boards

Obviously, these skis are not designed for hard snow use. The Praxis Powder Boards do not even pretend to handle hard snow well; as mentioned the reverse camber of the ski is a continuous curve with no flat spot underfoot and there is no sidecut underfoot either. As a result, the hard snow performance of these skis could be best described as very sucky. Some people report that you can “kind of carve” on these skis by either pressuring the tip or tail portion of the ski, but really I found that the best way to survive the few hundred meters of the piste back to the lift after emerging from the trees is to just slide your turns, think you’re back in the 80s and ski these planks the same way. So be warned: While you left your friends behind you in the trees where the snow was still soft, the obligatory hard snow patches, traverses and cat tracks will have struggling a bit.

Very big drops are not my specialty but the at least up to 4-5meters (~15feet) they seem to be doing fine. The rockered tip can sometimes prevent faceplants when landing weight a bit too forward since it doesn’t dive as easily. I can imagine that the rockered tails might wheelie out if landing bigger drops on the tails though.

I found steep lines with relatively soft snow somewhat problematic also, but I haven’t skied much steep stuff on the Praxis Powder Boards and it might be a simple question of getting used to it. The main problem seemed to be that the tails and tips wash out easily when doing (landing) jump turns, and once the tail or tip washes out it’s not easy to recover, getting weight back to the middle of the ski is hard. I wouldn’t be the first one to do steep, technical, long, no-fall lines with reverse/reverse skis like Praxis even if the snow was soft at the top – the thought of running into ice or hard snow further down is too scary. I don’t feel the need to, either; as soon as you’re doing jump turns you know the Praxis are out of their element. So relatively steep, high speed, technical lines with loads of powder – sure, but for jumpturns, no-fall zones and long lines I would still choose another ski, even if the snow is soft.

One thing I’ve mentioned several times is the general “easiness” of the Praxis Powder Boards in soft snow. This might make you assume a bit more lazy style while on these planks. Don’t be misled though, these skis will still reward you for good technique and punish for bad, so keep your form and don’t forget about the proper technique and you’ll find yourself ripping through the trees even faster.

Conclusion

All in all, despite the sucky hard snow performance I still wouldn’t call these skis unversatile because they handle all soft snow conditions without problems, and that is a lot. If you’re looking to add a funshape ski to your quiver I can definitely recommend Praxis. Because of its downfalls, this is not a ski to pair up with your slalom skis, though. Praxis Powder Boards are best to have to compliment another, “normal” fat ski in your quiver. Check out our new products and innovations article for more 08/09 season rockered skis!

The Idea of The Camber Keeper

The idea of this product is pretty simple – maintain the camber of the skis during storage. The manufacturer also states that the Camber Keeper will prevent your skis from scissoring, which can dull and damage your metal edges.

I am not sure yet if this product is only a glorifed ski strap or whether the product really enhances ski maintenance and durabily in the long run. But let’s let the manufacturer have a say:

“The camber distance varies depending on the ski manufacturer, the type of the ski, and the length of the ski. Camber affects several areas of the ski performance including, exerting the tip and tail pressure, providing pop (or rebound) for a ski, and also helping the ski to carve. For proper performance of the ski it is important to maintain the ski’s camber. Most skiers interlock the ski binding brakes to hold the skis together for storage and tranportation. Depending on the interlocking pressure of the ski binding brakes the bases if the skis may be forced together flattening the ski’s camber. If skis are stored this way for extended period of time and/or in a hot environment the skis may lose some or all of their camber. The camber keeper is placed between the skis, creating space, which helps you maintain the camber of your skis.”

Right on.

Do We Need That Much Camber in Today’s Skis Anyway?

But one question arises – how about the new trend towards relatively flat camber, even zero or reverse camber skis?

I strongly believe that the freeskiing sticks are going that way in the near future. Too much camber is just bad in powder anyway, and if you don’t believe me, read the “Spatula manual” by Shane McConkey himself, there’s a link in this earlier post, “Funshapes- Skis with decamber and/or negative sidecut”.

Some might also argue that with today’s increased sidecuts not that much camber is needed to initiate the turn. Think about modern style with little up-and-down movement, centered on the skis, carving low – it is totally different from the old school turns!

Ok, most of the “normal” carvers are still going to have some camber, not to mention the race skis. And many of the so-called all-mountain skis still need it. Last winter I just happened to discuss with some friends that even in powder it is sometimes nice to have a ski with some serious stiffness and camber. The “pop” or rebound built in a turn and used to start the next turn is a pretty cool feeling. Surfing on the surface  of the snow and “slarving/schmearing” your turns is a totally different type of skiing. Both of these styles have their time and place though. So, camber isn’t necessarily a bad thing, even in freeskiing. It is all about one’s personal preferences and style. And for race skis one could say that camber is always going to be an essential part of the design.

Putting the Camber Keeper to The Test

My park skis, Salomon CR Johnson LAB’s have a decent amount of camber. They are pretty fun and “poppy” skis and I’d like to keep it that way in the future too. So I put the Camber Keeper to the work. Let’s see if it has some real impact in the long run? I will report more in the upcoming season. We’ll see if this product works at all or if it is just a gimmick in the end?

The Camber Keeper at Work

My first impression of the product was ok. At least the Camber Keeper works as a nice and easy ski strap, the magnetic “clip” that attach to the ski edge is pretty clever, I have to say. I am not sure if I would buy one based on that alone, but it’s a nice little feature anyway. Thanks to Urs for sending us the product. If you sell skiing related products – just go ahead and contact us, we are more than happy to test any skiing related products!

As a junior I skied moguls with Markers for some years and even then I had to crank the DIN way up for my very skinny ass… Also, back in 1999~2000 when I turned back to skiing from snowboarding pretty exclusively for a few years, I mounted a pair of K2 Xplorers with old Marker M40 race bindings (because I was a dirt bag student/ski bum and didn’t have too much budget on new gear). That only ended up in disaster: the whole toe piece blew off from a slightly back seated landing off a pretty basic 20 feet cliff.

So, with that background I was first quite sceptic about the new Marker Duke binding. However, I never was such a die-hard Marker hater than e.g. some of the guys hanging in the TGR forum. I also needed a solid one-ski-one-binding quiver for trips; with the ski days available at the current life situation, there was no single reason to drag multiple pairs of skis along. Still, a possibility to make shortish tours has always been very tempting to me. My principle has always been that if there is no new snow around, to find some you are better to be willing to sweat some…

Enter Marker Duke: a 6-16 DIN, heavy-duty freeride binding that has a touring mode, and which is designed to take the abuse of the modern wide skis and the skiing they allow, including also some air time.

Marker Duke binding in review

So, as I mentioned earlier TGR forum guys have always had very strong opinions against Marker, but when comments like this started to drop from the hard-core, 100 days a year skiing rippers, I really got interested to this binding. If a guy weighting 215 lbs. and cranking his DIN to 14~15(!) could ski this binding hard, my nowadays pretty conservative style would do well on this… that was the thought when buying my Marker Duke bindings.

Short review could go: this is a very solid ski binding.

I used to have a second “tourind/rando” pair for trips, 04/05 k2 Seth Pistols 189c mounted with Fritschi Diamir Freerides. Skiing with that set-up was always OK but I still felt like something was missing. For me skiing is all about the feeling anyway. I don’t care if I’m not the fastest or don’t do all the lates tricks but I’d chase that perfect powder slash or that most slow, lazy, effortless feeling 360 one could ever do… and while being ok randonnee/touring bindings, the freerides lacked some of the final skiing “touch”.

I’m pretty sure I could everything with the Diamir FR, the binding probably wouldn’t have breaked on my skiing at any situation. Even though skiing the Duke was just so much better. More rigidity, maybe because of the more solid build but probably also from the larger footprint of the binding. The binding needs at least 76mm waist ski to be mounted with (IMHO this idea should be considered to all freeride bindings). I had a very similar feeling than when using trusty old Salomon 914′s.

Also, the stack height is lower than on most current touring bindings (Dynafit excluded),still a bit higher than on alpine bindings without lifters. But this didn’t bother me at all actually. One could even argue that a slight lift helps edging on hard pack with skis like Gotama.

The binding’s contact area is shorter than on a Diamir or Naxo binding too, allowing for more free ski flex.

Some people have criticized a few details on Dukes:

Ok, you get the point: I’m pretty happy with the product and if it will last a few seasons, this one’s a winner for sure. Mount a Duke with some ~100mm middle allmountain freeride skis and, in my opinion, you have a perfect one-ski-one binding set-up for the Alps (and similar Mountain ranges).

The picture, especially moving picture, speaks more than thousand words. I don’t go as huge as younger but on this run I felt pretty good on the Dukes, you be the judge:

The concept was a winner. As much as pocket rockets got bad reputation as “blue noodles”, thousands of users were really satisfied – a easy-skiing fat ski was a hit for the upper-intermediate masses.

Ok, I beat the s*** out of the said noodles and maybe even used them a little for the intended purpose (=bc freestyle), check e.g. this picture.

To be honest they were not good for all out speed, so called “ripping”, and/or hard surfaces. Anyhow, I always wondered how well the 90mm middle and 185cm length floated in soft snow. In tight trees of the Slovakian Jasna ski resort I could easily “schmear” turns and completely throw the skis sideways here and there – kind of skid on top of the pow. This kind of maneuvers were absolute no-no on the skinny sticks of the gone years.

Volant Spatula funshaped skis opened my eyes

Then I found this Spatula manual (warning: it’s long but so worth of reading if you’re interested in innovative ski design and new concepts of powder skiing). Volant Spatula by the mastermind Shane McConkey himself was really something different, finally. First I laughed… then I started to think about the ski.

It finally cleared to me why my old decambered PR’s were such a killer tree powder skis. The shape was almost Spatula like in the end, tips not touching each others when carried together. Bingo, no hook-ups and tip-dives, just effortless surfing.

Big mountain skis reaching the size of a surfboard

Move on to the year 2007. Powder and big mountain skis are getting more like surf boards these days. There are shapes for every imaginable conditions and styles. Powder skis could be compared to the surf “big guns” reserved for those very special days.

I’ve yet to try latest designs (except Volkl Katana) and I am eager to get demo some (not so easy in our part of the world though!). Anyway, I truly believe that new shapes offer something new, fun and different. I’m seriously considering to buy a ski like K2 Hellbent, even knowing the amount of my very limited powder days. But powder is luxury, and IMHO luxury tools could be reserved for it too…no matter of the price or relative lack of use.

TGR forum guys have named these new designs “funshapes”. I collected a short list of what I could find from the web, see below. (Today we’re going to visit our annual ski trade show Ski Expo to check out what’s available here in the flats in this category too… stay tuned).

K2 Hellbent (150mm-122mm-141mm)

K2 Seth (130mm-98mm-118mm) with new “mini-rocker” design, all mountain ski with only the tips “rockered”

Even the K2 tele-ski, Anti-piste (135mm-102mm-121mm) has rockered tips (very cool in my opinion)

Volkl Katana (140mm-111mm-130mm)

Salomon Rocker (147mm-127m-137mm), rockered front, rest of the ski with traditional camber

4FRNT EHP 193 (130mm-112mm-118mm) & 186 (129mm-116mm-123mm)

DP Skis Lotus 138 (140mm-138mm-139mm; but actually the shape is more like ARG, five numbers would decribe it better…see the pic below. BTW. these are just beautiful)

DP Skis Lotus 120 (140mm-120mm-125mm)

Birdos 11 (134mm-138mm-128mm)

Birdos “Puder Luder”, traditional sidecut (152mm-126mm-142mm), rockered tips

Praxis Skis “Powder” 117mm-121mm-111mm, 175cm; 124mm-136mm-131mm, 185&195cm (check out the designs!)

Capital Skis, many interesting options.

07/08 Volkl Gotama ski review results

I only got to ski this beauty really briefly but I’ve rocked 06/07 Volkl Gotamas for a season now, and what I’ve heard from the Volkl rep (and also felt myself), the ski is essentially the same for the 07/08 season. Only the golden Buddha design is much cooler IMHO. And besides, white pow skis are kind of a stupid invention anyway…

Otherwise, what can I say? 07/08 Volkl Gotamas simply rock. The 190cm model is maybe a tad long for our (Lapland) mole hills but perfect for me in the Alps. (Btw. I put the bindings in a 1,5cm + position from the FR line, which also seems perfect for me).

I never got to test the earlier black Volkl Buddha Gotama but everybody seemed praise it. The newer ones are about 10~15% stiffer throughout the ski. Herein lays my only complaint for the ski: it could be just a tad softer actually, especially in the tip. On the other hand, these destroy the crud too without being total tanks like some even stiffer and beefier skis (like my old Head Im 103’s at 193cm, those had only one speed: full ahead, and if you were tired or lazy, they just killed you, no questions about it). On newer Volkl Gotamas there’s just enough sidecut for lazily “rolling” from edge to edge on the groomers but still not too much for the tricky off-piste situations. A near-perfect mix of characteristics you need in the all-day, every-day big mountain skis and you can still enjoy the groomed slopes back to the village/hotel/your car etc. I guess every skier who wants to ski in a place like Chamonix, for example, needs a ski just like this. Maybe, just maybe, the newer, more radical designs are even better on the really deep stuff but the versatility of these skis is what makes them a real winner.

177 Volkl Mantra 07/08 ski review results

These were probably a bit small for me…or so I thought at first. I normally ski 06/07 190cm Volkl Gotamas and/or 189cm older (green) Seth Pistols, and some 180cm park skis.

The dimensions of the Volkl Mantras are a very versatile 133-96-116mm. On the slopes, I was really surprised how well the 177cm Volkl Mantra behaved: I’d say predictable and stable but still somehow unforgiving. Both Volkl Mantra and Katana have a little bit softer flex and a somewhat “lazier” feel, whereas Gotama is very “snappy” but at the same time a bit more demanding.

My groomer technique needs some updating, and I was actually getting some tips from a ski-instructor friend while testing these skis. We both laughed at how I was much more comfortable on Volkl Mantras than on some real “carvers” and managed to do much better two-footed carves on these wonderful masterpieces of German ski engineering. Conditions probably played a role here: skinnier skis really started to “boot out” in the bottomless slush (yes, really weird conditions…you kind of had to surf the slush in a way just slightly resembling real pow skiing).

Volkl Mantra 07/08 is a good all-around ski

I’d say Volkl Mantra is a real all-around ski. I especially dig the fact that there’s almost a “pintail” design put into the ski: while the tip is as wide as in Gotama, the tail is much narrower. So even with a slightly narrower waist the ski lets you plane as the tip goes up and the tail goes down on the snow. Brilliant, don’t you think? Still there’s enough sidecut for quick carves on the harder stuff. The narrower tail also lets you finish the turn as you like, skidded or carved.

My only gripe with the 177cm Volkl Mantra length was that the tail felt really short (ok, let’s admit that a slight back seating is one of my normal bad ski habits). Seems like the standard binding mounting for these is pretty “traditional”, i.e. really far back on the ski, like it usually has been in the Volkl lineup. But I also think that on the 184 cm version, I wouldn’t have even noticed this. I also think that the longer length would rock in some longer turns, and I’d really like to test the 191cm model on some creamy windbuff or just on some groomed long gs-run…hmmmmm, can you say speed!

Overall impression: 07/08 Volkl Mantra is a very good and well thought-out ski. Also, it is suprisingly forgiving for Volkl – this might even be considered a drawback for some people though. These skis are probably not the best ones for any particular condition but I’d say that if you suck on these, don’t bother blaming the equipment…

A few words about the reviewer of 07/08 Volkl Katana skis

Height/weight: 184cm (~6″) 83kg (~160lbs)
Ability: very experienced, not the best/most modern carve/on-piste technique though.
Age: 34
Days/year: currently ~30/year (but skied several years over 50 days a year)
Conditions: Very soft spring groomers (groomed slush basically) with around 5cm (2inches) of new natural wet spring snow.
Resort: Pyhätunturi, Finland, around 250m (~800feet) of vertical, nothing very steep but variable, high speed groomed runs, even some short off-piste routes
Skis tested: 183cm Katana, 177cm Mantra, 175 cm Tigershark 10FT Power Switch, 190cm Gotama

Volkl Katana 07/08 skis in review – Review results of Volkl Katana 07/08

Let’s move on to the most interesting stuff first. Volkl Katana is marketed as the newest and most innovative big mountain and powder weapon of the Volkl line-up. The dimensions are hefty 140-111-130. Very fat but still not as ridiculously fat as some of the other offerings these days.

But width is not the be-all, end-all character of the ski anyway. Volkl Katana has some nice details that keep things even more interesting. The ski is said to have a “rocker” design (which means negative camber at least for part of the ski). The ski also has a unique powder channel, which is kind of a mix of normal twin tip and swallow tail design (see the picture above). Last but not  least, the sticks are offered now also in the “real men’s” length, 197 cm! Finally, skis are getting longer again as there is a clear trend for fatties in the length of +194 cm (e.g. Salomon X-Wing Lab, Dynastar Pro Rider XXL, DP Skis Lotus at 198 cm and 200 cm etc.)

Ok, now let’s move on to the action. In practice Volkl Katanas looked/felt totally flat. It seems like there is no “rocker” actually but the ski is just totally flat, no camber whatsoever. Or at least the “rocker” is so small that you won’t notice it when the skis are laying flat on the ground.

The first feeling on the slope was “damn these skis are wide and somehow lazy getting onto the edge”. When I started to get some speed and make turns I didn’t feel the flat camber actually having that much effect on anything. Also, the slow and sluggish feeling was gone after just a few runs. You would think the 111mm middle skis require more input to get on to the edges, after all. At least in these conditions the width was actually a real strength: where skinnier skis started to “boot out” (into the ~25-30cm of wet slush), the Volkl Katanas skied round, nice turns and you could really lie down and carve the soft surface.

Ok, this is not an SL ski but I was able to do carved medium-sized turns with ease. There was one steeper north facing part where you actually hit a hard/icy surface. At speed, when hitting harder patches, I noticed some tip flapping. That’s maybe the only negative sign of the zero camber /”rocker” design. On the other hand, these skis let you surf the softer snow with great control and feel – I can just imagine these skis on a couple of feet of nice, light fresh snow…

On Volkl Katanas there is enough twin on the “powder-channel” to (at least) land silly little 180′s from rollers to deep slush – if that’s your thing. Anyway, those were really fun because the 111mm middle body felt really nice and stable when landing fake (a.k.a backwards).

Volkl Katana ski was a bit disappointing

If you’re familiar with the Volkl Mantra feel and like it, this is the ski for you. It really felt like a bigger Mantra on the slopes. IMHO Katana and Mantra would make a nice “quiver”. Still, on the other hand if you already have an “all mountain/mid fat” with around 100~105mm middle (e.g. Gotama), you might want to look elsewhere: in the end the difference between my Gotamas and these skis wasn’t so great that I’d like to buy a pair of Volkl Katanas immediately. If you already have something like Gotamas and like to buy something even bigger then why not to go on and have a full reverse camber (and even reverse sidecut) ski for those big days? Not to say Volkl Katana was a disappointment but I was maybe expecting a more radical design/feel (=more rocker). After this test ride, I’m really eager to test some more radical new design like the original Volant Spatula, Armada ARG, K2 Pontoon or Hellbent, Praxxis Powder…the list goes on.

And finally a word about the length: if you really feel you’re man (or woman!) enough for the 197’s, go for it! But if you have even a slightest hesitation, my advice is to opt for the more “mortal” 190 or even 183 cm. I felt like I could go everywhere with the 183 (and my normal pow skis are 190cm Gotamas).

My next post in this review will discuss Volkl Mantra (177 cm). Stay tuned!

Oh, and if you are going to purchase new skis, check out our tips for defining the right length for your skis!