volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I will be doing a multi-day review on these as I get some time on them in varying conditions, so stay tuned!
Here is my review of the 2008 Aura in a 163 and the 2008 Mantra in a 170 for comparison.
My 2008 Aura review includes an error in the ski's dimensions.....only the Mantra was widened for 2008, so the dimensions on the 2008 Aura should read the same as the 2007 version - 130-94-113, NOT 133-96-116, sorry 'bout that.
I decided to go with the 177cm for out-west use and those rare deep or really gloppy days in the midwest. My runs today confirmed my original opinion from trying the 163cm that the longer Auras are just too much ski for any of our little bitty bumps. However, I already have my Karmas for most soft snow conditions here.
On to the review!
The Tester: 190+ lbs, 5'5", 42 Years old, PSIA Level II, Platinum/Gold level Nastar and 2x/week league racer. I prefer stiffer skis with lots of pop that can handle my preference for high speed ripping.
The Conditions: 35 deg dropping to 28 deg. Bright sunshine. Firm-to-icy harpack everywhere except where the sun had been shining all day. The sunny spots had 2-5" of mashed potatos over a crunchy base. As the sun went down and the temperature dropped, everything got really crispy and set-up.
The Test Runs: All over the mountain! Greens, blues, blacks, slow, fast, medium, skidded turns, hop turns, big honkin' carvers.
The Ski: 2007 Volkl Aura 177cm, 130-94-113 23.2m radius at 177cm
Mount: Marker 1200 Titanium w/ Piston Control, mounted 3/8" back of boot center mark (for improved pow and crud performance and to avoid drilling an entirely new set of holes).
Impressions: The first thing I noticed was the sound that they made when hitting the harder chunked-up snow in the shade. Where most Volkls have a deep, solid wood-bat-hitting-a-softball "thwwwunk" sound, the Aura had more of an aluminum-bat-hitting-a-baseball "twaaaaank" sound. It was just odd, but turning up the tunes soon drowned out the sound.
The next thing I noticed was their soft snow performance. All I can say is O M G!!!!!
Their preferred method of dealing with crud is to plow through at mach speed. No matter how lumpy or deep it got, they just motored through without a wiggle, a squirm, or a twitch. They were rock solid yet still light and lively feeling. The Aura had the power and aplomb of the Mantra without the heavy feeling I experienced from the Mantra. How did Volkl manage to make a freight train ski that doesn't feel like a freight train????
Serious Kudos for this!!!
Even at this length, the Aura was a breeze to hop turn but skidded turns and shorter carved turns took a bit more work. I had the distinct feeling that the back mounted bindings were a noticable hinderance to their hard snow performance (but that's OK because I have carvers already).
As the sun set and the snow hardened up, I found the Aura to be almost too lively for me. The combination of their light weight and considerable stiffness made them almost vibrate underfoot at speed on the hard stuff. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a little odd - I'm not used to being on light weight skis so it felt weird. They were still rock-solid though. Turning the Piston Control switch on the bindings to "On" quieted them right down and made them perform like race skis. In giant high speed arcs they were smooth, smooth, smooth with plenty of pop.
The best thing?? They made me want to get air off of every little bump and jump I could find!
After trashing my race skis in January by landing badly off a roller jump, I've been deathly afraid of getting air all year. Today on the Auras was a refreshing change. 
In a Nutshell: At this length - a well mannered and fun big mountain beast with plenty of guts! This ski is a high speed joy ride that rewards commitment, aggression, and good technique with an uncomparable ride and a sh*t-eating grin, but doesn't punish the ocassional lapse either.
Special Thanks to: My darling hubby who found them, purchased them, and mounted the bindings for me!
Here is my review of the 2008 Aura in a 163 and the 2008 Mantra in a 170 for comparison.
My 2008 Aura review includes an error in the ski's dimensions.....only the Mantra was widened for 2008, so the dimensions on the 2008 Aura should read the same as the 2007 version - 130-94-113, NOT 133-96-116, sorry 'bout that.I decided to go with the 177cm for out-west use and those rare deep or really gloppy days in the midwest. My runs today confirmed my original opinion from trying the 163cm that the longer Auras are just too much ski for any of our little bitty bumps. However, I already have my Karmas for most soft snow conditions here.
On to the review!
The Tester: 190+ lbs, 5'5", 42 Years old, PSIA Level II, Platinum/Gold level Nastar and 2x/week league racer. I prefer stiffer skis with lots of pop that can handle my preference for high speed ripping.
The Conditions: 35 deg dropping to 28 deg. Bright sunshine. Firm-to-icy harpack everywhere except where the sun had been shining all day. The sunny spots had 2-5" of mashed potatos over a crunchy base. As the sun went down and the temperature dropped, everything got really crispy and set-up.
The Test Runs: All over the mountain! Greens, blues, blacks, slow, fast, medium, skidded turns, hop turns, big honkin' carvers.
The Ski: 2007 Volkl Aura 177cm, 130-94-113 23.2m radius at 177cm
Mount: Marker 1200 Titanium w/ Piston Control, mounted 3/8" back of boot center mark (for improved pow and crud performance and to avoid drilling an entirely new set of holes).
Impressions: The first thing I noticed was the sound that they made when hitting the harder chunked-up snow in the shade. Where most Volkls have a deep, solid wood-bat-hitting-a-softball "thwwwunk" sound, the Aura had more of an aluminum-bat-hitting-a-baseball "twaaaaank" sound. It was just odd, but turning up the tunes soon drowned out the sound.
The next thing I noticed was their soft snow performance. All I can say is O M G!!!!!
Their preferred method of dealing with crud is to plow through at mach speed. No matter how lumpy or deep it got, they just motored through without a wiggle, a squirm, or a twitch. They were rock solid yet still light and lively feeling. The Aura had the power and aplomb of the Mantra without the heavy feeling I experienced from the Mantra. How did Volkl manage to make a freight train ski that doesn't feel like a freight train???? Serious Kudos for this!!! Even at this length, the Aura was a breeze to hop turn but skidded turns and shorter carved turns took a bit more work. I had the distinct feeling that the back mounted bindings were a noticable hinderance to their hard snow performance (but that's OK because I have carvers already).
As the sun set and the snow hardened up, I found the Aura to be almost too lively for me. The combination of their light weight and considerable stiffness made them almost vibrate underfoot at speed on the hard stuff. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a little odd - I'm not used to being on light weight skis so it felt weird. They were still rock-solid though. Turning the Piston Control switch on the bindings to "On" quieted them right down and made them perform like race skis. In giant high speed arcs they were smooth, smooth, smooth with plenty of pop.
The best thing?? They made me want to get air off of every little bump and jump I could find!
After trashing my race skis in January by landing badly off a roller jump, I've been deathly afraid of getting air all year. Today on the Auras was a refreshing change. In a Nutshell: At this length - a well mannered and fun big mountain beast with plenty of guts! This ski is a high speed joy ride that rewards commitment, aggression, and good technique with an uncomparable ride and a sh*t-eating grin, but doesn't punish the ocassional lapse either.
Special Thanks to: My darling hubby who found them, purchased them, and mounted the bindings for me!
for most people.
. I've totally run out of appropriate superlatives. 
and 
will have to do. 
I've fallen in love again. 
I never, ever expected to fall madly in love with these skis at this length. As soon as I quit thinking about it and started just skiing them instead, they came to life and burrowed their way into my heart. I spent all day trying not to get "frozen tongue" :p because it just kept hanging out of my mouth while I laughed, whooped, and giggled my way down every run 
.
). Yet, these skis just make all that scary crap soooo easy for me. The guys say my confidence level has really jumped up since I started riding the Auras. 
) Volklgirl, it's ALL YOUR FAULT (just kidding
