volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A drive-by review of 3 fatties in the Midwest, with more to come at a later date.
The tester: 47 year old heavyweight, PSIA L2 (not currently teaching), ex-twice-a-week league and NASTAR gold/platinum racer turned cautious but adventurous recreational freeskier with a preference for spunky fat skis, high speeds, and junky, cruddy snow.
The "skinny" ski - 2007/2008 Katana 176 cm (140-111-130): A true soft groomer day with stashes of up to 24" o f fluffy pow lurking in the trees and the bottom of the bowls was the perfect midwest day for testing a ski this fat. While the size isn't a huge jump from my Kikus (106 under foot), the difference between the skis was interesting. My first year Kikus are full camber with 2 layers of metal, the same construction as the Katana, except the Katana is basically flat with with a subtle early-rise tip. Both prefer to blast through cruddy snow rather than surf over it, and both will hold a solid edge on all but the hardest snow, but the lack of camber on the Katana makes it much more playful and it tends to ride up and over stuff more easily. Is 111 under foot overkill for the midwest? Of course it is. Does that make it any less fun or versatile as a groomer and crud ski? Nope, not at all.
That said, the Katana is happiest on edge at race speeds where it shines brightly and rolls on edge quickly. Like most Volkls, slow speeds tends to make it a bit head-strong and cranky.
The "rocker" ski - 2011/2012 Shiro 173 cm (151-119-135): Tested on the same day as the Katana, but taken into a lot of hidden spots not dared with the Katana. This was my first venture into the world of full-rocker skis, and I gotta say "Wheeeeee!!!!!". The rocker made this fatty feel like riding on super-fat snowblades, but with tons of stability on edge. These skis begged to be spun, floated, smeared, tip rolled, surfed, and......the biggest surprise......raced! Roll them on edge, stand in the middle, and hang on for a race-bred ride! Keep them flat and rock em in some short turns and spins. These beauties had me giggling and grinning the entire rest of the day. We bopped through the trees, bombed through some bowls, and flew down the groomers. Surprisingly, with the carbon construction rather than metal and their super-light weight, there was no hum, no flutter, no tip flap, nothing but mind-numbing stability and tooth freezing grins. Just writing this is putting a stupid-silly, lopsided grin on my face (yes, DH is giving me a look right now
) - this is one Volkl that won't spank you for technique errors or lazy moments. Again...overkill for the midwest? Absolutely. My favorite skis EVER? YUP. I LOVE THESE SKIS!!!!!
Highly recommended for any hard-charging Diva, whether expecting to encounter bottomless powder or not.
Common wisdom with rockers would have me on a 183 cm, most likely, but since I'm unlikely to encounter knee-deep or deeper powder on a regular basis, the 173 has all the stability and float I could ever expect to need, so no need to "go long" with these unless they're to be powder-only boards. JMHO.
Sumo and continuing Shiro review to come. (I gave the Katanas to DH, as he loved them in CO, and I hardly need 106, 111, AND 119-waisted skis.
)
The tester: 47 year old heavyweight, PSIA L2 (not currently teaching), ex-twice-a-week league and NASTAR gold/platinum racer turned cautious but adventurous recreational freeskier with a preference for spunky fat skis, high speeds, and junky, cruddy snow.
The "skinny" ski - 2007/2008 Katana 176 cm (140-111-130): A true soft groomer day with stashes of up to 24" o f fluffy pow lurking in the trees and the bottom of the bowls was the perfect midwest day for testing a ski this fat. While the size isn't a huge jump from my Kikus (106 under foot), the difference between the skis was interesting. My first year Kikus are full camber with 2 layers of metal, the same construction as the Katana, except the Katana is basically flat with with a subtle early-rise tip. Both prefer to blast through cruddy snow rather than surf over it, and both will hold a solid edge on all but the hardest snow, but the lack of camber on the Katana makes it much more playful and it tends to ride up and over stuff more easily. Is 111 under foot overkill for the midwest? Of course it is. Does that make it any less fun or versatile as a groomer and crud ski? Nope, not at all.
That said, the Katana is happiest on edge at race speeds where it shines brightly and rolls on edge quickly. Like most Volkls, slow speeds tends to make it a bit head-strong and cranky.The "rocker" ski - 2011/2012 Shiro 173 cm (151-119-135): Tested on the same day as the Katana, but taken into a lot of hidden spots not dared with the Katana. This was my first venture into the world of full-rocker skis, and I gotta say "Wheeeeee!!!!!". The rocker made this fatty feel like riding on super-fat snowblades, but with tons of stability on edge. These skis begged to be spun, floated, smeared, tip rolled, surfed, and......the biggest surprise......raced! Roll them on edge, stand in the middle, and hang on for a race-bred ride! Keep them flat and rock em in some short turns and spins. These beauties had me giggling and grinning the entire rest of the day. We bopped through the trees, bombed through some bowls, and flew down the groomers. Surprisingly, with the carbon construction rather than metal and their super-light weight, there was no hum, no flutter, no tip flap, nothing but mind-numbing stability and tooth freezing grins. Just writing this is putting a stupid-silly, lopsided grin on my face (yes, DH is giving me a look right now
) - this is one Volkl that won't spank you for technique errors or lazy moments. Again...overkill for the midwest? Absolutely. My favorite skis EVER? YUP. I LOVE THESE SKIS!!!!!Highly recommended for any hard-charging Diva, whether expecting to encounter bottomless powder or not.
Common wisdom with rockers would have me on a 183 cm, most likely, but since I'm unlikely to encounter knee-deep or deeper powder on a regular basis, the 173 has all the stability and float I could ever expect to need, so no need to "go long" with these unless they're to be powder-only boards. JMHO.
Sumo and continuing Shiro review to come. (I gave the Katanas to DH, as he loved them in CO, and I hardly need 106, 111, AND 119-waisted skis.
)
You're hooked now, hot stuff! Once you go rockered you don't ever want to go back. Well, that's not precisely true, there are some circumstances - I'm thinking icy blacks - where you want ever centimeter of edge in contact with the surface, and rocker is not your friend. It's a good argument for a quiver.
. After trying them on a soft groomer day, I figured I'd really give them a workout in conditions completely unsuited to their design and construction. After all.....if they perform in crappy condition and keep me smiling, imagine what will happen on a day when they should really shine!
. And yet, these super light, subtly rockered skis conquered all with determination. I had probably 5 of the best bump runs in crappy conditions I've ever had....everything just felt smooth and easy! 
Today's conditions should have had these skis begging for mercy yet they just chuckled and powered on. I did experience the beginnings of tip flutter but found that a solidly centered stance with plenty of big toe pressure kept the tips engaged and carving - they didn't require true "pressuring the tips", exactly, instead, it was just a very subtle shift in pressure. Yup. LOVE THESE SKIS!!! 
