Maybe I am, inexplicably, a Volkl girl (Volkl Yumi review)

[litterbug]

Tell him, "Yes, a lot of ski, for a lot of woman."

I love that! Funny, I haven't had a lot of shop guys trying to talk me into short lengths or noodly skis. Maybe it's because. On the other hand, I don't really give them a chance; I just march right on over to the display of skis or demos and start asking if the ones I'm interested in are available, rambling about the characteristics I'm looking for, and tossing out technical questions,. And woe to the demo guy who has to tell me that they don't carry a woman's ski I want in a length over 155 cm!

I love that he laughed with your boyfriend....that clearly shows his intent wasn't to diss. It is a ski you love to ski, and bonus, they DO have pretty graphics On the other hand, if he had said something like "a pretty ski for the little lady" that would have been a clear insult!

I think some guys, especially those who live in a very testosterone-biased world, just need to be reminded that women care about ski performance as much as they do. I've had a few fun conversations on the lift with big burly guys who start off wondering what a little thing like me is doing out in bad weather or iffy conditions but soon have a visible 'aha!' moment when they realize that although I may not be as good as they are and almost certainly not quite as tough, I'm just as serious about skiing as they are.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I ... don't understand. I tell people on the lift their skis are pretty, if I think they're pretty (men and women). I ask how they ski, if I'm curious and think they're the right ballpark for me. Look, I have an eagle eye out for unconscious (and conscious) sexist BS, but I just don't see it in this particular interaction. It's like being upset if someone tells me my Arcteryx jacket looks good on me. Hell yeah, it does! All of my skis have striking graphics, *and* they are great skis.

As for your partner treating you like a child and being casually sexist ... if that's really true, you need a new partner. Plenty of men out there who aren't like that.

 

[lisamamot]

I ... don't understand. I tell people on the lift their skis are pretty, if I think they're pretty (men and women). I ask how they ski, if I'm curious and think they're the right ballpark for me. Look, I have an eagle eye out for unconscious (and conscious) sexist BS, but I just don't see it in this particular interaction. It's like being upset if someone tells me my Arcteryx jacket looks good on me. Hell yeah, it does! All of my skis have striking graphics, *and* they are great skis.

As for your partner treating you like a child and being casually sexist ... if that's really true, you need a new partner. Plenty of men out there who aren't like that.

I totally agree on the ski, jacket, etc. mentions. If someone, man or woman, tells me they like the print of one of my hats or that it looks good on me, I don't think they are trying to tell me they think I bought it just for the print. They are warm and cute. Either way, I get the opportunity to tell them about the company, who started it, and why I love supporting it.

I took maggie198's boyfriend's remark ("I guess she told you") as supportive

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Whoa - pretty sizable thread drift here!

I took maggie198's boyfriend's remark ("I guess she told you") as supportive

As did I.
I find that people enjoy talking about their equipment - hard goods or soft goods. One time, racking up skis, I guess I inadvertently was staring at a lady who had an ADORABLE hat. She was kind of looking at me like, "WTH are you staring at?" Finally said to her how much I liked her hat, and that I was searching for something similar. She was delighted to discuss it.

 

[bounceswoosh]

What an jerk. Sorry you were put through that. My partner tries to put me in my place too. The other day a group of very loud women standing behind us told him I didn't look like a woman who needed babysitting. Snap!

I was responding to this quote regarding partners.

 

[badger]

Whoa - pretty sizable thread drift here!

That is exactly what I was thinking too. And the comment also sums up the way I ski when technique goes to pieces. but that would be yet, another thread.

The hat story is funny. I've been in that situation myself when staring at someone's personal property.

 

[maggie198]

I took maggie198's boyfriend's remark ("I guess she told you") as supportive

Yes, it was.

Whoa - pretty sizable thread drift here!

Yes, it is!

 

[SkadiSkiGrrl]

The Yumi were fun on the easiest trail. Sadly, I chose to bail onto a cutoff to the terrain park rather than ski them on the little pitch on the second run. They felt noodley. They did not have nearly the edge hold that the Kenjas had and I did not trust them to get me through the icy stuff yet to come. Disappointing, as I had such high expectations based on magazine rankings.....

The Pures lasted just one run....Meh.... The Vivas lasted three. None of them were an improvement for me on the Kenjas as far as stability, edge hold and fun factor.

For what its worth, the Wild Belle is the only ski that I have ever demoed that I went straight to the tough (for me) stuff, without an intermediary step. It was that confidence-inspiring! The WBs replaced the Kenjas and the RX8s. For me, the WB had as good edge hold as the Kenjas, was more stable, more nimble, more forgiving and more fun! It became my new benchmark ski.

The Yumis are pretty soft, and definitely felt noodly to me too. I've always felt the Volkls were too stiff for me, so I was quite surprised by how underwhelmed I was by the Yumi. For a lightweight skier, in soft snow, maybe a different story. No edge hold like the Kenjas, that's for sure![/QUOTE]

I finally had a chance to try out my Yumis and I loved them. They were fast, cut through everything like it was butter and I did my first double black with them. I am aware that this season's snow is above average amazing, but Okemo, after a recent warm day and a recent freeze wasn't exactly buried in Wasatch powder. There was a lot of ice here and there and hard snow, but they were fine. I did mostly blacks including moguls and survived Outrage at Okemo, so I am pretty happy with my purchase. I did not venture into any tight gladed areas. But, when I did hit hard stuff I just tried to focus on the edge and the carving and it went great. They did not feel chattery at all.

 

[maggie198]

Lol, I just want to clarify that the quote was from BeSki, but due to my bad editing it showed up under my name. This was my comment:

"The Yumis are pretty soft, and definitely felt noodly to me too. I've always felt the Volkls were too stiff for me, so I was quite surprised by how underwhelmed I was by the Yumi. For a lightweight skier, in soft snow, maybe a different story. No edge hold like the Kenjas, that's for sure![/QUOTE]"

I feel that my weight is more suitable to the Kenja and Aura, the Yumis are too soft for me. But they sound ideal for you! And that's what counts.

 

[Mogul Mom]

Not even. More like a Chevy Malibu (with profuse apologies to anyone who owns one!> just off the top of my head comparison). Compared to the Ramp Frenzy, which was a Mazda Miata on a clear fall day, on the Kangamagus Highway (twisty mountain pass road in NH), with the top down (of course)!!

"Kangamagus"! You're in my neighborhood! What are you skiing on now that you like/dislike for our typical conditions? Looking for an expert all mountain ski that excels in the bumps. Didn't think I'd like the Yumis but then heard so many good things I was changing my mind. Now I'm changing it back! Was it the 2018 Yumi?

 

[Mogul Mom]

I'm replying in here, rather than starting a new thread as I got to try the Yumis for a day from a ski hire shop. Length was 161, and they were the pink ones, probably the 2012/2013 version.

They were not the ski for me!




This is sort of what I found. I liked how light they were, as they were fun for doing little jumps on and they didn't wear my legs out. They turned easily enough and carved quite nicely but there was nothing inspiring about them.

What I really hated was their performance on hard snow/boilerplate. Absolutely USELESS. They had no edge grip at all, which was really quite scary on a steep, icy red.

This is not a ski for you east coast skiers, it very much prefers the soft stuff. It's a soft ski, and it doesn't like to be driven too hard or fast.

As I side note, I tried 4 skis in total. After the Yumi's they gave me a pair of men's Head Superhape Titan skis. They weighed an absolute ton and I hated them. Then they gave me a pair of crappy Elan beginner's skis which were so squirrely, they were uncontrollable and I couldn't wait to take them back. Finally I ended up on a pair of 74 waist Salomon women's carvers of some sort and they were fine. I can't wait to get my Black Pearls on! I didn't take them because there was so little snow, I didn't want to ruin them (good decision as it turned out, there were lots of stones).

Can you tell me about your black pearls? How are they in bumps, trees, hardpack/ice? I'm 5'7", 125lb. expert skier. I'm on 161's now so not sure if the 159 or 166 would be better...

 

[MaineSkiLady]

"Kangamagus"! You're in my neighborhood! What are you skiing on now that you like/dislike for our typical conditions? Looking for an expert all mountain ski that excels in the bumps. Didn't think I'd like the Yumis but then heard so many good things I was changing my mind. Now I'm changing it back! Was it the 2018 Yumi?

Wow, interesting revival of old thread!

And I guess I’ve gone 180 on this in that few years. And Ramp has gone belly up.

Did a demo this past January and LOVED the Yumi. Maybe I’ve come to appreciate dampness? The Yumi’s (apparently unchanged since that post, barring graphics) were delightful. Another 180 for me was the Head Total Joy, which I thoroughly disliked in 2015 and thoroughly liked in 2017.

Ha, I have friends who will be negotiating the Kanc after this pending storm, en route from NH to Maine. Yikes.

My skis of choice these days are Head Super Joy and Volkl Charisma for solid snow days, Nordica Wild Belle and Rossi Temptation 84 for the mid-range, and K2 Fulluvit for crud and “real” (as you know, rare) snow.

Will answer your Black Pearl question from post above: they love snow. They hate hardpack. They hate it to such an extent that I sold mine (166, my stats are 5'6/125). I guess I really needed a ski with metal in it to tame the major frozen chicken heads, etc (K2 Fulluvit does this well, as do my mid-range skis).

 

[contesstant]

The 2018 Black Pearls are an all-new design and are much more capable on hard pack. It's still not their strongest suit, but they handle it much better than the previous versions. They are very competent in bumps and trees (at least as much as I've taken them there.)

 

[volklgirl]

Wow, interesting revival of old thread!
My skis of choice these days are Head Super Joy and Volkl Charisma for solid snow days, Nordica Wild Belle and Rossi Temptation 84 for the mid-range, and K2 Fulluvit for crud and “real” (as you know, rare) snow.

Wait. Whaaaaaat?????? Charismas?????

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Wait. Whaaaaaat?????? Charismas?????

A ski I tried for a day last year, loved, bought that year's model this year.
And DH is now on a Kendo and hankering for a RTM81 for narrower.
Changes!!