Help Needed: Volkl Kenja 2019 version - to buy or not to buy?

[scandium]

Eee, fantastic!! And only a couple of months to wait until ski season

I've actually got to start on some conditioning for this season! My primary off-season activities have moved away from being lower-body focussed enough to make it through ski season, and I think the kenjas will 100% make me pay if I don't have enough strength to drive them.

 

[marzNC]

I've actually got to start on some conditioning for this season! My primary off-season activities have moved away from being lower-body focussed enough to make it through ski season, and I think the kenjas will 100% make me pay if I don't have enough strength to drive them.

If you'd like some ideas for ski conditioning, I put some of my favorite exercises in my blog. It's more or less a private blog for me to store stuff as I find it. The name is based on the fact that I didn't start skiing regularly under after age 50. But it's geared to anyone of any age who hasn't skied that much in the last 10-20 years.

https://over50skifitness.blogspot.com

 

[fgor]

I've actually got to start on some conditioning for this season! My primary off-season activities have moved away from being lower-body focussed enough to make it through ski season, and I think the kenjas will 100% make me pay if I don't have enough strength to drive them.

Ugh I know right? Me too, I've had the most inactive start to my year ever, I had so much other life stuff going on that I'm completely out of shape. I've ended up starting my pre-season conditioning by visiting my physio, as my inactivity has meant a lot of my joint issues have flared up again

@marzNC thanks for the link! that looks really useful!!

 

[scandium]

If you'd like some ideas for ski conditioning, I put some of my favorite exercises in my blog. It's more or less a private blog for me to store stuff as I find it. The name is based on the fact that I didn't start skiing regularly under after age 50. But it's geared to anyone of any age who hasn't skied that much in the last 10-20 years.

https://over50skifitness.blogspot.com

Thank you! I think I'm sussed for strengthening, but a lot of the balance exercises look good - I could definitely use more help with that.

 

[marzNC]

Thank you! I think I'm sussed for strengthening, but a lot of the balance exercises look good - I could definitely use more help with that.

What I found as I started doing both ski conditioning during the off season, and lessons more regularly, is that balance and flexibility were much more important than leg strength. Core strength was key as well. Working on 1-leg balance as part of knee rehab required spending a few minutes several times a day consistently, but the exercise could be pretty basic. I mostly did some variation of the following exercise. Often when I was standing in line while shopping.

 

[scandium]

Update: Just finished day 3 on my "new" Kenjas, and my overall feeling so far is that I could probably ski them better, but they aren't unreachable or running away from me.

My start to the season has been mostly on mellow, wide intermediate groomed slopes and the Kenjas are SOLID and want to GO. They feel like they would be a lot of ski for moguls. Thankfully I've been on smaller fields (Roundhill and Dobson) with minimal crowds, so have just been having fun opening up the accelerator as they're so stable. My knees notice the width at times and it's effort to get on edge, but I think the extra Covid weight that I'm still carrying is helping me flex them and they don't feel too long. They are heavy to carry from the car though!!

In terms of softer snow performance, they kicked my ass up the top of the roundhill tow which is steep, wide, and ungroomed - but I have never skied that terrain without resorting to survival skiing, and it didn't feel any worse than 2 years ago on ###### rental skis or my friend's Santa Anas. I took a lesson at that point and the instructor mainly gave general advice about relaxing through my body to absorb the variable terrain and opening up my turns more. He also suggested that I could try to "lean back a little and send it" to try and surf over the crud. He did also warn me that was basically backseat skiing and that it would only work as long as my quads could cope, and that the larger turns on a narrower base with my lower body reacting to the changes in terrain were still the better long term solution.

On the groomers, the feeling of "GO" makes me worry that I'm using the stiffness to hide a lack of technique and control, but I'm getting another lesson tomorrow so will hopefully work some more on that!

 

[fgor]

Great to hear they're going well overall!

We've both had about three days on our respective new skis now - seems like both were good purchases though those Kenjas were the deal of the year, haha.

Variable cruddy terrain really is tough. I suck at it on every ski. I bet those kenjas are fun on choppy groomers though, with how stable they found. I hope the extra lessons help!

 

[scandium]

Well, my extra lesson never happened as Ohau closed in the afternoon due to crosswinds on the chairlift. I can tell you that it is hard work on narrower terrain as these skis are not keen on short turns, pivots, and quick dodging around unexpected small children and rocks. Hopefully I can tidy up my technique as I am definitely struggling a bit there...

 

[fgor]

Well, my extra lesson never happened as Ohau closed in the afternoon due to crosswinds on the chairlift. I can tell you that it is hard work on narrower terrain as these skis are not keen on short turns, pivots, and quick dodging around unexpected small children and rocks. Hopefully I can tidy up my technique as I am definitely struggling a bit there...

Damn, looks like that wind is everywhere now, Hutt weather is looking horrible for the next day or two haha. Hopefully you can conquer those skis!! I assume it's just the nature of being on skis that are so much more stable. Awesome for big fast turns but a bit more challenging for short turns and tight terrain.

I see instructors doing very nimble turns on long stiff GS skis so I know it's possible, but I sure wouldn't be able to drive a ski like that properly (yet)!

 

[scandium]

Ohau opened again on Thursday and I got that lesson. There was reasonably dry, fresh snow at the top, ungroomed wet heavy snow further down, and icy scraped-off groomer at the bottom so we practiced nearly everything in a 1hr lesson - carving turns/getting on edge at the top, short turns in chop and crud, and control and making sure we had grip on the icier areas. Turns out I just have to work harder for the short turns - I extend to start the turn, but I often extend and lean back and then end up really far back as I finish the turn. So it's really more practicing the things I've already learned rather than any new tips or tricks (although the instructor feedback was good) and realising just how hard the skis are to get around comparatively. Queenstown now and thankfully the wind and weather warnings may miss us here!

 

[fgor]

Ohau opened again on Thursday and I got that lesson. There was reasonably dry, fresh snow at the top, ungroomed wet heavy snow further down, and icy scraped-off groomer at the bottom so we practiced nearly everything in a 1hr lesson - carving turns/getting on edge at the top, short turns in chop and crud, and control and making sure we had grip on the icier areas. Turns out I just have to work harder for the short turns - I extend to start the turn, but I often extend and lean back and then end up really far back as I finish the turn. So it's really more practicing the things I've already learned rather than any new tips or tricks (although the instructor feedback was good) and realising just how hard the skis are to get around comparatively. Queenstown now and thankfully the wind and weather warnings may miss us here!

That sounds pretty ideal! Love being able to practice multiple conditions in one lesson

Inadvertently leaning back as you finish the turn is highly relatable. In my last lesson my instructor told me that I was doing that especially on offpiste/crud, which meant that I was losing grip at the bottom of the turn, and making it harder to move into the next turn!

Hope you've had some good skiing in Queenstown - are the skis feeling any easier yet?

 

[scandium]

I think I'm in love except pivot slips and moguls are suddenly a thousand and one times more difficult! I also ran into a couple of demo days and didn't try anything I liked more than the Kenjas, although sadly missed out on the Volkl demos due to time. Queenstown has been pretty good aside from the lack of lesson availability (even the privates were booked out multiple days in advance, unless I had $999 for a day of group high performance coaching...) but luckily the lesson in Ohau set me up with things to practice. I've been getting my ass kicked on steeper moguls and most of the ungroomed black runs, but variable afternoons, crisp mornings, scraped off snow, and even a slush day have been no trouble at all.

 

[Divaskier87]

Help me divas! I have accidentally spotted an awesome deal on the 2019 Volkl Kenjas (while looking for a new ski bag) and am wondering whether I should pull the trigger or whether I'm looking at a ski that isn't really right for me.
https://www.absolute-snow.co.uk/V/Volkl_Kenja_B-Grade_Womens_Skis_156cm_BlackGreen_2019-(261189)

I have only demo'd the 2020 Kenja 88 which was essentially a complete redesign with less metal. It felt super secure on groomers but "insecure" on ungroomed soft moguls - I did make the note that I thought it was a lack of driving and feeling like I couldn't get the ski around which then just made me less and less confident. Since then, I think my skiing has improved with the aid of private lessons including a couple for ungroomed snow and moguls as well as better fitting boots - but I would still call myself intermediate trying to break bad habits so I can progress to being advanced! I think I would enjoy the Kenja 88 a lot more now - in my current quiver, sometimes the Yumi is a little bit soft.

I think I like stiff and damp and don't mind driving a ski, but I don't want something that's so heavy I can't flex it, especially when people have described this as an "expert" ski in reviews. In terms of skis of similar width, I demo'd the 2021 Santa Ana 93 and really loved it last year, but was very ambivalent about the Sheeva 9.

Me: 5'1"ish, currently 120lb (this has snuck up about 8lb since last ski season...once I ramp up my pre-season conditioning and get stronger and bouncier again I expect to be around 115lb)
Where I ski: Currently stuck in New Zealand, conditions are similar to East Coast with a lot of narrower groomed runs, but I also head to club fields sometimes (completely ungroomed). I tend to just go everywhere, but don't always ski narrower black runs with good technique. I also ski on a lot of slush and spring snow because that's just what our mountains often do.
My current (shared) quiver: Volkl Flair SC Efficiency 2018 155cm, Volkl Yumi 2019 154cm

So...if you made it this far, please either help enable me or talk me out of a stupid idea!!

I want kenjas but afraid they will be to demanding. Now I also looked at yumi. Seeing you have both. Is the yumis more easy to make short turns? How are they at higher speed? And icy conditions?

 

[scandium]

Is the yumis more easy to make short turns? How are they at higher speed? And icy conditions?

Yes, the Yumis are very easy to make short turns, and they do not punish you if you ski with imperfect technique. I have never reached a speed limit on the Yumis but in icy conditions they tend to bounce around a bit so feel unstable, which makes me slow down more. I actually felt like it was harder to get the Yumis to hold on edge compared to the Kenjas sometimes because they tend to prefer the smeary turns, but this is also an issue of my technique as well.