GS race skis rule the open slopes, and they do so mercilessly, running as hot as they can. They oblige the skier to see things their way, rather than submit to some half-ass effort at arcing. They don’t show much interest in deviating from the fall line until they reach Mach One, and even then they don’t bow into fat, round arcs but barely deflect off their beeline course.
Like many gross generalities, the statements above don’t pertain to every member of the GS family. True, several non-FIS GS skis behave like über-specialists that only respond to well-trained technique, but Völkl got the memo that GS skis ought to be generalists, not specialists. The Racetiger GS can tuck into almost any shape of turn, grab it by the throat and ping off the edge with the energy normally associated with a slalom ski. Far from being finicky, it earned the best aggregate Finesse score among all the GS entries in the genre.
“This ski stuck to the snow like high powered glue,” says Masterfit University professor Jim Schaffner. “Very lively for a metal GS ski. I felt there was a twitchy energy that really wanted to end the turn earlier than my pace dictates.” Having chased Schaffner down several peaks this past spring I can attest that his idea of what constitutes “pace” begins where most people’s ends.
My other megawatt tester, Corty Lawrence, like Schaffner one of the most sought-after bootfitters in America, found the Racetiger GS to be “super quick out of the turn, with a round, symmetrical flex. It has a snappy hook at the bottom of the turn,” he says, citing the same sensation Schaffner pinpointed. “Solid and predictable in GS-type turns speed, yet agile in shorter turns, with plenty of rebound energy.”
Like its stablemate in Völkl’s race corral, the Racetiger SL, the Racetiger GS has the largest performance envelope within its genre. Not only is it more willing to cut a tight corner, the Racetiger GS is more than passable off-trail. Its UVO 3D shock absorber, mounted right behind the shovel, helps it stay in contact with undulating terrain. The more you lay it over, the more comfortably it rides, displaying the dominance that makes GS race skis the masters of all they survey.