The Kenja is the grand dame of the women’s market, and over the years she’s had more facelifts than Joan Rivers to keep her current. But none of her previous makeovers were quite as extensive – or as successful – at reinvigorating the old gal with the energy of youth as the current Kenja 88. In a word, wow.
The application of Titanal Frame technology is the game changer. By breaking the top sheet of Titanal into 3 pieces, the metal is distributed where it can do the most good, and the fiberglass beneath it can breathe. The engagement of the glass layer during the turn is what creates the rebound energy that differentiates this Kenja from all who came before.
But the Kenja 88 didn’t bring just one gift to this party; its sidecut has been modified into a triple-radius affair – Völkl calls it 3D Radius Sidecut – that mimics a geometry more commonly found in Technical skis. If you lay it over until the center radius is engaged, you’ll get a tidy short turn, but ride it close to the fall line and the long-radius tip and tail sections take control over trajectory. An extra patch of shock-damping carbon in the shovel helps reduce shimmy in sketchy snow.
Perry Schaffner, an atypically strong skier who until recently was an NCAA racer, called the 2021 Kenja 88 “a super fun and playful ski. At 88mm underfoot it’s wide enough to be solid in second-day powder and probably even light powder. It also skied well and was stable on the groomers. I think this is a great all-around ski for skiers of any ability.” The 2023 Kenja 88 has undergone a second stage of significant changes, most notably the additions of Tailored Titanal Frame and Tailored Carbon Tips.
Tailored Titanal Frame is a particularly important feature for the female skier, as it re-sizes the top tier of Titanal for each length, so the smaller sizes favored by women aren’t encumbered by extra weight at tip and tail. Tailored Carbon Tips adjusts a precise dosage of carbon fiber to the shovel so it stays quiet and connected to both the snow and the rest of the ski. (Most front rockers in the genre functionally disconnect the shovel from the forebody.)
It bears mention that the unisex All-Mountain East category is as chockfull of options as the women’s field, and in this hotly competitive domain the new Kendo 88 still rules the roost. It so happens that the latest Kenja 88 and the Kendo 88 are essentially the same ski, which suggests that even the strongest female skiers, physically and technically, won’t over-tax the Kenja 88’s assets.
