[The test results for the V-Werks Katana are from 2015; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

It’s only natural that a ski like Völkl’s V-Werks Katana would shine when evaluated according to our Realskiers methodology. Our criteria are biased in favor of skis that scribe a continuous arc, a rare sighting in the Big Mountain menagerie. The V-Werks Katana’s presence atop our Power rankings is a testament to its unique capacity for applying carving characteristics to ungroomed terrain.

The new-age Katana skis like a very wide razor. What it doesn’t plane over it slices into with the confidence and panache of a fabulous fencer. Other wide skis don’t ski like this because they aren’t built like this, with 11 sheets of compressed carbon formed into a shape Völkl calls 3D.Ridge. It creates the long-sought balance between longitudinal softness and torsional rigidity that allows the ski to bow easily yet hold with the assurance of an anaconda.

Since the V-Werks Katana appeared three years ago, Volkl has extended the 3D.Ridge shape to other models, but none of the Katana clones have the mega-dose of carbon that allows the Katana to slice through crud at speeds that would derail a train. It skis like a fat fighter jet, never smearing or swimming as so many Big Mountain models are made to do, but diving directly into the next arc with grace and purpose.

For its sustained excellence, the V-Werks Katana deserves consideration as the best execution of an all-carbon ski, not just in the Big Mountain genre, but in any genre. It’s not made for so-so skiers looking to smear sideways down a crud field, but for technicians capable of transporting their carving skills from the piste to the powder. Its unique capabilities in this domain earn the V-Werks Katana a Silver Skier Selection.