Deacon 80

There’s a trail of clues that would lead a ski behavioral therapist to believe that the new Völkl Deacon 80 is the inferior in the relationship with its bigger brother, the Deacon 84. For starters, there’s its price, which works out to $100 less at retail. Price is usually an indicator of the cost of goods, and sure enough the Deacon 80 uses glass for its 3-piece top laminate instead of the Titanal in the 84. And the Deacon 80 is, of course, narrower, which among carving skis can sometime indicate that it’s geared slightly lower.

While these indicators are all true enough, the reality on snow is that the Deacon 80 is definitely in its brother’s league but it offers a different bundle of sensations. It’s more of a step laterally than down the product quality ladder. It uses the same structure as the 84’s Titanal Frame, with glass in lieu of metal. The 80 copies the 3D.Ridge and 3D.Glass construction of the 84, it has exactly the same size splits (ranging from 162cm to 182cm) and while it’s slimmer, it’s thinner by the same 4mm everywhere, so its sidecut radius is also identical to the 84’s.

Deacon 76

What a proud papa the Völkl Deacon 76 must be. When it slipped quietly into Völkl’s line two years ago to replace the creaky Code collection, all the ballyhoo was rightfully concentrated on the M5 Mantra. There was no hint at the time of the little Deacons in utero in R&D, gearing up to replace the redoubtable RTM 84 and RTM 81, veteran Frontside carvers that had come to the end of their dual-track lines. The new kids turned out to be real firecrackers, fulfilling every father’s dream of out-performing his expectations.

But as often seems to be the case with kids, they don’t want to do things Dad’s way. Where the Deacon 76 is quiet and unhurried, the Deacon 84 and 80 are bundles of energy. The Deacon 76 likes to luxuriate in a long turn that never loses snow contact; the kinder prefer a catch-and-release approach that involves pouncing across the fall line. The junior Deacons exude the tireless will to play of a Jack Russell terrier, while the Deacon 76 prides itself on energy conservation.

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