Unleashing the Flair 78’s point-guard quicks is close to effortless, making this Frontside femme fatale a suitable mate for the ambitious intermediate. Its stability and liveliness are largely due to the combined contributions of spring steel, which reinforces its Dual Wood Core, and XTD Transmission, raised shoulders over the edges that help keep them connected to the snow for the full length of the ski.
Völkl has found the ideal upgrade for its 3D.Ridge construction, itself a relatively recent innovation that trimmed away significant swaths of ski core material to make several key models, like the RTM 81, lighter and more flexible. Called 3D.Glass, it’s essentially the bottom half of a torsion box. Just adding a glass laminate to a ski would probably have helped, but Völkl went a step further and therein lies the trick that makes the addition of 3D.Glass instantly evident: in the center, the glass layer runs up and over the top of the sidewall, essentially demi-capping the core from the bottom up.
3D.Glass is like a blend of ski Botox and blow: it makes everything about the RTM 84 smoother, with no visible sign of surgery, and the ski is preternaturally more energetic, ever ready to respond to athletic input. 3D.Glass is all the more effective because the RTM 84 baseline includes a cambered patch underfoot. Applying pressure on this glass arch is what has injected a few cc’s of pure energy into the RTM 84’s routine.
While the changes to the Kanjo-type construction have palpably improved the Yumi’s performance, it remains an excellent choice for skiers of modest skills. “A little stiffer, but skill forgiving enough for a moderate skier,” confirms Mary Geddes of Sturtevant’s of Sun Valley. Now that it’s been modified to improve its off-trail aptitude, the Yumi provides a better introduction than ever to off-piste skiing.
The Quattro W 8.0 Ca we recommended last season returns in the guise of the Alight 8.0 Ca, renamed to fit into an umbrella rebranding of Blizzard’s women’s Frontside collection, part of a company-wide initiative, Women to Women, intended to better differentiate its women’s line. The Alight 8.0 Ca remains a featherweight that punches in the middleweight division, holding a secure, unwavering arc on the hardest artificial snow.