The Völkl Yumi isn’t meant for the best skiers, but it may be the best ski for anyone hoping to become one of the best. The Yumi isn’t your typical Frontside ski. Völkl has a full line of Frontside system skis (sold with a matching binding) called Flair meant to serve the full spectrum of ladies who prefer on-piste skiing. The Yumi is more like a transition ski where the next anticipated step will be a decisive move off-piste. The Yumi is often a first-time ski purchase but not by a first-time skier. The prospective Yumi skier currently rents her gear, has out-grown a kid’s set-up or has had it with hand-me-downs. The Yumi won’t be just her on-trail, groomer ski; it will be her all-terrain, ski-whatever-is-open ski.
The Völkl Kenja has been the go-to model for expert women for what seems like a generation of skiers. While the spotlight this season shines on the new Secret, the Kenja continues to offer elite performance for skilled skiers who are on the hill in all conditions. Despite its twin sheets of metal, the Kenja is a lively and nimble. Its mass is more bonus than liability, particularly when the snow is either very hard or very chopped-up, and always when charging the fall line. More than any other trait, it’s the Kenja’s stability in all conditions that give advanced to expert women the confidence to go for it, and less skilled ladies the opportunity to move into their league.
Whoever at Völkl came up with the model name “Deacon” deserves some recognition, like a better parking spot perhaps, for applying a moniker that matches the demeanor of the new series. The Deacon 76 moves with a serenity that comes from inner peace, one way to describe the calm that pervades every move the Deacon makes. All the Deacon models (there are four), use 3D.Glass, giving them a deep energy reserve that can be tapped by more aggressive skiing, and Titanal to amplify edge grip. Full sidewalls assure accurate communication with the edge. So the Deacon has all the power a smooth cruiser could ever need, but it doesn’t flaunt it.
When Völkl added 3.D Glass to the 90 Eight (and several other models) last season, it was a game changer. What had been a fairly docile off-trail specialist turned into a peppy all-terrain model that could handle its business on hardpack. The reason 3D.Glass made such a resounding impact lies in the way this bottom layer of fiberglass runs up and over the sidewall in the ski’s midsection, creating in essence the bottom half of a torsion box that marries up with the 3D.Ridge glass on top. By converting a laminate construction to a de facto torsion box, the 90 Eight became a firecracker off the edge, with better grip in all conditions.
Over the past few seasons Völkl has been extending its 3D.Ridge design to encompass almost all of its RTM, All-Mountain and Big Mountain collections. Last year, Völkl significantly upgraded what is now its signature design with the addition of 3D.Glass. An added base layer of prepreg fiberglass hardly sounds newsworthy, but its impact can scarcely be over-stated. The special sauce in 3D.Glass consists of flaps in its center section that fold up and over the sidewall, interlocking the base with the rest of the 3D.Ridge. For an on-trail ski like the RTM 81, 3D.Glass is transformative. When the RTM 81’s long front and rear rocker blend with the camber zone underfoot as the ski is flexed, the security on edge is first rate.
