Brilliance on a high edge comes at the price of making a short arc, with the ever-accelerating speeds bigger turns engender. You’ll never get a ski with the 100 Eight’s sidecut to carve a tidy arc, but it has the solution on demand: a fully rockered baseline without a whisper of camber to interfere with a smudged slide. If you want to aim the other way RIGHT NOW, just turn your feet. No unpleasant contortions required.
As nimble as teenage gymnasts, these Völkls nonetheless never act nervous. Their imperturbable calm is attributable to the UVO dampening element affixed to the forebody, allowing the skis to maintain snow contact through any turn shape. “Turns like a sports car,” notes a Viking Ski Shop tester. “Loved to bank turns and the grip is unreal,” he adds, concluding with the ultimate compliment: “More than a race ski.”
A good ski tester, like any conscientious evaluator, ought to retain an emotional detachment while on duty, but we’re only human. Try as we might to submerge our feelings, on occasion we fall hopelessly, exuberantly in love. One spin around the dance floor with the Völkl Racetiger Speedwall GS UVO and this veteran of a few thousand test runs was ready to commit to a long-term relationship.
The Völkl GS proves that not only is power an aphrodisiac, but absolute power is irresistible. So what if it’s impatient with short turns and thinks of going slow as a waste to its precious time? If you were wooing a super model, would you expect her to do the dishes? Just let the Racetiger be itself and its UVO shock-damping device will reward you with spectacular security at speed.
The Flair 78 combines several stalwart Völkl features into a new package made largely from recycled materials. If ecological awareness is high on your priority list, 100% recycled sidewalls and edges ought to earn at least your admiration, if not your ducats.
To win your heart as a skier, the Flair 78 devotes itself to a life of abstinence: no sloppy turning habits, no flinching in the face of hard snow and no whining about doing all the work. As the Flair 78’s pilot, all you have to do is tip it and smile.