One can make a case for the Völkl Kenja being the best ski ever made for the advanced woman skier. Its Titanal laminates – rarely found in women’s skis – give it unparalleled bite on hard snow and the resilience to fight back in heavy crud. The Kenja excels because it doesn’t condescend.
“From year to year the Kenja continues to be the perfect ski for any condition,” writes Skylar from Aspen Ski and Board. “Outstanding edge hold on ice and easy to turn at higher speeds while still maintaining control. I’d recommend it for any advanced woman who loves it all!”
Over the unusually long arc of its existence, the Mantra has morphed every few seasons, putting on a few mm’s of girth one year, adding a dab of early rise to the tip another. The latest stage in its evolution, which debuted two seasons ago, was also the most dramatic, resulting in a significant change in the Mantra’s personality.
Völkl didn’t change the Mantra’s composition – it’s still a classic combo of wood and Titanal – but they changed everything else, going from a fully cambered ski to a double rocker design that is bone-flat underfoot and rockered at tip and tail. The alterations allow the new Mantra to swivel around in soft snow, making it much more forgiving in the off-piste conditions. The premium previously placed on pilot proficiency and precision no longer pertains.
Völkl’s RTM 84 UVO is a gentleman’s carving tool, a secure ride that can summon acceleration when a dollop of pressure is applied to its camber zone underfoot. Its rockered tip and tail are already partway bent into an arc, so the pilot doesn’t have to exert a lot of oomph to extract a smooth, continuous carve.
While the RTM 84 UVO enjoys rocketing down the hill as much as any other elite Frontside ski, it’s better at slalom turns than our short-radius score suggests. It also deserves more praise for its Finesse qualities for it isn’t hard of steering and its light enough to toss around a turn if need be. (Without its Marker bindings, the RTM 84 UVO weighs in at 1958g.)
The RTM 81 was made for marauding groomers and while its composition has evolved over the years, its preferred pathways and mode of transport haven’t. The RTM 81 is every centimeter a carving ski; well, make that every centimeter minus a sliver of tip and tail rocker to maintain street cred as a do-it-all model.
At one point in its journey, the RTM 81 was flat underfoot, and flat best describes how it skied. While it’s comforting to have some smear-ability on board even in a carving ski, if drift is its dominant trait then the ski is in the wrong genre. Last year the camber genie re-appeared, granting the RTM 81’s wish to be a real carving ski again. It’s been ripping up the Frontside ever since.
