The Völkl Kenja has been the go-to model for expert women for what seems like a generation of skiers. There have been years when it was the only women-specific, all-terrain ski with Titanal laminates in its core, unless you count other Völkl models of the era, like the Aura and Kiku. 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. The minor slip in its Power and Finesse scores are due more to tester fatigue with a ski they’re already familiar with than with any actual fall-off in performance.

After skiing the Secret and the Kenja side by side, Lauren from Footloose confirms the Kenja’s status as a superior all-terrain tool, calling the Kenja “Solid but playful. More fun/versatile than the Secret.” 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. One of Willi’s Diva describes the Kenja as a “very dependable, fun ski. I like a ski that I can trust and this one did the trick.”

The Kenja’s core audience is comprised of advanced and expert women with enough experience to know what works for them and what doesn’t. They’ve settled on the Kenja because it doesn’t compromise; it’s not a stripped down version of a unisex Kendo; it is the Kendo, only in smaller sizes. It delivers man-sized power proportional to a woman’s more diminutive mass. 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.