The new Völkl Secret 102 should not be mistaken for a set of training wheels. If you don’t have the requisite technical skiing skills, the Secret 102 can sense this shortcoming the way German shepherds can smell fear. As you digest the contents of Perry Schaffner’s critique of the Secret 102, cited below, please remember she’s fresh from a collegiate racing career and is an active coach who crushes every turn as if it owed her money.
“This is a great powder/off piste ski. Really carries speed well. It also has great graphics. I would probably buy the ski based on the graphics alone, but it certainly helps that it is a ripping ski, too. I skied the top in the choppy powder [at Snow Basin, UT] and it cut through it fairly well. Additionally, it was surprisingly lively on the groomed snow. Obviously a little more challenging to ski it in groomers since it is fairly wide under foot. I think this is a great ski if you mainly ski powder with some random days of groomers thrown in there.”
If, like Perry, your skill is high and your age is low, you’ll find the Secret 102 to be the rare Big Mountain ski that can be driven hard without withering. Instead of Silver Skier Selection, we’d designate it as our College Senior Selection of 19/20.
