[The test data and review of the unchanged Flair 78 are reprised from last year.]

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.

Unleashing the Flair 78’s point-guard quicks is close to effortless, making this Frontside femme fatale a suitable mate for the ambitious intermediate. Its stability and liveliness are largely due to the combined contributions of spring steel, which reinforces its Dual Wood Core, and XTD Transmission, raised shoulders over the edges that help keep them connected to the snow for the full length of the ski.

Stephanie Humes has been selling Völkl’s Essenza series of Frontside carvers for years, so she speaks from experience when she pens on her Flair 78 card, “Lighter and more playful compared to the Essenza line-up. Still the typical Völkl feel, but with a bit more life.”

For providing secure footing and easy steering in a lightweight bundle, we award the Völkl Flair 78 a Silver Skier Selection.