If you’ve already achieved genuine all-mountain expertise, Völkl has you covered six ways to Sunday with powerhouse models like the Kenja and Aura.  The Yumi is for those who aren’t quite there yet but want to sharpen their all-terrain skills until they shine.

The woman who is going to spend the vast majority of her time on trail will be better served on the Charisma or another Essenza series carver, but if wanderlust is in your genes, the Yumi will take you more places in comfort. Note that the Yumi scored best at continuous carving and ease of operation, which together make for a great set of training wheels. The Yumi also scored well at one of our best metrics for overall performance, the rating for Finesse/Power balance; a high score indicates a ski that delivers power with a minimum of provisos about how fast and hard it needs to be skied.

The Yumi scores well in this bell-weather statistic for it’s a purposeful pussycat, developing proper technique with supportive encouragement rather than the stinging lash of über-precision. The Yumi is less accurate at speed than its big sisters, but it also doesn’t ask you to perform perfectly to deliver a delightful ski experience.