The Völkl Kendo has been around so long it should be considered the founding father of the All-Mountain East genre. True, it hasn’t always been the same ski, evolving over the years from a fully cambered, hard-snow centric model to a double rockered affair with a wider waist and tapered tip, all accommodations to improve its off-trail aptitude. The Kendo of today is indeed much more amenable to maneuvering in tracked-up powder than its ancestors of the same name. It’s become more than just a wide carving tool; it’s now the paradigm of the all-condition ski. The 2019 Kendo is a powerful ski, but not in a showy, take-no-prisoners style.
The RTM 84 uses Völkl’s signature 3D.Ridge construction, essentially a thin fiberglass shell draped over a central, wood-core plateau. Last year Völkl added a bottom layer of glass that latches onto the top of the sidewall, converting the RTM 84’s laminate construction into a 2-part torsion box. What this tech mumbo-jumbo means is the 2019 RTM 84 is livelier, stronger on edge, holds better on hard snow and is more resistant to getting batted around in sloppy bumps. The edging power and stability at speed that are practically Völkl trademarks are evident in every turn. Its tip and tail are rockered to take out any ruffles in the turn transition, but it’s the cambered area underfoot that gives the RTM 84 its distinctive bite.
Over the past few seasons Völkl has been extending its 3D.Ridge design to encompass almost all of its RTM, All-Mountain and Big Mountain collections. Last year, Völkl significantly upgraded what is now its signature design with the addition of 3D.Glass. An added base layer of prepreg fiberglass hardly sounds newsworthy, but its impact can scarcely be over-stated. The special sauce in 3D.Glass consists of flaps in its center section that fold up and over the sidewall, interlocking the base with the rest of the 3D.Ridge. For an on-trail ski like the RTM 81, 3D.Glass is transformative. When the RTM 81’s long front and rear rocker blend with the camber zone underfoot as the ski is flexed, the security on edge is first rate.
If you live at the base of a big western mountain and still possess the strength and stamina of youth, you might want to make the Völkl Confession a daily ritual. Lord knows it has the strength to lay down rails on hardpack, thanks to a top sheet of Titanal that doesn’t run the full length of the ski because it doesn’t have to. The Confession dominates just fine as is, aided by a camber pocket underfoot that instills life into this powder-devouring glutton.
A superficial assessment of the new Völkl Secret based solely on its sidecut might conclude that’s it’s just a plumped-up Kenja with a millimeter more shape. But a well-made ski can never be reduced to just its dimensions, and the sister ski to the new M5 Mantra doesn’t take its cues from the Kenja or any other women’s ski extant. The differentiator is its Titanal Frame construction that uses .6mm stirrups of Titanal applied to the tip and tail, separated by an edge-to-edge .4mm mounting plate that lives between them. The more aggressive gals who charge the fall line are going to find the Secret a reliable companion that won’t hold them back, and its stability is a boon to those still polishing their skills.
