3D.Glass would be nothing fancier than another base layer of glass were it not for a clever modification: in the binding area the glass extends vertically up the sidewall and over the top of it. It’s sort of a demi-torsion box, with much the same effect as this time-honored glass molding technique: the ski becomes both more torsionally rigid and livelier, as the hard-wired memory of the glass will dominate the rebound characteristic.
You won’t find another ski with a 112mm waist and 23.5m sidecut radius that would rather carve on a high edge angle than smear like a putty knife. It’s not that it won’t drift – of course it will – but it feels predisposed to carve on its razor-thin 3D.Ridge of compressed carbon. The V-Werks Katana was the test pilot for the 3D.Ridge design that has since permeated Völkl’s high-end All-Mountain and Frontside models. The V-Werks Katana proved that the concept could apply equally well to deep-sidecut carving skis and broad-beam powder surfers.
Völkl has been making superior powder boards since the days of the Snow Ranger and Explosiv. The Confession is the modern version of a venerable wood-and-metal construction with camber underfoot, a retro touch that gives the ski liveliness to go along with its power. As a concession to the Confession’s 117mm waist width, the metal contribution is only one laminate and is confined to a central band rather than running wall to wall.
The Black Pearl is such a runaway hit that Blizzard applied the name to every model in its All-Mountain Freeride collection, rechristening the Samba as the Black Pearl 98. More than just the name is new: the Black Pearl 98 has considerably more shape than the Samba and the front rocker is made to connect a little earlier. These changes elevate the new ski’s hard snow performance without diminishing its natural predisposition to ski anything else but.
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.