As nimble as teenage gymnasts, these Völkls nonetheless never act nervous. Their imperturbable calm is attributable to the UVO dampening element affixed to the forebody, allowing the skis to maintain snow contact through any turn shape. “Turns like a sports car,” notes a Viking Ski Shop tester. “Loved to bank turns and the grip is unreal,” he adds, concluding with the ultimate compliment: “More than a race ski.”
A good ski tester, like any conscientious evaluator, ought to retain an emotional detachment while on duty, but we’re only human. Try as we might to submerge our feelings, on occasion we fall hopelessly, exuberantly in love. One spin around the dance floor with the Völkl Racetiger Speedwall GS UVO and this veteran of a few thousand test runs was ready to commit to a long-term relationship.
The Völkl GS proves that not only is power an aphrodisiac, but absolute power is irresistible. So what if it’s impatient with short turns and thinks of going slow as a waste to its precious time? If you were wooing a super model, would you expect her to do the dishes? Just let the Racetiger be itself and its UVO shock-damping device will reward you with spectacular security at speed.
Part of the Quattro concept is to offer a choice of waist width, length and sidecut for a given construction and price point. The Quattro W 8.0 Ca has a sister ski, the 7.4 Ca, with the identical build, baseline and sidecut radius for each size, but an overall narrower silhouette. That both skis feel stable yet flexible is partly attributable to Blizzard’s IQ binding system that centers the integrated binding between two shoulders and fixes it to the ski with a single screw in the middle. A shock-dampening suspension system keeps the ride calm but doesn’t inhibit the Quattro W 8.0 Ca’s unusually sensitive snow feel.