Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 40

Thread: Volkl Sanouk

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    7,221

    Volkl Sanouk

    trolling some shops for the mid-summer deal, I came across what seems like a steal. $500 for never drilled sanouks. before I pull the trigger on something I never skied, I want to get some feedback from someone who has. the tips seemed wet noodlish to me compared to the gotama, but that might be good for heavey snow. anyone?
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Huh?
    Posts
    10,910
    I've only skied them one day. The tips actually surprised me. I skied them on everything from hardpack, to sierra cement, to pow with a wind/suncrust on top.

    They edges held surprisingly well on the hardpack. I was expecting Spatula type performance; in other words, hold on for dear life. I wouldn't go racing them on blue ice or anything, but you can turn them on hard stuff.

    This was all on the way out to California Chute at Kirkwood. Once we got out there we skied everything from cement to a slight crust to pockets of nice pow. The ski was interesting in a good way. The tip felt like my Spatulas. It always stayed on top of the snow, planing like the Spats. In other words, it feels like it would be very difficult to get the tip to dive. It's always keeping you afloat. The tail was a different matter. It really dug in. I haven't skied other swallowtails, but I assume this is how they all feel. The tail was very, very stable; almost as if it were on rails. But it wasn't to the point where you couldn't disengage it.

    It actually turned out to be the perfect ski for these conditions. A normal ski would get stuck in the crust and would have a mind of its own. The soft tip prevented me from getting stuck on line since it planed through the cement/crust, while the tail was providing control at the same time. I hope this makes sense. On the short sections of pow, they just slayed also.

    My quiver of fatties is loaded right now (Spats and Gotamas), but I have considered getting a pair of these. Just can't justify it since money's a little tight right now.
    "I knew in an instant that the three dollars I had spent on wine would not go to waste."

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    7,221
    good to hear a solid endorsment. I was worried they might wash out at speed with my fat ass on top. hopefully pulling trigger soon.
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature... Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. -Helen Keller

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Montrial
    Posts
    1,000
    i have ridden a south american season in south america. they were my only ride. i had them mounted to a fritshi.

    1) its very versatile for that lenght, the big spatula and swall make it so
    2) fragile ski
    3) not a hucking ski the mounting point + swallow make you a little bit back
    4)great at speeds
    5) use the search

    easy power ski can take all but crud. doesn't need much to float
    shut up and ski

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    34
    How are they on hardpack?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    173
    I skied them one day this winter in fresh quite deep snow that went from light to heavy during a sunny day. The terrain was open powder faces with some narrow places leading down to tree skiing. No tracks except the ones from our group. I tried the first blue version of the Sanouk. Don´t know if there´s any difference from later ones.

    My first impression were how easy the Sanouks are to ski with their soft and snappy appearence in powder. Super quick to turn in the trees which makes it possible to go really fast and still now that you will be able to make it even through the tightest places. On bigger spaces it´s really playful and not a straightlining ski in my opinion. I found myself spraying round small stones and trying to pop off anything I could find. A really, really fun ski, but not that "I´ll wait for you down by the gondola"-feeling that you might want on your best days. As the snow got heavier I could really feel the benefits of having a soft ski. A couple of runs with the M103 made me realise that the snow was actually quite crappy at the afternoon. I had to struggle to get those boards to turn in that conditions.

    Back to the Sanouk and back to smiling. A softer ski makes such a difference of making bad snow skiable and enjoyable. On harder snow, not at all icy they where skiable, but far from fun. The wobbly front makes it difficult to really go for it at the speeds that is needed with the Sanouks long turning radius and at lower speeds they have a boring feel. The snappiness of the ski in powder is all gone when going on hardpack. I never got the chance to try them in tracked out snow. Where I ski there´s almost never any skiing like that in that amount that the skis have to handle it. As long as they are nice in the untouched snow I´m happy. The only thing I could recall as negative is that they sometimes oversteered a bit. They are maybe just to loose in some types of applications as medium speed at big spaces. In high speed they go to a more "locked in"-mode, but at more normal speeds they are really turny. I think that a couple of extra cm:s would make it better in this sense. Anyone got a 198 pro-edition?

    I must say, that the day on the Sanouk is one of the days I remember from this winter as one of the best, if not the best of around 110 days. The fun factor is the most important factor for me when choosing skis. Skiing should be fun. Period. Therefore I will buy a pair of Sanuoks (or other equally liked ski that may appear in the future) to use on powder days when my economy allows me to.
    Last edited by MnO; 08-01-2005 at 01:47 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Banff
    Posts
    22,210
    too lazy to look/ what are the shape/width of the skis?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    In Your Wife
    Posts
    8,291
    193cm long with a swallowtail. 130-110-120 tip-waist-tail.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Le Lavancher pour le weekend
    Posts
    3,337
    Quote Originally Posted by MnO
    Therefore I will buy a pair of Sanuoks (or other equally liked ski that may appear in the future) to use on powder days when my economy allows me to.
    yeah, but welfare-state sponsored socialism of Sweden isn't very conducive to impulsive gear purchases.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    P-tex, CA
    Posts
    8,660
    They rule, buy them....I'm a big guy and too thought they would be a too soft (got them on a deal and pulled the trigger like yourself), but they are such a fun ski, that a detailed review would be a waste of time. Also, they have a decent shape and will carve a nice turn if need be on hard-pack....something that made me pleasantly surprised.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    is everything
    Posts
    1,943
    btw 130 110 120 = identical sidecut to the rossi axiom. except that ski is far from noodly and light.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    427
    An Axiom in a 188cm would have been a contender.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    the wasteland
    Posts
    3,181
    If 666 likes the ski you can be sure the tail is stiff.
    You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    173
    Quote Originally Posted by ulty_guy
    yeah, but welfare-state sponsored socialism of Sweden isn't very conducive to impulsive gear purchases.
    After eight months of skiing, kite and windsurfing and no income what so ever I could really need some "state sponsoring", but so far I haven´t seen any

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    P-tex, CA
    Posts
    8,660
    Quote Originally Posted by runethechamp
    If 666 likes the ski you can be sure the tail is stiff.
    Ummm, actually they are pretty soft all around....fun ski though

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    the wasteland
    Posts
    3,181
    Quote Originally Posted by skier666
    Ummm, actually they are pretty soft all around....fun ski though
    Good thing you cleared that up then since I really don't know anything about that ski
    You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Banff
    Posts
    22,210
    overall sounds a lot like the 195 sal AK team swallow tail, just with less shape and a bit softer ...

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Con College
    Posts
    666
    Lets talk about swallowtails. Anyone swear by them? Ive ridden the Sally AK swallows, and while I really enjoyed the ski, I don't think the swallow does much more than moving your mounting point back a bit. They don't even have edges on em (I don't think) so what, exactly is the benefit? I won't deny they look sweet though.
    You look like I need a drink.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    173
    Quote Originally Posted by mntlion
    overall sounds a lot like the 195 sal AK team swallow tail, just with less shape and a bit softer ...
    I use the AK Swallows, normal Labs, not team edition though as my main allround ski. Both are easy to ski and are targeted at the same type of use (at least in marketing). However the feel is not very equal to the Sanouk. Even if the Salomons are a soft ski, they are way stiffer than the Völkls. The AK:s are more versatile for everyday use. That ski is in my opinion a perfect allround ski in big resorts for skiers who don´t want to put power in every turn they make. AK Labs are reasonably entertaining on hardpack, they carve really good and are still quite fun and turny in powder when compared to other 95mm skis. The swallowtail main purpose is to make the ski 195 and therefore keep your image up, even if all you really ski is a smooth 185 with a plastic add-on

    If compared to Salomon skis, I would say that the feel of the Sanouk is closer to the first pre-spaceframe versions of the AK Rocket, especially the super soft 190cm green AK. The Sanouk is wider and floats better, but still there´s that "float caused by softness"-feel that many loved the original AK for. You can really feel the ski bending when doing turns in the deep stuff.
    Last edited by MnO; 08-02-2005 at 04:33 AM.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Snowmasspen
    Posts
    1,225
    Quote Originally Posted by MnO
    ...the feel of the Sanouk is closer to the first pre-spaceframe versions of the AK Rocket, especially the super soft 190cm green AK. The Sanouk is wider and floats better, but still there´s that "float caused by softness"-feel that many loved the original AK for. You can really feel the ski bending when doing turns in the deep stuff.
    Isn't this what you wanted to hear Mntlion, since you have been on the prowl for 190 Rockets for quite some time.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Banff
    Posts
    22,210
    Fig 11:
    ya but I want a more shape then the sanouk has.

    quest will have to go on, or just sack it up and order capitals or iggys

  22. #22
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    X=Z-BO
    Posts
    3,455
    Quote Originally Posted by runethechamp
    If 666 likes the ski you can be sure the tail is stiff.

    quite the opposite. i got a pair last season, i got about 7 days on them before my injury. cool pow ski, but the tail is super-duper soft. but they do very well at speed. i had them up to about 40-50 in pow and they ripped. i got them set up for touring, and am pretty impressed, but i had to rig my skins to work with the tails.

    edit: as for the swallowtail i foud it made it so you turned like you were on a groomer while rallying the pow. i.e. you can lean waaaay forward.
    Last edited by Zeedashbo; 08-04-2005 at 10:43 AM.
    god created man. winchester and baseball bats made them equal - evel kenievel

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    verbier, milan, isla de pascua
    Posts
    4,806
    I know it's JONGish, but - just in case - the sign on them it's for the middle of the boot or for the tip?

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    248
    middle, jong.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    verbier, milan, isla de pascua
    Posts
    4,806
    Quote Originally Posted by Lok
    middle, jong.
    yeah, much better to get a JONG than to drill them twice... btw, I haven't seen this sign yet... it's just that I made a date with a driller tomorrow

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •