Short Review: Volkl V-Werks Katana
After a bunch of searching for a big boy touring ski, I settled on the 191 V-Werks Katana. I mounted these up with some Salomon MTNs. I was initially going to go with TLT Superlite 2.0s. But, while I have used that binding to pretty good effect, I have some friends that have broken the heel pieces. So, I decided to take the 100gm hit per ski and mount up the old reliable MTNs. I went with Pomoca Free Pro 2.0s in size L. They are barely long enough to clip the back of the ski at their max length. They leave a lot of uncovered base, but so far this doesn’t seem to effect much. Also holy shit they are light. Hoping they hold up..
I’m using Tecnica Zero G Pros on these skis.
So far I’ve skied these skis 4 days in the Tetons, on a variety of snow and terrain types in GTNP.
Uphill: These aren’t the lightest skis. They add more than a pound per foot compared to some of my other skis. While I normally enjoy going as fast as possible up the skin track, it’s more of a slow down and enjoy the walk type of affair with these sticks. I think this is the absolute upper weight limit of what I’m willing to tolerate on the up. The ultralight skins are probably helping both in terms of glide, and weight..
I’m now tempted to try the SL 2.0s on these..
The down: I was worried these skis might feel dead. I’ve felt this with some older Mantras I’ve skied. I thought they might be too much in the tight tree egresses we have in the Tetons.
They are definitely not dead feeling. And, while they’re definitely not super playful at low speeds, they’re plenty pivoty, and manageable in tight spaces for me.
That said, oh my god do these skis want to shred. They are constantly encouraging you to ski faster and make fewer turns. They slay crud and chop. On the few small airs/drops I’ve taken them on, they absolutely stomp the landings. These skis make you want to do bad things. They make me forget I’m not at the resort.
Skied these on boot-top pow and float was great. I think they’ll be excellent in deeper snow. They surfed and slarved as much as I wanted. More playful and fun than I expected, esp at speed.
In windslab and suncrust they were more than manageable. Never hooky. I think after I detune the still pretty sharp tips/tails, they should get even better.
On steeper slopes with firm snow, edgehold was great.
I don’t think this would be a great ski for a novice. But I wouldn’t call them hard to ski, either. The 191 length doesn’t seem quite 191. It is definitely longer than my 186s, maybe 189?
I’m contemplating putting inserts in these for the MTNs and some Warden MNCs, and using them at the resort/ a quiver of one traveling ski/boot combo.
TLDR: V-Werks Katanas fucking send. They are just light enough for a recovering weight weenie like me. If you can get a good deal and are looking for a big touring ski that trucks, or a 50/50 resort/touring ski, this could be the one.
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Short Review: Volkl V-Werks Katana
Love my 184s, and getting more accustomed to them inbounds and pushing more. Soooo dreamy in bottomless. Mounted with G3 LT12s and using with Vulcans. I find them really easy to turn in tight trees. I do think I need to mess with the edge angles as they are hooky at speed in heavier pow. Next/dream setup would be with Voyagers and ZGTPs.
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Short Review: Volkl V-Werks Katana
Quote:
Originally Posted by
smooth operator
Ha, it is about time there was a Vwerks praise thread!
Not a meadow skipper. A great big mountain touring ski. I used to live in the Alps, where it was amazing. I feel a slightly softer or more nimble ski wouldn't be out of place. But for a technically solid skier that likes to ski the fall line, it is hard to beat.
Oh, and mount em forward a cm or two. The mount point is ridiculously far back.
So I’m (5’8”, 175lb) a lifelong skier and pretty solid technique, but never raced, definitely “powerful” is not how’d anyone would describe my style. Anyway, this has been my only fat ski (up till just getting BMT 122s, which are obv sitting out until mon frer High Pressure moves out), and I’ve found it to be incredibly easy to turn in tight trees coming out at the bottom and have done plenty of meadow skipping and am so happy on them. I keep telling people they (184s) can handle like a 177 at low speeds. *and* stable at speed (but definitely not a metal ski). Actually moved them from +1 to on the line when I moved from Kingpins to Ion LTs. I’m also now a convert to full rocker in deeper pow, so flowy in deep/bottomless.
Anyway, we can totally agree these are fantastic to ski and I don’t know how I’m going to afford a new pair. Ski gods smiled on me when I purchased them online as a used demo then a shop snafu resulted in me receiving these freshly new w/ kingpins for $950.
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