Year to year Gotama differences? Best and worst years?

[zo]

08/09 "Identica"l to 08, uglier graphics, ETA apparently vertical sidewalls


THIRD GENERATION: (rockered round half-twin 137-106-122)

09/10

In addition to the vertical sidewalls, more importantly, the '09 model now features "Tuff Box" technology which to me seems pretty similar to K2's old "Triaxial Braiding." It's basically a weaved fiber glass sock that wraps the ski's core and is designed to solve the problem of bindings (especially tele) ripping out of the skis...

[murph]

Guy at the local shop said he skied a bunch of next year's stuff at a demo day, and the Goat was far and away the best ski he rode.

[Speedfreak]

The next question is where will the 2010 version fit in? I found a French vid introducing it and my weaksauce interpretation is that it will have a slightly rockered tip that is quite stiff, an intermediate flex under foot and a soft tail. The rocker looked pretty subtle in the vid. It sounds like they're making it lighter as well. Dimm 137-106-122mm. The vid also seemed to push the Duke and Jester(?) as the bindings to mount on it.

Been on them already. They're rockered, stiff, and $$$$. Might be the best yet IMHO.

[Skidog]

Been on them already. They're rockered, stiff, and $$$$. Might be the best yet IMHO.

Personally, and I havent been on them yet, but I think rocker is going to ruin this line....Gotama has always been a flat camber all arounder. Putting rocker in it is a bad idea IMHO.

Save that for another ski in the lineup. Leave what works ALONE!!! Even with all the rocker skis out there I still see more of the gotama in its original form on the mtn..

[Arty50]

I can speak in detail about the first three years, after that's it's only anecdotal

03/04: The best pure pow version of any of the years. Mainly due to the softer tip and tail. Remember, when this came out it was FAT. Now it's just an everyday ski. The Gotamas have gotten slightly stiffer each and every year since. Bases were bomber from what I remember, probably the best of the first 3 years. Unfortunately, this ski was plagued by sidewall cracks. The topsheets chipped easily too, but it wasn't a problem for me.

04/05: A handful of changes: double thick edges, double thick base (inner layer was black w/ graphics with a clear outter layer), titanal strips along the topsheet edges for topsheet protection. The titanal strips stiffened the ski up a bit and made it a great all arounder. It still skied pow beautifully, but went from being a decent groomer ski to railing like mad. I wasn't a fan of the double thick base. The material they used was pretty soft, so there was a lot of material you had to go through to core shot the ski but it was easy to go through the material. Volkl had lower incidences of cracked sidewalls that year, but it still happened. I craked both of my skis and the cracks were more than cosmetic. They bowed out the topsheet and bases. Not good.

05/06: My favorite year of the first three. Normal edges and a decent normal thickness base. Bases were ok (btw everyone should copy Volant); they took a decent beating without getting hammered too easily. Best of all, they finally went to a normal sidewall. I put a shitload of days on these and pretty much cried when I broke them last year. They were done at that point anyway, but damn they were fun. Some people say they stiffened them up from year 2, but I'm not too sure about that. They skied fairly similarly.

Here's where I don't know a lot...

06/07: They added a bit more sidecut and stiffened it up a bit.
07/08: Possibly slighly stiffer than previous year.
08/09: Slightly stiffer yet? Sounds like they went with a vertical sidewall
09/10: Everyone I know who's seen these is drooling over them. I've even heard of a couple of people who've skied them and pretty much will beg, borrow, and steal to get a pair. From all accounts, they nailed the design and it's an amazing ride. "Best ski ever" is starting to get tossed around.

[tgo9898]

the gold 08/09 has my vote. most durable of the three different generations ive had. i had the first year got which was fun snappy ski. the top sheet on that ski was crap. then i had the 05/06 black with white letters. outstandind ski. even worse topsheet. sent that ski back . the sent me the gold 08/09 and they are my favorite. way more durable than the others. a little more of a damp feel. thats where the 05s skied better. i would still give the nod to the 08/09.

[powderface]

I'm not sure what the whole hype is over Volant. I've seriously thrashed a pair of Spatulas after a half dozen days. Nothing special.

[BaconMan]

I own the 08 (Gold) skis and tried the 2010 ski today. Fundamentally different skis. I still love my skis, but the new model with rocker is an excellent ski. Like previous Goats, it skis short (perhaps due to rocker); it's really stable and very responsive. I skied it in 4-5" of fresh pow, some crud later on and a groomer. Very adaptable to the conditions. Not sure that I'd be talking "best ski ever" though. Not sure I would say that about any ski. However, the 2010 Gotama will be a hit, I think.

[Arty50]

I'm not sure what the whole hype is over Volant. I've seriously thrashed a pair of Spatulas after a half dozen days. Nothing special.

I and everyone else I know have had a very different experience. When you ski at Kirkwood enough you get used to hammering skis. It's just the name of the game. The volcanic rock there is plentiful and extremely brutal on base material. I've hit shit on my Spatulas that would have left massive core shots in any other ski and walked away with only a scratch. I've only managed to core shot them once and it was a very small core shot. Volant used to have the most durable bases in the business.

But hey, what the fuck do I know. I don't really ski, I just like to spray about it on the internet.

[murph]

Personally, and I havent been on them yet, but I think rocker is going to ruin this line....Gotama has always been a flat camber all arounder. Putting rocker in it is a bad idea IMHO.

Save that for another ski in the lineup. Leave what works ALONE!!! Even with all the rocker skis out there I still see more of the gotama in its original form on the mtn..

That's why I got the 08/09. If I wanted it rockered, I would have bought Obsethed.

[Skidog]

That's why I got the 08/09. If I wanted it rockered, I would have bought Obsethed.

wow thank you...finally another voice of reason.

Im SURE the next model "gotama" with rocker for 2010 will be GREAT, but it ain't a Gotama...

I agree with another poster who stated the first version with wood sidewalls was the best pow ski they ever made..sooo soft in the tip..im sad i just sold mine..

Matte blacks were the best all arounders. I do have to differ on the gold bases being the strongest. I skied with my matte blacks and my buddy on golds...same terrain, right behind each other most times. his bases look like he skied them only on rocks, mine...i small core and the rest superficial scratches. Bases on the original were truly bomber.

[hafilax]

It looks to me like almost every ski maker is putting rocker into their powder oriented skis for next year.

[Speedfreak]

Personally, and I havent been on them yet, but I think rocker is going to ruin this line....Gotama has always been a flat camber all arounder. Putting rocker in it is a bad idea IMHO.

Save that for another ski in the lineup. Leave what works ALONE!!! Even with all the rocker skis out there I still see more of the gotama in its original form on the mtn..

I thought so too -- til I got them out on the hill.

[Skidog]

I thought so too -- til I got them out on the hill.

I just think they shouldve left the "Gotama" alone and either made a new ski or put the rocker into something else in their line. I dont doubt for a second that they ski great, but it aint a gotama...

[mountain_man]

I've got the 07/08 and love them, no gripes with durability. They hook up well on groomers, stiff enough to charge crud and variable and ski pow very admirably.
The 05/06 would probably be the pic if you were looking for the most powder oriented model, less sidecut then the newer models and softer flex.

[Orthoski]

Personally, and I havent been on them yet, but I think rocker is going to ruin this line....Gotama has always been a flat camber all arounder. Putting rocker in it is a bad idea IMHO.

Save that for another ski in the lineup. Leave what works ALONE!!! Even with all the rocker skis out there I still see more of the gotama in its original form on the mtn..

Agreed. I have the Gold Goats as my daily ski and love the fact that I can ski them on any condition, including hardpack.

[sixstringski]

I'm so far on my third pair of Goats this season so I personally believe that they are bad luck.
06-07's I loved untill some asshat stole them.
07-08's Stiffer, once I got used to them I loved them too. Until I forcibly tore the binding from it mid-turn de-laming almost the entire underfoot area of the topsheet and mangling the core in the process. I've subsequently read that the gold ones had serious quality control problems, and have since joined something of a local club of skiers who have blow up this ski
04-05's Went to borrow a pair from a buddy untill I can scrape some cash together for Bros. All he had, more Goats. These are softer than the previous two I've had, and I'm really not loving them.

My $.02

[Bird Blaster]

I find that the 08/09 ski has the worst top sheets. They seem to chip very easily. Even the tips and tails are full of them...bases are solid though

I picked up some 190 07/08 Gold's which are used, and they look brand new compared to my current gotama...

[thommy21]

Had 06-07's and I'd say the bases were pretty thin and not as durable as my 07-08's. However the topsheets are bad on both from a chipping standpoint. Love how they ski though.

I'll need to demo the 09-10. I think I could live with some tip rocker but wonder why they needed to throw in tail rocker. Wonder just how soft the tail is? Are they being flexed at the tail/rocker area or further up?

[Ardissono]

So I was playing with a pair of the 09-10s at a shop the other day and they seem to have a pretty continuous rocker with maybe a flat spot under the mid-sole, but no positive camber at all. Anyone know how much edge they're holding on harpack?

[kellywy]

So I was playing with a pair of the 09-10s at a shop the other day and they seem to have a pretty continuous rocker with maybe a flat spot under the mid-sole, but no positive camber at all. Anyone know how much edge they're holding on harpack?

If it is semi soft you can carve the shit out of the hardpack on the 2010's. In the ice the rounded tail versions do better. I think the older square tails are the worst on the hardpack. Next years Goat just mold to the terrain in front of it. On edge the entire edge is in contact with the snow and it is not hard to rail. The new goats float better than all of the old ones. They just plain out. You can baciscally do no wrong on the 2010. They rip.

There are multiple posts about "If I wanted rocker I would have bought the Obsethed." Totally different ski. I loved the old Seth Vicious but do not like the Obsethed. It is to soft and you just get bounced around in the crud. The new Goat kills the crud, is really easy to turn in an instant (best tree ski I have been on), and still does great on the groomers. I am sold, Volkl killed it with this design.

[BSS]

I have 04/05 190's with hundreds of days on them which are absolutely hammered with core shots and multiple base patches, blown (repaired) sidewall, dull, thin edges, and delaminating topsheet. And they're still one of the best skiing pair of sticks I've ever owned.

[Tech Tonics]

i have a pair of 03/04 with maybe close to 200 days. Compressed edges, cracked sidewalls, numerous base welds, delams, zero camber left at all. still ski fun as shit

i have (had) a pair of golden (07?) with about 40 days. Skied better than the older ones by a ton...amazing ski, super stable and damp. But i can't keep a tele binding from pulling out of it.

I'm so stoked i can't believe it, but Volkl is replacing my goldens with a pair of next years rockered 09/10. BONER TOWN. They're not free and I do have to pay, but I can say that Volkl's Warranty and Custotomer Servie KICKS FUCKING ASS.

[saukit]

Anyone know if the turn radius on the 2010s is the same as previous years?

[Kied]

Been on the 09/10s for about three weeks now and can say that it's my favorite to date. Agreed that it may not be as terrific when you hit ice as previous generations, but still holds and carves a mean turn when you need it. It is however, waaay better in the crud and deeper snow. It fills the gap better between a Mantra and a Katana - perfect for those inbetween days. It's quickly becoming my favorite ski in the quiver, able to handle most every condition well. Just have to get used to lots of questions in the lift line about the low profile tips... they almost resemble DH boards, due to the early rise. I was concerned that Volkl was making a mistake by not making this an entirely new ski and keeping a more traditional Goat, but as already mentioned, the thing rips. Sizing is way better (at least for me). They always measured short in the past, a 183 felt short, 190 often felt long. The 186 seems like the perfect size, manuverable and stable. I don't think that there's another ski in the quiver that I'd feel more confident in grabbing if I was going somewhere and didn't know what conditions were going to be like.