Any thoughts on the Voile V8?

[bourbonisgood]

Was fondling the V8 in a shop last weekend and am intrigued by it for touring purposes. Nice and light for sure and the price seems right. Search of the forums turned up very little. Google search gave me only wildsnow.com reviews. Can anybody share first hand experiences with this ski? Too soft?

[jamesp]

I think its a new ski for this year which is probably why you can't find reviews. I have some Drifters (circa 2010) which I like, super light & fat, great pow touring skis.

[GeezerSteve]

I got a pair of 186cm V8s, mounted Dynafits on them, yet to be skied. Profile/sidecut similar to S7 but way lighter of course. Reviews so far are glowing.

Re stiffness, they seem pretty stiff torsionally, as most Voile skis are.

[iamchappy]

I sprung for a pair of 186's last night based on the limited reviews, now looking for a binding for them, thinking of the Dynafit Speed Radicals but am considering a Din 12 model but am unsure if i should concern myself over the higher Din
These will be my dedicated BC touring ski this year

[jamesp]

well I like brakes & the placebo of the higher DIN so if it were me I'd put Radicals on them. Voile skiis are usually so light that IMO there isn't any real penalty in a slightly heavier binding, unless of course you are a weight weeny nerd...

[bourbonisgood]

Glad to see others are buying this ski. I'm 99% sure these will be my touring ski this year in a 186cm

[sfotex]

Got a pair of 176's I haven;t mounted up yet, going to go the speed radical route I think.

[Stringbender]

I just picked up a pair of these in 186, and mounted FT 12's on 'em. I too have skied on 192 Drifters, and I plan to use the V8's as my primary touring sticks this year. The drifters ski amazing, but are a bit cumbersome for skinning for me (I'm 5'9"). From all accounts, the V8's sound like they are just as fun to ski as the drifters, and they'll be more manageable in most places.

[iamchappy]

My skis have shipped, were did you guys mount them, boot sole center or other, what is the factory recommendation.

[bourbonisgood]

My skis have shipped, were did you guys mount them, boot sole center or other, what is the factory recommendation.

I was just about to ask the same question. Big Steve or String?

[TheDon]

I think they look awesome. Nice hand flex, great shape, I'll bet its a charger.

[Stringbender]

I picked mine up at Second Ascent. I spoke to two different guys there who said they put some time on the V8's last year. One said he recommended mounting at +1, the other said on the line. When asking them further, it seems that the ski responds well to either mount location, depending if you want them to pivot slightly easier, or prefer more tip. I called Voile, and they confirmed what the guys in the shop said. Since I tend to like a more traditional mount, I went on the line.

[Stringbender]

If it helps, I mounted my Drifters on the line and love them there. I found the fore/aft balance point to have a huge sweet spot, and the skis are stable in a variety of turn shapes. In soft snow, they respond to short turn radii surprisingly well for such a large ski. I tend to think that Voile has pretty much everything dialed with their skis. Rather than putting out a slew of models like most manufacturers, I think they do a great job of designing a few models really, really well.

[Orangutan Grabber]

Picked up a pair of these too. Coming off the 193 Drifters - which I loved; in hopes of dropping a few pounds without a diet change.
Boot center on Voile rec. mount line looks really far forward to me. Has anyone tried skiing these 2cm back? Spoke to some folks at Voile -- they cautioned about going to far back as the ski gets very squirrel-ly.

Any insights? B-Steve - why 4cm forward? Did you size up in length?
Thanks.

[Stringbender]

At first look, it appears to be a more forward mount than on the Drifters, but the V8 has a longer and more pronounced tail rocker.

When comparing the V8's to my 11/12 186 Billy Goats, which have a shape that is in the same ballpark, the mount point looks fairly comparable with respect to the sidecut and rocker profile.

In further comparing the V8's to my 11/12 BG's, they have a fair amount more camber than the BG's, seem to be a wee-bit softer in the tips, and have slightly more side-cut than the BG's. The tips on the V8's aren't tapered as much either.

From the way it looks, the V8's will probably feel more responsive on hardpack than the BG's, will probably be a dream in pow, and will likely be tossed around by crud and mank a bit more than the BG's.

I'm still blown away by the weight of the V8's, though. They look to be incredibly capable skis next to my Billy Goats while weighing almost 3 lbs per pair less! I'm looking forward to skiing them.

[powder fiend]

I had a really hard time deciding between the chargers and the V8s. The radius of the V8 seemed way too tight for me though. Interesting to hear the mount point is forward on them, it's way back on my chargers. I mounted them +2.5 and they look about right.

[12bmucker]

Would the V8 be an okay one-ski quiver choice for the Sierras 80% of the time and the San Juan mountains 20%? I am 6’ and 210 lbs and want a ski that is easy to ski in the trees, powder, and spring corn. Will be mounted with FT 12s and using Vulcan boots. Last year I skied the Volkl Nunataqs for my touring set-up and loved them but I am giving them to my dad and want to try something new.
I have also considered putting sollyfit plates on my GPOs. If I did this I would probably buy a second lighter/ narrower pair of skis for longer tours. I have not mounted or skied the GPOs yet but I was going to put alpine bindings on them first to test them out.
If the V8 sound like a bad option I will probably look at getting the annex 108, soul 7, scout, or kabookie for touring.

[skialpy]

Anyone know if any Seattle area shops have these for demo?

[iamchappy]

I mounted mine on the boot center line with the Dynafit Radical FT's.

[bourbonisgood]

Anyone know if any Seattle area shops have these for demo?

Probably not helpful to you, but these will be on demo this Saturday at Lookout Pass, ID.

My V8s should be here tomorrow. Plan to mount on the line with Radicals.

[skinipenem]

Comparing mounting lines of the V8 to the Charger is apples vs. oranges. The ski to which the V8 should be compared is the Rossi S7, which very obviously inspired the V8. (Voile has pretty much admitted that, no?). The V8 center line might look forward at first glance, but if you look at its position on the sidecut arc and running surface it's where I'd expect it to be.

I have Chargers (BC), mounted on the line with my One PX/+4mm with TLT5s. 23m radius, very different ski than the V8. I see no reason to move that mount forward. Skis great where it is.

How would you compare how the V8 skis with the S7? Any tip fold deceleration?

[GeezerSteve]

I've never skied the S7, although I've skied lots of days with my 2 buds on them. Not sure what you mean by "tip fold deceleration." My buds rip on their S7s. FWIW, the V8 seems to have a bit more camber underfoot, and Voile skis are torsionally quite stiff. OTOH, they are lightweight, and there's always a DH performance price to pay for less weight. Planning to get out on 'em 2 or 3 times in the next 5 days.

[CaliBrit]

How do the chargers and V8 compare? I guess the V8 has more tail rocker.

[nfroehler]

I've had the S7 for a couple years and love them! I just got the V8s for my wife. When you put them side by side they are quite similar. The difference that I can see is the tip on the S7 curves up a little higher and longer (better float?) and the tips on the S7 look a little more tappered (less hook in crust?). The other big difference is for touring the tips on the tails on the S7s are more pronounced, along with a long tail in general these make kick turns friggin' impossible! Not sure what tip fold deceleration means, but the S7s sure do chatter at high speed on hardpack (not that that's what I got em for!). I've got some pics as well, but I'm not too computer savy...

[GeezerSteve]

How do the chargers and V8 compare? I guess the V8 has more tail rocker.

I have lots of days on Charger (BCs) and only 3 on V8s, but my initial impression is that the V8 is much more turny, which one would expect with the tighter radius and shorter running length. I would also expect the V8 to have a lower speed limit. (I did not find the speed limit for the Charger; I had brain surgery/right vestibular removed in January, so I didn't exceed 35mph or so last season.) I'll know more after this weekend.