Volkl Confession

[waxoff]

When i hand fiddled them, they definitely seemed light. I thought they were stiffer than annex 118s, but significantly lighter. The volkl seems like it would have better edge hold too..

Stiffer at the tips than the Annex 118 for sure, not under foot though. I agree on edge hold. Atleast they have a longer active edge...

[waxoff]

Neither, he didn't mention pounds. 4.7 kilograms, or 4700 grams per pair.

Thanks for clarifying! Being Yurpian I go metric by default...

[waxoff]

I'm really interested in these as well. On a 193 Shiro right now so assume I'd get the 193 Confession. But if it's way burlier or stiffer maybe the 186 is the ticket. I'm 6ft and 175lbs. I wanted to hear some more comparisons or reviews first.

I haven't been on the Shiros so can't really say for sure, but given the Shiro's profile I would expect them to be more pivoty/slarvy. I would prolly have preferred a bit more tail splay on the Confessions but hopefully Volkl has solved that by dialling the tail flex. I'm 5ft 10 190lbs and felt being somewhat in between lengths. They don't feel burly when fiddeling them though.

Out of curiosity and for my own reference a couple of years ago I started weighing down skis that passed my way by loading them with a 10.0kg water bucket at boot center, supported on each side at a fixed distance from BC, and measure the deflection.Yes, gear nerd, I confess...

However, the 2014 Bodacious deflected 7mm in that test, the Annexes just under 7, whereas the Confessions are deflecting 8 mm. So yes, they are a tad softer under foot.

What that will lead to in the real world I don't know. Also, I do realise that it's just one small factor of a bigger picture. Time will tell.

[milkman]

Thx for the extra info. Sounds like the 193 would work. I basically just ski at Whistler so prefer a bigger ski for the wide open bowls. I'm also considering a 189 Billy Goat. Might just boil down to what ski I can get a better deal on.

[ScrewYou]

If your are going to pay retail, give your money to On3p

However the BG and Confession seem pretty different in the way theyd ski

[waxoff]

Adding pics


Mounted at -10.5 for 305 BSL


Unloaded


Decambered

[ScrewYou]

Great looking ski

[2FUNKY]

Agreed^. Would love to demo a pair. Great rocker lines and taper sections.

[waxoff]

Regardless, sounds like a great ski. I was hoping the mount point would have been more like -6 to -8 cm from TC though.

I've been eyeing my pair at -10.5 for a few days now and haven't been all happy with what I've seen. Couldn't help thinking they looked mounted too far aft given the deep tail rocker when decambered. So tonight I gave them an extra set of holes for a -8.5 mount.

The new look really calmed my senses! Some time on and in snow will prove me wrong or right.

[undertow2]

I've been eyeing my pair at -10.5 for a few days now and haven't been all happy with what I've seen. Couldn't help thinking they looked mounted too far aft given the deep tail rocker when decambered. So tonight I gave them an extra set of holes for a -8.5 mount.

The new look really calmed my senses! Some time on and in snow will prove me wrong or right.

Are you saying you drilled a second set of holes without skiing it first...? If you did hope you love them as you just shot any decent resale value... I will never get changing mount without ever skiing it...

If I misread your post than my apologies and I will move on...! AND from the pics you threw up the mount looks money...!

[stuckathuntermtn]

That's an amazing looking camber/rocker profile.
WTF is with Volkl not using it on their skinnier skis?
Also, that -10 doesn't look too far back at all.
I feel like 117mm waist is probably too big to use most days around Missoula (Montana Snowbowl).

[waxoff]

Are you saying you drilled a second set of holes without skiing it first...? If you did hope you love them as you just shot any decent resale value... I will never get changing mount without ever skiing it...

If I misread your post than my apologies and I will move on...! AND from the pics you threw up the mount looks money...!

Yep, guilty!

You know, even if I would've loved them with the binders in the first position I would probably had redrilled them anyway sooner or later just to find out how it would change their personality. I do that out of curiosity with most of my skis.

I also play with different bindings sometimes. For example, swapping toes between Sth2 wtr's and Warden mnc's yields a 3 mm change in delta, which also contributes to interesting alterations in ski response and feedback. It's entertaining and it builds my learning curve.

I'm not too worried about resale value...

[2FUNKY]

From a traditional skiers perspective, the -10.5 mount looks money. Agree with undertow, why not just ski them then adjust the mount? Strange.

[Lindahl]

Pretty money looking. Camber profile looks like a Cochise.

[smooth operator]

Looks like a great ski, and having it heard described as the love child of a katana and shiro makes me want one, even more now that I've seen the rocker profile.

[rob stokes]

Hand fucked some the other day, feels softer than I was imagining, nice though.

[Kirkwood]

Good looking ski. I flexed them at my local shop. My daily drivers are a pair of 2014 metal Katana's and my powder skis are Shiro's. The flex of the confession felt in between the Katana and Shiro.

On paper, the Confession (144-117-133) is a wide waste Katana (143-112-132). Do I sell my Shiro and buy the Confession?

[ScrewYou]

Buy the confession, but keep the shiro..

[galibier_numero_un]

... Volkl website is totally off regarding specs. Weight is 4.7 kg for my pair, i.e. about 2350 grams each. Sidecut is also off, my calculus yields about a 30 m radius on the 193's.

I assume you derived a circle on CAD software from 3 points (tip, waist and tail)?

Is this a dependable way of arriving at this? I assume that it is, for a ski without a "tricky" (compound) sidecut. Just curious ...

Thanks,
Thom

[SiSt]

I assume you derived a circle on CAD software from 3 points (tip, waist and tail)?

Is this a dependable way of arriving at this? I assume that it is, for a ski without a "tricky" (compound) sidecut. Just curious ...

Thanks,
Thom

It's hard to determine where the sidecut ends without a precise instrument for measuring these things. Tapered tip/tail complicates everything.

Compound sidecuts too, but the average (radius) tells you quite a lot anyway.

There's always physicsman's spreadsheet that uses the Lind and Sanders formula for calculation, but that lacks a field for tapered sections, so you'll have to use a shorter total length to compensate.

[waxoff]

I assume you derived a circle on CAD software from 3 points (tip, waist and tail)?

Is this a dependable way of arriving at this? I assume that it is, for a ski without a "tricky" (compound) sidecut. Just curious ...

Thanks,
Thom

There are a couple of ways to do this without cad. But if one suspect that there is a compound sidecut, an average radius is more or less what you can figure out. Unless you have the skis at hand and very precise measuring equipment.

There is a formula on FIS's website (gear section) which they use to calculate regulation compliancy. You can play with that and make sure to only evaluate sections of the ski with sidecut, before any transition to taper (like RES for instance) just as SiSt said.

Also, if you know your ways in the world of geometry, you can calculate the (average) radius based on a section of a circle by using the increase of the ski's width over a given length. Same as above, make sure to only use a section with sidecut.

[galibier_numero_un]

Thanks! It makes sense that the FIS would have easy to use info for spot field checks.

Thinking about this (compound curves) it makes sense that you'd go after the average. Of course, this raises the question (FIS rules notwithstanding) that we'd be interested in how the ski turns, or alternatively how you'd engage a ski to use the different radii. That's a whole 'nuther topic of conversation ... not trying to derail this.

Trigonometry ? It's been far too many years ;-)

Cheers,
Thom

[milkman]

So anyone else with any time on these have a review? From what I've heard the 193 isn't super demanding. Due to deals I can get, it's now down to the Confession or the Bodacious for a soft snow daily driver at Whistler...

[sf]

Check out the FriFlyt reviews. According to them 195cm, 2330g, 27m in the front, 35m underfoot and 31m in the back

[waxoff]

Check out the FriFlyt reviews. According to them 195cm, 2330g, 27m in the front, 35m underfoot and 31m in the back

Well, those numbers back my findings pretty well I'd say. Of course that depends on the lengths of each section, but all in all they shouldn't be too far off a 30 m average.