All Things Volkl Thread

[naedward81]

Thinking about parting ways with my '23 R121 184 I skied a half dozen times last year and have sat this year. Liking the R114 too much.

[robnow]

I did some lazy looking but didn't find anything.

Does anyone have the actual length and mount point on the 184 Revolt 114s?

R114 191 measures 190 with mount point -8.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

Anyone got more feedback on the newest Kendo? I tried the, let's call it the M5 version, and didn't care for it. I wanted to pull me into a turn a little too aggressively and didn't like to make large radius turns. Not the versatility I was looking for. That said, I would like to pick up something in the 80's underfoot and mid 180's long that won't suck off piste.

I've got a lot of days on a pair of '23's in absolutely all conditions except bulletproof but that is a rare thing in BC and I'd avoid it anyway.

I also have a '23 Brahma that I've been on more days but that ski, unlike the Kendo, has not seen deep snow.

I own both as an experiment to see which 88 I'd keep. They are actually more different than similar so I'll likely just keep them both.

I've not skied the M5. I own a first gen M102. The Kendo is a mini 102. Simple as that. I've never felt like the Kendo nor the M102 was pulling me into a turn. But then I've skied mostly Monsters since forever and am well used to the new Brahma so the Kendo (and M102) seem a tad numb on turn initiation.

Oddly, I find the 102 easier to ski slow (meaning bang off little swing turns). I'm a narrow ski guy: I prefer the precision and quickness and I love skiing shit (steep, shitty, icy bumps kinda thing) and I absolutely love railing groomers. The Kendo is a great all mtn ski but I'd take the Brahma for the skiing shit and railing; it's simply ridiculous on edge (even with a 3 side on the Kendo they are in different leagues when it gets firmer but as long as it's soft they are close enough). Where the Kendo is nuts is in deep snow and cut up. No crap, it's so good in deep snow that on a trip I'd just take the Kendo over the 102 if only taking one pair. In truly deep snow the 102 is obviously surfier (for an M102) but the Kendo is shockingly similar. Even though I've not had the Brahma in such deep snow I just cannot believe it would even be close. Camber and very soft shovel vs basically flat with low tip and tail rocker and agreeable firmish even flex tip to tail.

I'm 160lbs on 177 in everything.

The other big dif between the Kendo and the Brahma (for me) was how hard you can drive the shovels of the Kendo. This is not the case with the Brahma. The Brahma skis more neutrally relative to the Kendo. This kind of makes sense as the last half of the shovel + tip of the Brahma is quite soft. Still insane on groomers. Amazing what these companies can do with skis these days, even if they aren't built to last long.

[Beder]

^^^ your praise of the Kendo in powder is eyeopening. I don't think I'll be wasting a powder day on a 88 mm ski but I respect your opinion.
I just had 3 days at Targhee... 6 inch pow day, leftovers, 10 inch pow day. I skied Katanas the first two days then Salomon Blanks the last day. I concluded I just don't need a ski fatter then these two.

I had 3 generations of Brahmas but now own both Kendo and Enforcer 88. I thought I would let go of one or the other, but I really like them both. When rock season starts I'll probably ski the Nordica, if only because it's cheaper to replace.

[FlimFlamvanHam]

^^ I know too well what you mean as my intent was to depart with either the Kendo or the Brahma but the high edge angles the Brahma can accommodate at speed and how good it is in bumps actually has me preferring it over the Kendo which speaks not so much to the ski but rather how much I value those traits. The Brahma is a great bumper for a stiffish 88.

I know this is an outlier opinion, but I found the Kendo so good that if I was picking a true one ski quiver this ski would be it. It's performance off groomed cannot be denied and on anything better than icy groomers it's a ton of fun, so much so that I'd take it over the M102 and, without skiing it, the M6. I don't need either in chunk and deep when the Kendo is as good as it is while being (to me) a better and more versatile technical ski at 88mm.

Also an outlier opinion? But i do wish the 177 measured like everyone else's 177. It's really a 180. But we all know this about Volkl 177's. Just kinda weird is all.

[bry]

Shiros got the call today in SoCal

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[bodywhomper]

My 17 yo loves his shiros

Anybody know the factory edge bevels for m102?

[bry]

I think they are 1 base/2 side

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[Bandit Man]

Shiros got the call today in SoCal

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Shiros in SoCal? That’s a special day!

[bodywhomper]

I think they are 1 base/2 side

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Thx. Mine are slightly edge high

[Djongo Unchained]

I've been dicking around with my bases on the new m102's.

They were def edge high for about 12-18" out front and maybe 8" in the tails. pretty flat underfoot.
Finally got them ground but wasn't overstoked on the work. The machine didn't get em flat all the way to the tip and it had a few flaws in the stone that transferred onto the base. And I asked for a linear spring cut and got a cold powder cut.
Goddammit.

any how I got 1 and 2 on the edges.
So the skis skied more effortlessly before; now they seem laggy and more grabby. My feet are closer together than usual it's weird. Like a 10% narrower stance. I don't like it. Gotta loosen them up. Detuned a little for day one and a bunch more for day two, we'll see.
Sometimes I should just leave well enough alone.

[bodywhomper]

That’s a bummer ^^

Mine aren’t extremely edge high and they may be flat underfoot, too. I’ll have to double check. I may leave them and see how they wear because I don’t think I’ll have time to work on flattening before skiing them (I have skivisions tools). I’d rather get the edges polished and detune the sensitive areas. They’re currently curing by my stove for the night.

[mr_pretzel]

Shiros got the call today in SoCal

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Love it! Are these the go to on the wider end at the moment?

[bry]

Yeah, found them at play it again sports Bozeman, had rarely seen snow.

[bodywhomper]

That’s a bummer ^^

Mine aren’t extremely edge high and they may be flat underfoot, too. I’ll have to double check. I may leave them and see how they wear because I don’t think I’ll have time to work on flattening before skiing them (I have skivisions tools). I’d rather get the edges polished and detune the sensitive areas. They’re currently curing by my stove for the night.

I made time today to prep my m102. Bases were barely edge high to flat. Now fairly flat with structure from my skivisions medium stone. Put a 1:3 base:side bevel. The factory edge tune, especially the side bevel, was really variable. I only detuned a little bit and am unclear how much to detune/dull at the sensitive areas (tip and tail).

[Djongo Unchained]

That snow beneath the shiros looks eminently carveable. Suhweeet.

My tune was not off by much from factory, maybe a mm or less in the shovels of light gap. Noticeable but not bad.
I only had them ground because I like em perfectly flat, which can be a challenge and maybe a machine gives an operator less latitude to press the shovel into the stone.
I was looking for a bit more aggressive grind but as we got cold pow the next day, the pattern wasn't bad.
I'll get em back to perfect soon enough.

[bodywhomper]

The surprise to me was the variability of the side bevel. I took off a fair bit of material on one edge , variable amount on a second, and barely any on the other two. I take care to clean material out from my files after each pass. I deburred the edge before filing. /geeking out.

[Shorty_J]

The surprise to me was the variability of the side bevel. I took off a fair bit of material on one edge , variable amount on a second, and barely any on the other two. I take care to clean material out from my files after each pass. I deburred the edge before filing. /geeking out.

That's actually not surprising to me.

I think the last 4 new pairs of new volkls I bought were a VERY LITTLE edge high in the extremities, but they also didn't have the same bevel angle as under foot. It was obvious this was the case because using my base bevel tool took material off at the extremities but not under foot.

It is almost like the edge has rotated in a bit in those areas... and if that affects the base edge it should also affect the side bevel.

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[swissbro]

I've been dicking around with my bases on the new m102's.

They were def edge high for about 12-18" out front and maybe 8" in the tails. pretty flat underfoot.
Finally got them ground but wasn't overstoked on the work. The machine didn't get em flat all the way to the tip and it had a few flaws in the stone that transferred onto the base. And I asked for a linear spring cut and got a cold powder cut.
Goddammit.

any how I got 1 and 2 on the edges.
So the skis skied more effortlessly before; now they seem laggy and more grabby. My feet are closer together than usual it's weird. Like a 10% narrower stance. I don't like it. Gotta loosen them up. Detuned a little for day one and a bunch more for day two, we'll see.
Sometimes I should just leave well enough alone.

I’ve had a very perplexing situation with my new Kendos. Skied them in low snow conditions in the Canadian Rockies during most of January where they got some rock damage to the edges and the bases. I took them to the main ski shop at Sun Peaks for a complete tune. When I took them out for their first run they were as close to being unskiable as anything I’ve ever skied. When I checked them with my true bar I found they were edge high the entire length of both skis. I took them to another shop to getting them reworked. They came back flat, but they still weren’t the skis I had been skiing and liked for weeks. They were impossible to drift on firm and the tails grabbed. Ended up having tuned again at a shop where I’ve been taking my skis for years to see if the technician could resolve the problem. No luck. Seems like they’re warped?? 1/2 bevel same as I have on my other five pair of Volkls. Thinking I would send them to Volkl to see if they have any insight. Not looking for them to spring for another pair. Thoughts?


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[Beder]

I’ve had a very perplexing situation with my new Kendos. Skied them in low snow conditions in the Canadian Rockies during most of January where they got some rock damage to the edges and the bases. I took them to the main ski shop at Sun Peaks for a complete tune. When I took them out for their first run they were as close to being unskiable as anything I’ve ever skied. When I checked them with my true bar I found they were edge high the entire length of both skis. I took them to another shop to getting them reworked. They came back flat, but they still weren’t the skis I had been skiing and liked for weeks. They were impossible to drift on firm and the tails grabbed. Ended up having tuned again at a shop where I’ve been taking my skis for years to see if the technician could resolve the problem. No luck. Seems like they’re warped?? 1/2 bevel same as I have on my other five pair of Volkls. Thinking I would send them to Volkl to see if they have any insight. Not looking for them to spring for another pair. Thoughts?


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I have had similar experiences several times. I now mount, tune and wax my own skis, but there are times when a ski needs a base grind. And when then happens you never know what the fuck you're gonna get back.

My Volkl M102 was the center piece of my quiver. Loved that ski. Took it to Chile last summer where it met enough rocks to warrant a full tune afterwards. Not the same ski anymore, and I live in a ski town full of "expert" tuners. Somebody else now owns that ski.

As far as your Kendos, I would have immediately taken them back to the original shop and let them try to fix the problem first. In my experience a good shop will cooperate. Those guys know bad tunes leave the shop sometimes.

[bamboocoreONLY]

still have one 184cm and one 177cm revolt 114 in the shop that we could cut a mag price for!

[turnfarmer]

Has anyone seen/skied the Revolt 96s. Kind of intrigued by them. Are they modeled on the 114 or the121/104, ie more all mountain or more freestyle ish?

[SnakeMagnet]

114 is the black sheep, the 95 is a narrow 104. Close to center with softer ends, more like a fat bash for lighter park rats than an all mountain freeride ski.

[Cork7 Belly Flop]

My 17 yo loves his shiros

Anybody know the factory edge bevels for m102?

The "stated" factory settings on the website's FAQ are 1.4 base/2.4 side.

[bodywhomper]

Y’all talking about tunes, you can do a lot on your own. Alpinoid, owner of slidewright, sells a lot of different options for doing edge work. Plus he sells the skivisions base tool along with his own inventions that fit to the skivisions tool.