Note: the ski I tested, pictured above, is the 05/06 version of this ski.
As some of you may know (oh, who am I kidding, you don’t know, so I’ll tell you), I had knee surgery this year. Getting back to skiing has been a little rough. I wasn’t even particularly enjoying skiing this year. I was able to ski the groomers just fine but let’s face it, groomers are boring as hell. I was resigned to a ho-hum season when I got the chance to try these babies.
Immediately I was transformed from the shadow of my former schussing self into a happy ski sprite, zooming down the slopes on these versatile, powerful, FAST skis from Volkl. These are marketed as more of a powder ski, and let me tell you, they do deliver in the pow pow. They have that fun diving-porpoise movement and they sing through the powder like angels on high. That’s one of my more nonsensical metaphors, but I’m so transported by these skis that I can’t make sense anymore.
One of the most pleasant surprises of these light (5-ish lbs) planks is that they still cut through the chop like butter. They’re flexible and light but the tips are somehow firm enough to hold their ground against the death cookies (been a while since you heard that term, eh? Hey, I never said I was a spring chicken). The only conditions that gave me trouble were hardpack/near-ice. The Queens are a little too flexible to grip the ice well, but who cares, who wants to ski on ice anyway? Surprisingly nimble for being fatties, the Queens are even enjoyable in the bumps and are versatile enough to hold any type of turn on the (ick) groomers. They are incredible in the powder but truly are an all-mountain ski. Added bonus – they’re nice and light, perfect for climbing.
Extra big points to Volkl for making a women’s ski with such cool graphics, too. A women’s ski that’s black, red and gold – now that is awesome. Volkl’s going to have a hard time shaking me off their bandwagon now, and everyone’s a winner.
