#Detune skis full#

The shape of the Katana 108 is fairly similar to the 11/12 Katana, though the old metal Katana was even less tapered than the Katana 108.Īnd the old Katana was 112 mm wide underfoot, though its tips were actually a bit narrower (at 143 mm) than the Katana 108’s 146mm-wide tips.Ĭompared to the whole market of ~108mm-wide skis, the Katana 108 definitely sits on the more traditional, less tapered end of the spectrum when it comes to shape. And in this section, we’re referring to this 2011–2014 version of the Katana that remained the same during that time period aside from graphics updates before it was discontinued for the 14/15 season. Just to be clear, there were several iterations of the previous / old / metal Katana. So in terms of length, these two skis are exactly apples-to-apples. Compared to that ski, the Katana 108 has significantly wider shovels than the Cochise - if you look at our measured dimensions, the 184 cm Katana 108s tips are almost a centimeter wider than the 184 cm Cochise 106, and that is probably the biggest difference when it comes to shape.Īnd fun fact - the “185” cm Cochise 106 and the “184” cm Katana 108 we measured have the same exact measured length. One ski that we are extremely eager to A/B against the Katana 108 is the new Blizzard Cochise 106. The Katana 108’s tips and tails start tapering a tiny bit earlier, but it’s subtle, and the most noticeable difference is that the Katana 108’s tips taper to a bit more of a point after the widest section of its tips. Both are quite minimal when it comes to tip and tail taper, with the widest points of their tips and tails being very close to the ends of the skis. In short, the Katana 108 looks very much like a wider Volkl Mantra 102 - the shapes and rocker profiles of these two skis are extremely similar. traditional metal-laminate skis, but that offer better turn initiation and a more accessible ride. The end goal is to create skis that are similarly damp and stable vs. The “Titanal Frame” skis also feature carbon fiber sheets at the tips for added strength without adding much more weight. The sheets of titanal over the edges near the tips and tails are thicker, while the separate sheet above the core in the binding area is thinner to keep it from being too stiff.

#Detune skis full#

You can get a very in-depth explanation by listening to episode 4 of our GEAR:30 podcast with a few of Volkl’s engineers, but the very brief version is that the “Titanal Frame” skis feature a wood core that’s sandwiched between a full titanal sheet on the bottom and a partial, segmented titanal sheet on the top. The Katana 108 shares the same “Titanal Frame” construction as many of the skis in Volkl’s All-Mountain Freeride series. Crested Butte, and have updated this post with our full review. We’ve now had several reviewers on the Katana 108 at Mt. So how similar or different is this new Katana 108 from the current “V-Werks” Katana? And how similar or different is Katana 108 from the old (2011–2014) metal Katana that was discontinued back in 2015? And it is now the widest ski in Volkl’s “All-Mountain Freeride” collection.įor 20/21, the Volkl Confession went away, so Volkl’s “All-Mountain Freeride” collection now consists of the Yumi 80, Kendo 82, Yumi 84, Kendo 88 / Kenja 88, Mantra M5 / Secret 92, Mantra 102 / Secret 102, and Katana 108.įor 21/22, the Katana 108 returns unchanged, though Volkl is replacing the M5 Mantra and Secret 92 with the M6 Mantra and Secret 96, respectively. The “V-Werks” Katana came out in 2014-2015 as a much lighter version of the older Katana that many of us loved, and the V-Werks Katana remains in the current Volkl lineup.īut for 20/21, a truly heavy-metal Katana came back. And while there were some changes to it over the years, in some ways, the Katana never went away. The Katana was first introduced for the 2007-2008 ski season.