Tom’s Volkls

Tom dropped off a pair of used Völkl tourers and some new Rossi Soul 7s. Naturally that invites comparisons between the two. I’m a fan of Völkls – never seen a pair I wouldn’t be happy to own – but the Soul 7s are gorgeous and like most men I’m a sucker for a pretty face.

So let’s cut to the chase and start scoring.

Flatness – both sets spot on. 1 point each.

Base abuse – Völkls definitely have the edge here as Tom has battered them to death.

Nothing that can’t be fixed but some attention required, including that wee spot where we’re down to the steel.

So we’ll call that Völkls 1, Rossis 0

Edges. Tricky. Let’s start with the Rossis. Brand new, so like a lot of skis they have a shabby grinder job on the edges:

Now I understand that if you’re competing against “race to the bottom” Decathlon skis you need to cut a few corners, but Rossi have pretty much stopped European production for all but their very top skis so they’re paying someone in China or Vietnam  a dollar a day to chuck the skis through the grinder, so perhaps they could go crazy and teach that guy to change the wheels when they’re worn out? You can actually see not just the striations on the edge but the bumps right on the very edge. Run your thumb down the very edge and it goes “zizz”.  It can be fixed – here is the same edge after a bit of TLC:

Sadly the Völkls were a bit rubbish as well, with lumpy grinder marks but also one edge on each ski sitting at about two degrees and the other sitting at about three degrees. Not only does this waste my time but I have to decide where to leave them for the client. In this case three degrees won, despite the Völkl standard being 2 degrees. Less steel was sacrificed getting to 3.

So the score for edges is -2 for both skis.

Weight: Völkls are bigger in all dimensions but weigh less so 2 points.

Waxing was a doddle for both with their lovely flat bases, and it’s hard to tell new from old once they’re finished:

Völkl left, Rossi right

So the winner is definitely Tom for having these great skis in his quiver. I’d take the Völkls if pushed.