2015 Volkl Mantra Review (Video)
The 2015 Volkl Mantra came as a surprise, reinventing one of the most popular all mountain skis in the industry - but its a rebuild in-line with Volkl's design philosophy - and after extensive testing - we think a really great ski for the right skier.
The old Volkl Mantra, 98 underfoot, cambered, with tip rocker and a stiff flex, was a Tahoe go-to for hard charging skiers who wanted a do-it-all ski for the various conditions we get out west. The stiff flex, especially in the tail, made it less accessible to some skiers though.
Enter the 2015 Mantra - Volkl upped the waist width to 100 mm and flipped it to full rocker, what they call ELP (extended low profile) tip to tail, much like the Gotama or the RTM series. It keeps metal laminate construction and a fairly stiff flex (though less so than previous generations).
Fully rockered skis are polarizing among skiers, as within the Start Haus ski testing crew. Phil, a strong proponent of cambered skis, really liked the new Mantra, but as a primarily soft snow, off-piste biased ski - saying it performed akin to wider powder specific skis at a big dump in Arapahoe Basin. Credit to the nearly unsinkable rocker profile that surfs in soft snow, making effortless drifting turns.
Greyson skied them at a demo day at Sugar Bowl in wet, heavy crud, and picked them as his favorite for the day, impressed with their blend of stability and power through crud while also turning on a dime in the trees. Whether skipping over cut up bumps or twisting through trees in search of untouched patches, these skis really amazed.
While the rocker is a natural in powder with great float, and is super pivoty in crud and in the trees, the groomer and firm snow performance is the big question for the ski's shape. Luckily, Volkl has been fine-tuning the ELP rocker in groomer specific skis, the Volkl RTM 81, and does a great job of matching the sidecut of the ski to the rocker profile, so once you get it on edge, you get full contact and it carves well. Leave your bases flat, and they don't feel as stable in straight-line speed as a cambered ski, but not to the degree some testers feared.
All in, our testers felt that the new design is more versatile and more accessible to a wider range of skiers than the previous model. In the highly competitive 95-100 mm underfoot all mountain ski category, this ski perhaps fits best for an advanced to expert skier who spends as much time off-piste as possible, seeking out powder stashes, gullies, crud, and fun terrain features rather than running hot laps down corduroy.
The 2015 Volkl Mantra is available here:
