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gear reviews

Gear reviews | Völkl 90Eight

All-purpose weapon for freeriders and ski tourers

by Baschi Bender 03/17/2017
"A true all-rounder with unique 3D.Ridge technology for the best stability and liveliness on and off the slopes." This is how the 90EIGHT is described by Völkl and I tested the ski for precisely these characteristics (all-round suitability on and off-piste).

Tester and test conditions

I have the ski in 1.84 m length. As the name suggests, it has 98mm under the binding. The Marker Kingpin binding is fitted. I weigh 80kg myself and am 1.89m tall.

As I work as an outdoor photographer, I see my skis as work equipment. I was therefore able to test the 90EIGHT in all conditions. Whether on a piste shoot, on powder days, on ski tours with over 1500m or in steep gullies at La Grave - with the 90EIGHT you are always well positioned.

Test report

Völkl describes the 3D.RIDGE technology as follows: "It has since become the trademark of VÖLKL lightweight construction. Characteristic is the raised center bar, which flattens out to the maximum in front of and behind the binding towards the edge. This reduces the swing mass around the pivot point to a minimum and significantly increases the agility of the ski. At the same time, the center bar allows the hardness curve to be precisely designed, resulting in a particularly harmonious flex curve for the ski. Despite the weight saving, the 3D.RIDGE construction has no negative impact on load-bearing capacity and durability whatsoever."

I can agree with this statement! The homogeneous flex in combination with its weight makes the 90Eight a real all-rounder. You can rely 100% on the edge in steep terrain. The edge of the 90Eight is supported from front to back by an ABS sidewall. This also underlines its stability. As there was no shortage of rock contact this winter, I also made a few holes in the base, but the 90EIGHT coped well with this too, without any serious damage to the core or sidewall.

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In powder, the rockered nose comes in handy, which makes it float quite well despite its "only" 98mm under the binding and is very comfortable to ride.

I had problems in rough conditions. It happens that the nose starts to bite into the turn. This means it grabs and pulls you into the turn, even if you don't want to go there... But maybe that's also down to my riding style. I'm used to a wide freeride ski simply ironing everything away and that's not the case here.

Ratio of ascent and descent
The trend is towards very light skis, which makes sense for touring in particular. If I have a ratio of 6 hours ascent and 30 minutes descent, then you should consider whether it makes sense to lug a heavy, thick pole up the mountain.

In my opinion, the 90EIGHT is a very good compromise. I can easily run a ski tour over 1500 m and still have enough power for the descent afterwards. Conversely, on the descent I have the feeling that I have a real ski on my feet and not a light toothpick that doesn't run smoothly.

Conclusion

The 90EIGHT impresses in almost all areas. If you're looking for a real workhorse for every day, this is certainly a good choice.

At Völkel, it is marketed as a freeride ski. In combination with the Kingpin binding, I would also describe it as a freetourer. The ski has tip & tail rocker, which makes it very agile in the terrain. Thanks to its long edge and classic camber (except in the tip and tail), it can also be skied very well on the piste. In general, it is more suited to making big, fast turns.

And as you know: "There are no bad skis, only bad skiers"

Advantages & disadvantages

+Super all-rounder
+Tempostable
+Robust
-Not too much float in fresh snow

Details

Price: 599,95 €
Terrain: 90% off-piste, 70% on-piste
Core: Multi Layer Woodcore
Technology: 3D.RIDGE
Full Sidewall
Carbon Stringer
Moderate Taper
Directional
Base: P-Tex 2100
Rocker: Tip & Tail Rocker
Length Radius Sidecut
163 15.9 133_98_116
170 17.9 133_98_116
177 20.1 133_98_116
184 22.3 133_98_116

Visit the Völkl website for more information. Here you can buy the ski at our partner store Bergzeit.de.

This product was provided to PowderGuide by the manufacturer free of charge for testing. You can find out how we tested it in our test statement.

Photo gallery

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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