Volkl Mantra Alpine Ski

We awakened to about six inches of new fluff and it was still snowing hard when we loaded the chair. We made our first run down Crazy Horse, me on my Rossi Z 9s, and all we realized the conditions demanded fatter skis. At the base area, we trooped in and selected demo skis. I chose a pair of 177 Volkl Mantras and we headed back up asap. We opted for a blue cruiser - Calamity Jane - as a warm up. My God what a fantastic ski: smooth, supple, excellent flotation, quick to answer skier input. I deliberately skied behind my friends, cutting across their wakes. Smooth as silk. No spooky change in speed, no hooky tips when snow consistency changed. After Calamity Jane, we headed for the ungroomed, steeper slopes, off piste. We hooted and hollored all day, and I really put those Mantras through their paces in just about every condition the day offered and they responded beautifully. We skied down a blue groomer in the afternoon and they held as well on the "harder" surface as I am accustomed to experiencing with my Z -9s. Truly, the Mantra can do it all.

It is hard to believe that only a few years ago a ski this width would be considered fat, now by western standards at least, this is a mid fat, all mountain ski. In the big winter that was 2008 in Utah, I skied these a ton. I put a Duke on them, so used them for moderate length tours, but also skied them many days in resort. This is a great ski for an area like Park City, or even Stowe - they work in such a wide variety of conditions. However, when it gets really deep you want something fatter (think Katana or Gotama). What is nice is you can throw this ski on if you don't really know where you are gonna ski, or with who. If you end up on groomers, they can hold their own, but if you get pulled into crud, powder or a little sidecountry, you still have the right tool for the job. They get squirrely if you ask them to perform on steep, icy, hard snow. There, they feel a little like an old straight slalom ski, somewhat skiddy - but to be fair that is not what Volkl had in mind when they designed this ski. The term "one ski quiver" is an overused cliche, but appropriate for the Mantra.

Agree the 08 (gold) Mantras are "Like fat GS skis". I ski a lot of bumps and trees, and venture off piste as long as the conditions make it worth while. Well, last year with these skis there was a lot more "worth while" than ever before (and a lot of OB terrain too :). For years I've preferred longer lengths and at +175lbs I started out buying a 184cm pair. This was after demoing an 07 (red) 177cm pair that skied very short (likely a bad mounting position with the crappy rental bindings attached). So off I went on the 184s, but whoa they liked to run scarey fast, too fast through the woods and too straight in the bumps. Luckily I was able to go swap these for a new pair of 177cm (gold again) and skied hard for the last 3 months of the season on them. I can't say how much improved the 177cm was for my style... aggressive, turny, ski everywhere. I would rate these at 100% everywhere except icy conditions (icy goomers or bumps) when only a race ski would help. I'm a bit older now, but still manage to yoyo bump runs and yes... most of the time make it look easy. Spent the other 50% of the time in the trees snapping twigs and LOL all the while having a superb time. Having skied a bizillion pair of demos, no way would I say these are heavy. Rather, look at the bindings you mount and judge accordingly. I had mounted a pair of very light and low Salomon STH 12 bindings, which worked great. Wouldn't think of using a BC binding in the bumps, that would be crazy. Having skied Colorado for the last umpteen years, I'm use to the light snow we had there. I'm now up in the NW area - pass at Schwietzer this year, so we'll see how these work in slightly wetter conditions. In Colorado, I did find the 08 Mantras slightly narrow and slightly too stiff for soft pow. This was true for both the 184 and 177cm. Wishing for a pair of Gotamas for that extra float. However, the Gotamas are a longer turning ski (and ultra fat) which I don't like in the trees and bumps.

I have the '08 model in 176cm. (I'm 5'8" and 145lbs) I love them. I also love my GS skis. Hopefully if you're looking at these skis you're primarily an off-piste skier, because that's what these are really for. They're very stiff, so they're not a dedicated powder board, but when conditions start getting weird, these skis are there for me. The stiffness gives the mountain a very smooth feel because they'll blast through a lot of crud and stay on top of powder and slush. They're pretty damp and I haven't found a speed limit for them yet except on refrozen crud and mank. They still work on that stuff - it's just not as much fun. I also find them to be very nimble, although the next size up was a bit much for me if I went in the rocks and trees. I really love the width because I think that's a big part of the stability of these skis. I'm landing much bigger airs with them than I would choose to do on my previous skis (K2 Public Enemies.) If I had to ski only one ski for a whole season, it would be these. There are two things about these skis that I don't like. One is moguls. They're a big, heavy ski and while I can navigate them through a mogul field and even do pretty even, consistent turns, they're a lot of work. I've seen people on Mantras making moguls look easy, so it's definitely doable. You'd just better be really good. The other is that I had trouble staying on top of the super-light powder in Colorado (I usually ski Tahoe.) I definitely still had more fun with it than I would have had with any other ski I've owned and probably more fun than with some powder skis I've tried, but if I put a Duke on this ski at some point, it's going on 1cm back of the factory line.

I have last year's Mantras (184's) mounted with Bomber Bishop tele bindings and completely love this set-up. Float well through the pow but rail on the groomers and stable at high-speed.

There are threads about the binding position being forward on the Mantra (see TGR forums). Not sure if that's good or bad. I mounted mine on the factory mark. My 184 Mantras did feel short at first compared to my 183 Scott Missions (me: 6'2", 180lbs. Bindings Sal Z12 on both pair of skis). The 184 Mantras have a 22m radius and my 183 Scott Missions have a 15.5m radius and a more rear binding mount. So the Mantras initiate more easily but don't try to turn across the hill like my Scotts do. So they're more mild mannered in the turn, but running flat on firm the Mantras swim (that's w/ the factory tune). The Mantras also pound through crud better than the Scotts which got deflected more so I feel more confident on the Mantras and will let them run more. -1 star for the swimming--my Scotts don't do that. Both skis ride the hardpack well, maybe less chatter from the Mantra. The Mantra is lighter than the Mission (actually made by Fischer).

The ski that mhc142418687 mentions is probably the Aura, which is actually 94 under foot, and is the same as the older Mantra from 2 years ago, a red ski . The Aura is, as mentioned a great higher performance women's ski. The newer Mantra is 96 under foot. black this year, white last year, and a great ski for more off-road than on road. Wouldn't want to see this ski on front side use only. Wood core, vertical side walls, basically no speed limit, but firmer tail, so if you are looking for a casual ride in soft snow, then probably not for you, look to the Coomba from K2. softer, 102 under foot. And don't transfer an "old" binding from something in you closet. The newer bindings do work better with the wider skis. As mentioned, the Duke, if you want to climb, or the Jester if you don't want to climb, are good light choices, but remember, the raised toe height will feel different. Or go with the newer Sal. Z12 or Sth(14 or16) , wider AFT, great boot/binding/ski purchase. And lastly, not that this web site will like it, but buy locally!! Most shops do discount at the rack now, so support them and they will be around for you to touch the new toys of tomorrow.

I have the women's version of these skis, which are identical to the men's but adjusted for height and weight differences. As a former racer who loves to rip 14" powder lines after a 45 minute hike up Aspen Highlands, I'm pretty demanding of my skis. These are the ONLY skis I've had that can both float AND carve, and are the ski I ride most in my quiv of race skis and fat boys. If you're looking for a burley, versitile, fun, and fast ski, slap a pair of Dukes or Jesters on these and let 'em rip. :)