Trying to deside between the new volkl gotama and the soloman shoguns, the gotama has metal in it and the shogun doesnt. Which one is lighter, quicker edge to edge & better in pow ? I want a ski that does it all to add to my quiver. Ive tried the shoguns and loved them, I just havent skied the new gotamas yet.

I was in the same boat last year looking to replace my cambered goats. I demoed both twice, day 1 hardpack day 2 6" of fresh. The gotama is better in pow and is easy to pivot thru bumps and trees but the full reverse camber just doesn't seem right for an every day ski. Both are very stable and the shogun has more pop and liveliness. More camber in the shogun felt better for the groomers and stability in crud. They both like long turns and prefer higher speed. Another ski to consider is the liberty helix which I wasn't able to demo late in the season. I tried the 178 gotama and bought 182 shoguns. Both were the right length for me 5'9" & 170.

If you ski out west the Gotama would be an excellent choice, I also would look into the Salomon Czar as well.

I would say the shogun is better on groomers and is lighter weight. while i do love the gotama, the shogun really is a better all mountain ski. The shogun has a nice feel on groomers but the gotoma has gotten more pow oriented over the years. I'd check out the sidstash for another option. Remember generally, the further you move away from 100mm the ski tends to not perform as well on hardpack. The shogun is better edge to edge, lighter weight but which is better in pow? that can be debatable. You really cant go wrong with either ski but the shogun tends to be more fun and rail better on the packed.