Volkl

Gotama Ski

Peanut butter and chocolate. Beer and pretzels. White and rice. Some things are too good to mess with. Add the Volkl Gotama Ski to the list. The same all-mountain/big-mountain ski as last year but updated with a hot new graphic so you can ride the Gotama until the snow melts or the cows come home, whichever happens first.

The full rocker profile complements the 107mm waist on the Gotama—a big-mountain ski needs extra girth to carry you through thigh-deep powder with the greatest of ease. The elevated tip and tail adds a bit of facility to your flotation, reducing the chances of tip-induced nosedives. Despite being wider underfoot than Volkl's all-mountain skis, the Gotama has a tight turning radius so you can handle the hardpack with the same grace as you do off-piste powder.

The Gotama is essentially the Volkl Bridge ski, but with big-mountain dimensions and a mountain-range-sized attitude. The core is a combination of ash underfoot, and popular-beech laminate finishes off the length of the ski. Then, much like presents on your birthday, the entire core is wrapped in a fiberglass sheath, and topped off with carbon-fiber stringers. The core-sidewall construction combo gives you control without feeling sluggish, snow-snapping pop without feeling like a boy-band pop song, and a grip on the snow stronger than most people have on reality.