The Völkl Kendo 88 are aimed at expert skiers who want to push their limits. What we immediately noticed was their stunning construction, the shape effects up front and behind as well as the appearance of the Titanal plate create a very handsome design. Their attractive look already had us under their charm before even putting them on the snow.
The Völkl Kendo 88 glide beautifully on the snow. We thought they’d be difficult to skid turns but not at all, and carving is a breeze.
The rounded tail with a rear rocker makes it easy, they don’t get stuck in a turn. They ski without any pressure points.
The turn is easily executed without any brain-ache, they naturally carve, even leaning forward or aft. You can get away with minor positioning errors except on very compact snow where a slight lack of grip makes you lose your balance, so you need to constantly be vigilant – when the conditions are like this fluidity is lost along with a grip that a real piste ski has.
On soft or groomed snow the Völkl Kendo 88 are really pleasant and you can carve turns with ease.
The huge plus with these skis is the way they can vary the turn radius. You can go from short, medium and wide turns, they are incredibly versatile, in the forest, all-terrain, there’s great possibilities.
On groomed slopes they make a characteristic chatter at the fore of the skis on any snow that has a granulose texture.
We loved the reactivity and precision of these skis
Off-piste the Völkl Kendo 88 lift out of the snow pretty well despite little tip-lift. But the width of the front of the skis keeps them performant. The rest of the width is not that wide – the waist is 88mm, so obviously in deep powder you need some skill.
The Völkl Kendo 88 allow you to lengthen your turns off-piste. So you can enjoy picking up speed and the tips are protected.
The downside: these Völkl Kendo 88 remain quite nervous skis. In choppy snow, crossing mounds, bumps, the skis chatter at the waist even if the front of the skis absorb vibrations quite well.
Off-piste the tail enables you to pivot the skis easily and quickly.
The Völkl Kendo 88 are heavy to carry. Once skiing you no longer feel the weight, because its dispersion is consistent.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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