Touring backcountry skis
Product 2021
Woman, Man
This Völkl Rise High 88 touring ski hits everything right on the mark and wins the Test4outside FIRST award. It is in keeping with the rest of the Völkl range that is particularly well conceived this year. In fact, this Rise High was created and designed by skiers. What do does that mean exactly? That some touring skis on the market are unworthy in terms of skiability. Making a light ski doesn’t have to mean “unskiable”, all the more so with a backpack and tired legs. Designing touring skis is a profession, its primary basis is skiability in difficult snow. We see too many products from, especially “historic” hiking brands that use their image and aren’t worth any real interest in real off-piste conditions. Let’s move on and return to these excellent Völkl Rise High 88.
It’s a very light ski weighing only 1120g and in this touring category the Völkl Rise High 88 offers almost the same skiability of a ski that is usually 500g heavier, that has a more elaborate structure and is less exclusive. With this Völkl you therefore benefit from less weight but without losing any quality in its handling. It has exceptional skiing quality on messy terrain that frankly isn’t easy to handle, such as old powder, snowpacks, bumps. Its natural characteristics include stability, ease, control, flat handling, pivoting, and even steering on the edge.
OK the Völkl Rise High 88 is very responsive but without becoming unstable, especially at the tip. On poorly designed skis made with carbon the tip bounces back immediately, so the skier needs to stay calm and not add effects by fidgeting, which translates into instability and also the skier gets tired. With the Völkl Rise High 88, this isn’t the case at all.
Off-piste they were very fun to ski. Because they are so light underfoot you don’t get tired, even if they are lively: the ground’s irregularities aren’t transmitted too much, on the contrary, as soon as you go through snow which pummels you, they pivot like a dream, they are easy to pilot, the tip enters and exits. On rock hard snow, the grip is good and a pertinent carving radius.
The Völkl Rise High 88 radius may not be very changeable, but pivot and at that moment you can change its radius a little. However, you can lengthen the turns as much as you want. They are interesting to handle and been described as great on soft snow, playful, able to go from edge-to-edge quickly, they turn the entire curve from entry to exit without any problem.
On steep slopes, the Völkl Rise High 88 requires a little more focus, you have to exert more flexion, and push it forward. If the ground is uneven and as the tip is used a lot in this configuration (steep slope), it tends to stall a little and come back too quickly, stall and come back, but if the ground is regular it rides very well.
In skidding turns when you need to control in the steep part the stability when balance returns (end of the turn, jumped turn) is excellent.
Going uphill they are superb, you get everything you would expect from a touring ski with wonderful and appreciable lightness.
With such lightweight skis you need suitably adapted boots, not too soft and not too stiff because otherwise the pressure is transmitted too suddenly and the ski distorts too much.
This FIRST Award is well deserved for this Völkl Rise High 88. It is the most skiable and most productive with regards to qualities in its category and on all terrains, it’s aimed at. It satisfies a very wide range of skiers: from newbie ski tourers to advanced and technical ski tourers. Absoultely superb. Unmissable.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
Receive your answers by mail. Do you have a particular question concerning the design, use, durability or other about a tested product? We will answer your question personally.
