Volkl chopsticks?

J

-james-

Member
what do u guys think? im 6feet 1" aggressive wanna pow ski to play round with. id get 185. but not so keen on the symetricness?
 
as mentioned, theyre pretty stiff. but because of that they ball through anything! pow, groomers, bumpy slush... they murder it
the symmetrical dimensions are a little interesting for sure. sometimes i hafta work a little hard in the pow. the tail is huge so you need to work a little hard leaning back, but its worth it
 
from what ive heard, they arent even that stiff, slightly stiffer than the hellbents.

that being said i havnt skied them myself, but have heard both good and bad things. from what ive gathered, all the bad comments are from skiers who are way to small to be on these skis to begin with. As long as you are a strong skier and have some weight behind you, you will be fine. the symmetrical sidecut and flex(i think?) might take some getting used too, but their elongated rocker design is supposed to be great.
i was thinkin about getting a pair next year when i go west bound, id reccomend checking out the on3p caylor, they seem similar, on paper at least.
 
They are sweet to drop stuff of, and very stable. Pretty fun to spin on, but a bit heavy. Overall though, they are an awesome ski. But maybe check out skis like the JJ, Bentchetler, ARG, ect just for comparisson. I think that the different sidecut on them makes for a really quick and responsive ski, especially in the pow.
 
i would say they are pretty significantly stiffer than the bent, but they are certainly not as stiff as the rest of the volkl line. i have had them since they first came out and are one of my favorite pow skis. you are right if you are a smaller kid, or just don't ski very aggressively you will likely think they are too stiff. however, if you are the guy that likes to ski crud, and ski it aggressively this is the ski for you.

these are by far the best ski i have ever been on for skiing switch. the symettrical flex along with the elp rocker is incredibly predictable, holds an edge very well, and is really fun.

as far as the caylor, they are quite similar, i have skied those as well. the caylor definitely has significantly more rocker, so they might be a bit better in those really deep days or the west coast cement we get, which is why i picked up a pair. they will be quite a bit more poppy than the chopstick as well due to the bamboo. also since the caylor isn't symmetrical it will float like a boat.

overall, both skis will rip, but are for slightly different people.
 
i like mine, i am 5'6'' and 130lbs and i have no problem controlling mine. i also think mine are quite soft i can get back on the tips and ski nicely in powder, by far one of the best pow skis ive ever owned. hope that helps.
 
From what you've heard, your dead wrong. I owned a pair, and I currently ride EPs. and they are literally the ends of the spectrum. You can't get softer than EPs in the pow jib arena, and likewise, you cannot get stiffer than the chopsticks in the pow jib arena.

They are very stiff, they are completely reverse camber (awful on hardpack), and they are sooo ready to charge anything. You will break before they do.
 
i think what you think as being awful on hardpack was that they don't carve tight turns. but that is just due to the sidecut that makes them so great for charging on. the ep is fun on groomers since it is a 15.5m, but it blows in chop because they are so hooky. but yeah opposite ends of the spectrum for sure. but i think the volkl style rocker is money in any kind of condition it just depends on the sidecut. for instance the gotama with the same rocker kills it on groomers since it has a 22m or thereabouts radius. so obviously the chopstick isn't meant to lay down gs arcs, but it will feel steady on groomed since you have the whole edge in contact. also, you pretty much can't carve them under about 25-30mph cuz you can't really lay into a 35m radius until you have some speed built up or you will just fall into the hill.

but yeah i agree with you, different strokes for different folks. i dont jib or spin, so i like a chopstick whereas the kid that likes to do it all and ski park and stuff will like an ep.
 
I love my Chopsticks, I'm kind of bigger (6'2", 185) and they are perfect for pow days, never skied a ski which is so easy to ski switch in powder. They can be a bit of a struggle on groomers, especially when I'm getting a bit tired. As for stiffness, they are way stiffer than hellbents and EPs, still feel pretty playful if you are strong enough though.
 
The reason they suck on hard snow (IMO) is that they transmit every single bump and jostle straight up to your skull. Camber works a little to absorb bumps and light chatter. but with a stiff, wide, completely reverse camber ski, the bumps are almost amplified, and not very fun. But Chopsticks are not meant for hard snow, so it doesn't really matter much yeah?
 
yep, they sure arent meant for hard snow. but yeah i guess i didn't have the same experience on them, but your info great for this guy to get everyones opinion. i felt like it slightly reduced the chattery feeling since it has time to gradually compress down the bumps, but that is me. but honestly it has been a while since i skied them so i could be wrong and i just dont remember what they felt like.

anyway, thanks for sharing your opinion on those without starting a yelling match, it is much appreciated.

 
okay, yeah i guess i kinda missed that point after two posts even haha. yeah, i completely agree they are kinda sketch on true "hard pack" as you pointed out. the pivoty feeling they have that makes them great in crud and soft snow makes you feel like you are going to die on hard pack and ice they just slip and slide around.
 
Yeah, I think the exciting part though, is on a good groomer, if you do not engage the edges at exactly the same angle, one will always turn much quicker, because of the HUGE shovel. So you look like a newb.
 
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