Voile V6 BC (fishscale version)

[Gladeskier]

Ok this is my first review so here goes:
Ski: 2015-16 Voile V6 BC (fishscale kicker) 183cm
Binding: Rotteffela NTN Freedom
Boot: Scarpa TX Pro
Me: 6'2", 185#, 59 yrs old, Skiing for 45 yrs, Tele 20 yrs
All skiing in Colorado in all types of conditions and terrain.
I am not in the ski industry.

I skied these skis inbounds several days just to get a lot of runs on them. I was amazed how well they float, carve, and even rail groomers. They also handle stiff broken crud very well. Could be one of the best bump skis I have ever been on. However, I am not a great bump skier and only tolerate them in relatively soft conditions. Ice bumps - no thanks.

One day we we're yo-yoing peaks above and below treeline with sleds. We had the fortune of about 14" of fresh on top of a pretty soft early March base. I brought these V6's and also brought my V8's set up with Dynafit Radicals just in case the V6's might be too narrow for the conditions. Well I don't particularly like my heels clamped down and I only skied one run with those. The V6's totally amazed me how well they floated and handled in the pow. They are really lightweight and turn super smoothly. The slightly narrow tail pops the soft tips up just enough where I could see them 90% of the time.

Two weekends ago I skied Winter Park in 11" of fresh spring powder on Saturday and then got another foot Sunday. I had these and my Dynastar Cham HM 97's in the truck and chose the V6 over the Chams. They are only 3mm wider underfoot but the straight stiff tail on the Chams sunk just a little too much so it was V6 for most of the weekend. Again, I could see my tips most of the time but when I couldn't, whatever was going on down under there was pure magic.

FISHSCALE COMMENTS: OK, here is where you need to understand the benefits and trade-offs of the scales. I have toured 10 miles or so on these skis and have had them in hard frozen snow, 2' of trail breaking powder and most everything between.

You can climb 25-30 degrees depending on the texture and temperature of the snow. In moist fresh snow they grip much better. Cold hard trails, they don't stick as well. The weight savings of no skins is very noticeable and appreciated. I adjusted my technique slightly to sort of stomp my feet to lock in a grip when it started getting slippery. Normally with skins I would lift my feet only a minimal amount to save energy.

These are not intended to be an in-bounds ski but I gotta say I enjoy scampering around with the scales and finding little short climbs to grab some untracked where no one goes. The downside is they slow you down on flat runouts and catwalks. Another downside is you get out of synch with others in your BC tour party as to when everyone puts on skins. If you come to a short downhill, they may keep theirs on and kick n glide down while you ski down and wait. Then when its getting too steep for the scales, you have to skin up and they already have theirs on so they wait (maybe). I just bought my wife a pair so at least we will be in synch. She loves how they ski as well.

I have to assume that the regular V6 (non-BC version) would be a fantastic all-round ski for anyone that wants to ski in and out of bounds as long as you're not a 200+ lb hard charger dude. Especially great ski for tele.

[MikeK]

Thanks for the review!

I'm impressed you say that they will climb 25-30 degree slopes! WOW!

I think the best any of my scaled skis can manage is 15 degrees without adding some herringbone, might get a couple more using the edge like that.

And like you say, this is all in ideal snow - cold, sugary snow or icy refrozen breakable crusts can decrease that by a few degrees, or for some scales, make them virtually useless.

[twopass]

I have to assume that the regular V6 (non-BC version) would be a fantastic all-round ski for anyone that wants to ski in and out of bounds as long as you're not a 200+ lb hard charger dude. Especially great ski for tele.

Damn! Describes me exactly......and what I was going to use the non-BC version for.
Actually had a pair of these on hold but got talked out of them by those dudes on that other forum.
Thanks for great review and affirmation.

[voilenerd]

I wonder how the V6 would compare to the Hypervector or Ultravector BC?

[Woodserson]

I wonder how the V6 would compare to the Hypervector or Ultravector BC?

V6 is a bit softer, a bit wider. I think you need both. Official answer

[lilcliffy]

I have compared these two skis- the Vector/Ultravector and the V6 many times- and also discussed them with Voile directly- I would highly recommend that conversation as they know these skis!!

The V6 is a powder ski- though a bit more versatile than the wider, floatier V8- the V6 remains a powder ski all the same with more tip rocker, more tail rocker and less sidecut (more width underfoot) than the Vector/Ultravector- it is also described as having a "round flex". Despite being wider and having less sidecut the V6 has a shorter turn radius than the Vector/Ultravector. All of this clearly indicates that the V6 has a much shorter effective edge than the vectors and would probably be a bit miserable on hardpack/groomed snow (at least I wouldn't like it). The V6 is designed for float, early-tip rise, and smeary more evenly-weighted powder turns. As far as stiffness- don't know- the V6 could easily be as stiff or even stiffer than the vectors- remember its already reverse-flexed because of all that tip and tail rocker!

The Ultravectors are described as having the longest effective edge of their skis, and as such are the "best" of the fleet on "firm snow"- described as a lightweight and effortless "all-mountain" ski. It sounds like Voile softened up the Ultravector (from the Vector) and gave it more sidecut- this would make it easier to turn (and probably easier to make an equally-weighted telemark turn on hardpack?)

Hey Woods- perhaps you are not the only one who had some trouble with the Vector on less than ideal snow- I would be very interested in your personal comparison between the Vector and Ultravector! (I have really only put the old Vector BC through its paces once and that was in ideal snow conditions...)

The Ultravector is clearly a more versatile ski than the V6- especially for skiers that typically ski on dense, moisture-rich snow. I think that Voile realized the Vector was a little too hard-charging! (I think they figured this out with the Charger/Supercharger first, then moved on to the Vector/Ultravector...) Voile is also clearly deeply committed to Telemark skiing- I suspect that being able to Telemark effectively is a major driver of ski design and testing for them. I am sure that the Vector was just fine with Alpine technique- I am thinking that it was Telemark skiing that greatly influenced the evolution of the Ultravector.

The V6 and V8 are tried, tested and true. I imagine designing a ski for a specific snow condition (e.g. deep powder snow) is much less complex than designing a highly-versatile ski for variable snow conditions. It makes sense to me that the "Vector" is evolving much faster than the V6.

I know which one I would buy for mountain skiing in the Northeast- the Ultravector. I don't think we get enough cold, dry powder snow for me to able to justify the V6- at least not to begin with!!

Ahhh- I dream of a return to trips to the mountains...For now, I need to be content with being at home with my young family and my dreamy tours in the hills!

[voilenerd]

Thanks for the information. I still cant get over how well my HyperVectors do on all conditions. Kick & Glide performance is decent for such a wide ski, turns are super easy on hardpack and deep snow, just all around a fun ski. What surprised me the most was the climbing performance of the scales & weight. I am able to climb some pretty steep pitches without ever thinking about putting skins on. I have not even put my skins on the hypervectors yet. Once spring rolls around I might need to reach for my skins.

I feel the Hypervectors are best on unknown terrain.

[Holzinger]

Thanks for the reviews. Have an older Vector BC and would love to have the V6 BC. A ski buddy has the non-BC version and skis them wonderfully, how much difference is there between the two versions?

[Tom M]

I've have one full season skiing the Hyper V6 BC / Switchback X2 / Scarpa T2 boots under my belt and I give the skis two thumbs up. They are the best backcountry downhill skis I have ever owned for skiing in the Rockies of Northwest Wyoming. I haven't skied the regular V6's. The only downside to the Hyper V6's is that Voile will not warrant the ski when mounted with a tele binding. I will keep a close eye on mine this season for signs of failure. I'm skiing the 173 cm length and the difference in weight between the Hyper V6 and the Regular V6 is 0.45 kg (about a pound). Gladeskier is spot on describing timing issues when skiing in a group with others who do not have a grip base. My AT friends have grip envy if we have to negotiate a small up on the way down, and I have glide envy on the nearly flats on the way back to the car. That being said, I won't go back to a "non grip" based ski, and I just recently learned that two of my AT skier friends have purchased BC versions of Voile skis for this season, after skiing with me last year. Here is a youtube video of me skiing my Hyper V6's skis in perfect spring conditions last May.

[Kayakdude]

Tom, awesome video. Can you please tell us why you chose the 173 instead of the net size up? To maybe ask the same question another way, what is your height/weight, that the 173 works for you? Thanks.