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Gear reviews | Völkl Confession

Big Mountain Skis from Völkl

by Alexander Braschel • 02/02/2018
Alex Braschel
Völkl Confession
With the Confession, Völkl has been offering a real big mountain ski since the 16/17 season. 117mm under the binding, a titanium strap and a stiff shovel make the Confession a casual high-speed toy. You can read about how the ski performs in detail here.

Testers and test conditions

Ski tests are often a very subjective matter. Some prefer to play in the forest with fat, soft twin tips, others prefer to shred down long slopes with stiff, long boards and still others prefer to wag around on sunny 30° slopes with their narrower touring skis. So there will never be one ski that satisfies all skiers. So let me tell you a little about myself and my preferences:

I'm 185 tall and weigh around 80 kilos. At the moment, I prefer to ski on wide, steeper slopes where you can accelerate a bit on long turns. In bad weather, however, I like to turn off into the forest. That's why I really liked the Confession from the description alone: sporty and smooth-running.

The ski was tested in 186cm length with the Marker Duke, as I wanted to leave the option of tackling shorter hikes with the skins open.

The test conditions ranged from the finest powder to wind slush and firn. In total, I have skied the ski on around 20 days so far.

Ski details

The Confession is currently available in 3 lengths: 179, 186 (tested) and 193 centimetres. The sidecut is the same for all lengths at 144-117-133 and the weight is 2150, 2250 and 2350 grams, with a radius of 21.2, 23.8 and 26.5 meters respectively. Tip and tail rocker and a subtle camber are included. In terms of design, the ski is relatively simple: black with yellow/white letters.

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Alex Braschel
Völkl Confession
Alex Braschel
Völkl Confession

For the next generation, the Confession is also available in a junior version with 100mm under the binding in lengths of 143, 153 and 163 cm.

Test report

First impression
The first day with the Confession was a classic bad weather powder day with treeruns and some wind-packed snow. Narrow treeruns are not the preferred terrain for this ski, but with a little effort and a clean technique, they are quite doable. What I immediately noticed in this context: the ski needs speed. If you want to cruise comfortably through the forest with the Confession, you're definitely in the wrong place. If you step on the gas, you can conjure up tighter turns in the snow with less effort, but I wouldn't describe the ski as playful.

Good visibility and wide slopes
A few bad weather days in the forest passed, then it came, the first long-awaited Bluebird powder day. I was finally able to ski at higher speeds and with longer radii. This is where the Confession reveals its true potential. Thanks to the wide tip (144mm), you have a pleasant float and can push the ski forward well without having to worry about sinking the tip. The Titanal used in combination with the carbon band provides an amazingly smooth ride, which in no way makes these boards sluggish. Even in choppy conditions or in packed snow, the ski remains calm and does exactly what it is supposed to do. The stiffness and smoothness are noticeable in the weight, but I didn't find this to be a problem.

In terms of feel, the Confession skis like a giant slalom ski on a hard piste in powder. Calm and powerful but still something to watch out for.

Of course, the ski is not made for the piste, although it is also pleasant to ski on the edge in soft conditions. And you can also have real fun on soft firn with the Confession.

Manuela Handl
Alex Braschel

On the ascent
Even though the Confession is a downhill-oriented model, I wanted to leave myself the option of making short ascents with skins. The choice of binding therefore fell on the Marker Duke. Of course, you have a lot of weight on your legs when walking, but this is not a problem for shorter tours. This setup is not really suitable for classic touring.

Conclusion

The Völkl Confession requires strength in the legs, solid technique and a stiff boot. If you have all this, you will have a really good time with this ski.

The downhill performance on fast runs leaves nothing to be desired, only on tight treeruns can the ski not develop its full potential.

Would I buy the ski again? Definitely, but then in the 193cm length!

Advantages & disadvantages

+ Stable on high-speed turns and drops

+ Good performance even in rough terrain

+ Smooth running

- A little sluggish at low speeds

Details

RRP: € 799,-
Shape: 144/117/113
Lengths(cm)/Radius(m)/Weight(g): 179/21.2/2150; 186/23.8/2250; 193/26.5/2350

Here is the link to the Völkl website with further information. Here you can buy the ski from our partner store Bergzeit.de.

The ski was provided to PowderGuide free of charge by the manufacturer for testing. You can find out how we test it in our test statement.

Völkl
Völkl Confession
Völkl
Völkl Confession

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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