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PTO Review
We know them. Here's how they stack up.
These skis span 2 categories (All-Mountain, All-Mountain Freestyle). Scores reflect each ski's intended use — direct comparison across all dimensions may be misleading.
Mantra 88 W — strong skiers who want the mantra 88 platform in 149 to 170 cm and are willing to drive it.. Bent 100 — intermediate and better skiers who value a light, quick, playful ride and drive the ski with finesse rather than muscle.. Check the radar chart below to see where each one wins.
Each row compares all skis on one dimension. 🏆 marks the highest score.
| Dimension | Mantra 88 W | Bent 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Carving | 9🏆 | 6 |
| Park | 2 | 7🏆 |
| Playfulness | 3 | 9🏆 |
| Forgiveness | 5 | 8🏆 |
| Stability | 9🏆 | 5 |
| Powder | 3 | 6🏆 |
Strong skiers who want the Mantra 88 platform in 149 to 170 cm and are willing to drive it. Firm snow is the staple diet: one tester on East Coast ice described the ski staying locked in through high-speed arcs without feeling nervous or skittish, and another reported it blasting through variable snow at speed and called it a solid all-mountain option for strong skiers. It rewards commitment — four of the six testers describe the same trade, that you put energy in before it gives any back.
Skiers after a quick-turning daily driver: that is the test thread's own verbatim answer to who this ski is not for. Finesse-first skiers who prefer to steer lightly rather than drive — one tester described herself that way and said she had to work at putting energy into this ski. Skiers who want quick edge-to-edge feel: the same tester called it significantly stiffer and slower edge to edge than the Mantra 84 W, which is the line's answer to that. Deep snow: Völkl tags this ski for Powder — alone among the six PTO ordered for 26/27, which an 88 mm waist would not predict, and which the wider M7 Mantra W does not carry. PTO found no soft-snow account from any tester on this ski, so we cannot tell you whether the tag is earned. Read it as Völkl's classification, not as evidence. Tree skiing is the disputed case — one tester ruled it out for herself, another scored forgiveness 9/10 and called it quick and easy to turn, so demo before committing on that axis. And anyone buying it expecting a softer or lighter version of the Mantra 88 should not: Völkl publishes identical sidecut, identical radii at both shared lengths and identical technology, and no softening or lightening claim of any kind.
Intermediate and better skiers who value a light, quick, playful ride and drive the ski with finesse rather than muscle. It rewards people who like to press, slash and ride switch, plus lighter or less aggressive skiers who do not want to fight a heavy ski, and anyone after one do-it-all ski that still floats on a soft day. It also makes a light resort-to-sidecountry option.
Skiers who want a metal ski's hard-snow bite and race-like precision: with a light woodcore and no metal laminate, the Bent 100 handles a groomer but will not match a metal ski's edge hold on firm snow or feel as locked-in on ice. Heavier, aggressive skiers who charge through cut-up crud will feel the light build deflect - a metal all-mountain ski like the Nordica Enforcer 100 tracks that line better. True beginners should skip it too; independent reviews place it at intermediate and up. And if deep powder is the priority, the wider Bent 110 or Chetler 120 is the better tool.
Mantra 88 W is best for strong skiers who want the mantra 88 platform in 149 to 170 cm and are willing to drive it. Bent 100 is best for intermediate and better skiers who value a light, quick, playful ride and drive the ski with finesse rather than muscle. The right choice depends on your terrain, ability, and riding style.
Völkl Mantra 88 W has the highest Stability score in this comparison at 9/10. That score compares composure; it does not by itself mean the product is the most versatile choice.
Völkl Mantra 88 W leads Carving in this comparison with a PTO score of 9/10.
Atomic Bent 100 has the highest Forgiveness score here at 8/10. Forgiveness is one factor in progression, not a claim that every beginner should choose it.
Not sure? Ask us.
