1 / 6Völkl M7 Mantra Skis 26/27 (also known as Volkl)
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PTO Verdict
“A 96 mm ski that carves like a narrower one and asks to be driven — reviewers part ways on how settled it stays in chop and at high speed.”
Best for: Advanced and expert directional skiers who work from the front of the boot and want one pair for firm and mixed snow. It pays back a skier who loads the shovel and holds an edge; firm-snow grip is where its record is strongest and least contested. It also fits buyers who specifically want metal in the layup, sized to the ski they actually buy rather than to the model, and who want a short-turn shape available from a 96 mm waist.
Not for: Intermediates and skiers still building technique: reviewers at three outlets warn them away in plain language — fatiguing for intermediates, not a recommendation for someone graduating off green terrain, too powerful for newer skiers. Skiers who smear, skid and ride relaxed: one review calls it not a dancer-style ski, and another lists dampness undermining playfulness in its own cons. Bump and tight-tree skiers: bumps scored 6/10, and one reviewer found the tips hooking up in tight, firm moguls; a minority of testers disagree. Deep-snow-first buyers: 96 mm is not a deep-snow waist, and one review says it does not feel like a ski designed to excel in soft snow. Anyone who wants a ski that arrives mounted and ready: this one is sold flat, and release settings are a certified technician's job. And anyone who wants ride reports on this exact season's article: the ones on record are from 24/25 and 25/26, and the carryover is Völkl's own statement.
At a Glance
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Ability Level
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Compatible Ski Bindings
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The Völkl M7 Mantra is a 96 mm all-mountain ski made in Germany for skiers who ride forward and directional. Völkl prints one shape for the whole model, 139 / 96 / 121 mm, at every catalog length. Under the topsheet: a multilayer woodcore, full sidewalls, rocker at both ends and a P-Tex 2100 base. For 26/27 the dealer catalog marks a new graphic, and the article number steps from V2510112 to V2610112 in its season digit.
Two technologies shape how it skis. Tailored Titanal Frame lays titanal above the sidewall through tip and tail, with a thinner layer through the binding area, and Völkl varies that frame width by length, not by model: more metal in a long ski, less in a short one. 4 Radius Drive replaces the single arc with four segments; at 177 cm those read 25, 40, 16.8 and 21.8 m, the tightest of them underfoot. Völkl's stated aim: a tight turn shape in a wide ski, with ends open enough that the edge neither catches early nor lets go abruptly.
It suits a skier who pressures the shovel and stays on edge in firm and mixed snow — three published tests rate its grip high for a ski this wide. It is the wrong ski for someone still learning to carve: three outlets say so plainly. Also wrong for skiers who prefer to smear and slide, for anyone whose day is mostly moguls and tight trees (one test scored bumps 6/10; another found tips hooking in firm bumps), and for a deep-snow-first buyer — 96 mm is a mixed-snow width.
In the line, Mantra 84 and Mantra 88 are the narrower front-side models, Mantra 102 and Mantra 108 the wider freeride ones; the M7 Mantra W is this platform in a shorter length run. The ski ships flat, no binding in the box; Völkl's catalog pairs it with a Marker Griffon X 13, a recommendation and not a limit. Bring your boots — we settle the length with you, fit a brake wide enough for the 96 mm waist, and mount it here.
Specs
- Waist: 96 mm
- Dimensions: 139-96-121 mm at every published length
- Turn geometry: 4 Radius Drive; the current official size table publishes three values per length — 36.6 / 13.7 / 17.9 m (163), 38.3 / 15.2 / 19.8 m (170), 40.0 / 16.8 / 21.8 m (177), 41.1 / 17.9 / 23.2 m (184), 42.8 / 19.7 / 25.4 m (191)
- Profile: Tip & Tail Rocker with camber underfoot
- Core: Multilayer Woodcore
- Construction: Tailored Titanal Frame, Tailored Carbon Tips and Full Sidewall ABS
- Base: P-Tex 2100 with brushed structure and Serial Finish
- Weight: 163: 1800 g · 170: 1910 g · 177: 2090 g · 184: 2180 g · 191: 2300 g per ski, without binding
- Lengths: 163 / 170 / 177 / 184 / 191 cm
- Origin: Made in Germany
- Binding: Not included — sold flat
- Article number: V2610112.000
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Völkl
- SKU
- V2610112-170
- UPC / GTIN
- 821264838167
170 cm
Völkl M7 Mantra
By PTO Team, Based on official specs and professional review consensus
Spec analysis + professional review consensus · Analysis dated
These 10-point scores express PTO's editorial assessment of suitability for each use. They are not customer ratings or instrumented measurements; the analysis below explains the trade-offs.
The take
“A 96 mm ski that carves like a narrower one and asks to be driven — reviewers part ways on how settled it stays in chop and at high speed.”
Völkl builds the M7 Mantra as the 96 mm center of the Mantra range, and two technologies define it. Tailored Titanal Frame sets titanal width per ski length rather than per model, which is how Völkl sizes damping and torsional stiffness to the skier: longer skis carry more metal, shorter ones less. 4 Radius Drive gives each length four sidecut segments instead of one arc — at 177 cm the underfoot segment measures 16.8 m against 25 m at the tip — so a short-turn shape is built into a ski this wide, with open ends meant to stop it grabbing early or releasing abruptly.
On firm snow the Völkl M7 Mantra's record is consistent. One reviewer, after roughly twenty ski days on the 177 and 184, called it among the few skis this wide he could confidently carve on really firm, scraped-off pitches; another, riding the 170, wrote that it carves a groomer like a much narrower ski; a third scored carving 9/10. Full sidewalls and hardwood laid beside the core edges, which Völkl credits with power transmission and edge grip, are the construction behind that.
Where the Völkl M7 Mantra divides careful reviewers, we are not averaging the answers. Crud: two reviews have it bashing through broken snow, one scoring crud 9/10, while two others report that bigger impacts knock it off line and call it livelier than planted. Speed: one test scored stability 10/10 and another called it shock-proof at any speed, but the review that ran it back-to-back against the M6 Mantra with sensor data found it twitchier above roughly 40 mph — against Völkl's own high-speed-control claim. Float: one outlet calls it a decent floater in one article, then warns of feeling the bottom in under a foot of fresh in another. Individual tester cards also sit below the aggregate scores.
It is the widest of the 84 / 88 / M7 group, though for 26/27 Völkl tags none of the three for Powder. The Mantra 84 sits below it at 1,890 g at 177, and the Mantra 88 at 1,930 g, both on the volkl.com tables; the Mantra 102 and 108 step wider. Reviewers name two easier alternatives: the Nordica Enforcer 94, with more tip rocker and comfort in tight spaces, and the Head Kore 94 Ti, called more forgiving.
One boundary before you buy: the ride reports above come from the 24/25 and 25/26 article.
Sizing the Völkl M7 Mantra splits the published advice: one review tells advanced skiers to ski their height, another argues for sizing down, because titanal content follows length: a 170 is built as a 170, not a cut-down 184. One of its 6'2", 225 lb testers picked the 177 over the 184. Völkl publishes a per-length weight table for 26/27, 1,800 g at 163 cm rising to 2,300 g at 191 cm, footnoted that weight can vary slightly with production cycles.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski, sold without bindings. Völkl publishes no recommended mount point for this model; mounting is a certified technician's job in shop. Our pick: Völkl's own catalog pairing is the Marker Griffon X 13 — a pairing recommendation, not a compatibility limit.
- Marker Griffon X 13Völkl's catalog pairing
Printed in the 26/27 Völkl dealer catalog as the recommended binding for this ski, in graphite–orange. It is a recommendation, not a ceiling — other alpine bindings fit.
Release settings are not ours to state: a certified technician sets them from the skier's weight, height, age, boot sole length and skier type. We match brake width to the 96 mm waist at mount.
Common Questions
- Does the Völkl M7 Mantra come with bindings?
- No. It is a flat ski, so the binding is a separate purchase and the brake has to clear the 96 mm waist. Völkl pairs it in its catalog with the Marker Griffon X 13, but that is a recommendation rather than a compatibility limit, and mounting plus release settings are a certified technician's job.
- What is the difference between the Völkl M7 Mantra and the Mantra 88?
- Width and intent. The M7 is 96 mm with a 139-96-121 sidecut and Völkl's 4 Radius Drive four-segment shape; the Mantra 88 is 88 mm with a 134-88-114 sidecut, a 3D Radius Sidecut and a lighter published weight at every shared length on the volkl.com tables (1,930 g versus 2,090 g per ski at 177 cm). For 26/27 Völkl tags neither for powder, and on tags the 88 carries one the M7 does not: Professional.
- Is the Völkl M7 Mantra the same ski as the M7 Mantra W?
- On paper, yes. The catalog prints an identical sidecut, identical four radii on the three lengths both models share (163, 170 and 177), and an identical technology list; volkl.com's 26/27 per-length tables give identical weights at all three. At catalog level the differences are the length run (163–191 here, 149–177 there), the graphic and the recommended binding, so choose on the length you need rather than on assumed softness.
- What length Völkl M7 Mantra should I get?
- It comes in 163, 170, 177, 184 and 191 cm, and the four radius segments grow with each step — 15.2 m underfoot at 170 cm against 17.9 m at 184 cm. Published advice splits: one review tells advanced skiers to ski their height, another argues for sizing down because Völkl matches titanal content to length. Come in and we will work it out against your boots and your skiing.
- Is the Völkl M7 Mantra good in powder?
- For 26/27 Völkl hangs no Powder tag on it, or on either of the narrower two, so the tag set will not settle this. The ride reports keep it honest at good-for-96-mm rather than deep-snow capable. One review says it does not feel like a ski designed to excel in soft snow; another scored powder 8/10. The Mantra 102 and Mantra 108 are the wider steps in the line.
- Is the 26/27 Völkl M7 Mantra different from the 25/26?
- Völkl's dealer catalog marks it a new graphic with no structural change, and the article number moved in its season digit alone (V2510112 to V2610112). That carryover rests on Völkl's own publication — no independent tester has ridden the 26/27 ski, and the published ride reports date from 24/25 and 25/26 skis.
