1 / 6Völkl M7 Mantra W Skis 26/27 (also known as Volkl)
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PTO Verdict
“Not a softened women's ski: Völkl prints it with the M7 Mantra's shape, radii and weight, and offers it down to 149 cm.”
Best for: Advanced and expert skiers who want this platform in a shorter length and who commit to a big, fast, edged turn. Firm snow is where its record is strongest: a 9/10 carving score from a women's test team, and a tester who praised its edge hold on icy conditions. It also fits a skier sizing down deliberately, since Völkl matches titanal content to length rather than to model — the only two overall tester scores in the record both came on the 163.
Not for: Intermediates and skiers still building technique: the women's test team draws its line at a skier not yet confident making big, fast, purely edged turns, and says the ski is more than she is ready to handle. Skiers who want forgiveness or play: not at all playful sits on that team's own cons list, and a tester scored forgiveness 4/10. Mogul and zipper-line skiers: bumps scored 4/10, and the review credits the difficulty to the ski's stiffness and its pull toward turning on edge. Skiers who like to skid and smear: the same review says lighter or less aggressive skiers may find it hard to flex into tight turns or push around for relaxed skids — that is the ski's stiffness, not a failing in the skier. Deep-snow-first buyers: the team's verdict is that 96 mm is not enough waist to keep this ski afloat, and a tester scored flotation 5/10. Buyers who want a 184 or 191: the run stops at 177. Buyers expecting a complete setup: the binding is a separate purchase here. And buyers who want ride reports on this season's article or on the 149 and 156: the record runs 163 and up, from earlier seasons.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible ski bindings.
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The M7 Mantra W is a 96 mm all-mountain ski offered from 149 to 177 cm, and on paper it is not a separate design from the M7 Mantra. The 26/27 catalog prints both models with the same 139 / 96 / 121 mm shape, the same four radius figures wherever the two length runs overlap, and one shared technology list; volkl.com's tables match at all three shared lengths. At catalog level three things differ: lengths, graphic, and Völkl's binding suggestion.
How does a short one behave? Völkl's answer is the Tailored Titanal Frame: titanal width is set per ski length, not per model, so a 149 follows the same rule as a 184 in the men's run. Völkl's published wording for the short end: less metal makes the ski more agile, letting smaller, lighter and less powerful skiers use its full potential performance. The sidecut segments scale the same way — at 149 cm they read 20.8 / 33.3 / 10.8 / 14.4 m. Underneath: a multilayer woodcore, full-length sidewalls, rocker at both ends, made in Germany.
On snow it wants a committed skier who stays forward. The one deep women's test scored it 9 for carving and 10 for stability and praised the edge grip, then drew a hard line for any skier not yet sure of a big, fast, fully edged turn: bumps 4/10, "not at all playful" in its own cons, and its own verdict against the ski's float. If you like to skid and smear, or your day is spent in zipper lines, this is the wrong tool — and the review lays that on the ski's stiffness, not on the skier.
Inside the 26/27 women's Mantra line-up the 84 W and 88 W step narrower, the 80 W narrower still on glass rather than titanal, the 102 W wider; a 184 or 191 exists in the M7 Mantra, not here. Bindings are not included. Völkl's catalog lists a Marker Squire 12 TCX alongside it, and a certified technician mounts it — ours, once we have settled the length with you.
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 — 33.3 / 10.8 / 14.4 m (149), 35.0 / 12.2 / 16.1 m (156), 36.6 / 13.7 / 17.9 m (163), 38.3 / 15.2 / 19.8 m (170), 40.0 / 16.8 / 21.8 m (177)
- 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: 149: 1610 g · 156: 1690 g · 163: 1800 g · 170: 1910 g · 177: 2090 g per ski, without binding
- Lengths: 149 / 156 / 163 / 170 / 177 cm
- Origin: Made in Germany
- Binding: Not included — sold flat
- Article number: V2610116.000
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Völkl
- SKU
- V2610116-156
- UPC / GTIN
- 821264838440
156 cm
Völkl M7 Mantra W
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
“Not a softened women's ski: Völkl prints it with the M7 Mantra's shape, radii and weight, and offers it down to 149 cm.”
Buy the Völkl M7 Mantra W on one condition — that what you want is the M7 Mantra itself, in a length the men's run does not reach. Two separate sources back that up: Völkl's own publications — the catalog for geometry and technology, the volkl.com tables for weight at all three shared lengths, and an outside test that reached the same conclusion on its own and reported the same 2,090 g per ski at 177 cm. Nothing Völkl publishes describes this model as softer, lighter or specially tuned, so buy it on the length you need rather than on an assumption about flex.
The women who tested the Völkl M7 Mantra W split hard, and blending their scores would produce a verdict none of them gave. On the 163, one tester scored it 10/10 and called it effortless and easy to maneuver with a quick turn release; another scored it 9/10 overall, praised its edge hold on icy snow, then said she prefers the Mantra 88 W as her daily ski because it is a touch more forgiving. On the 170, a tester scored flotation 5/10 and forgiveness 4/10, and the lead tester of a women's test team came off her first run joking that it takes two-factor authentication to make the ski let go of a turn.
The single deep review of the Völkl M7 Mantra W scores it stability 10, carving 9, crud 8, powder 7, playfulness 6, bumps 4, and its own cons list reads difficult short-radius turns, not at all playful, difficult in powder or bumps. In tight zipper lines it credits the trouble to stiffness and to the ski's pull toward turning on edge. Testing done in the men's lengths agrees about the demands: one reviewer found the shovels want to hook up exactly when you are unweighting for an aggressive turn, and another concluded the ski will not do the work for you.
Within Völkl's 26/27 women's Mantra range the Völkl M7 Mantra W sits above the Mantra 88 W and Mantra 84 W and below the Mantra 102 W, which is where to look if the float complaints describe your snow. Step down past the 84 W and the construction itself changes: the Mantra 80 W carries a glass frame, not a titanal one. That is worth saying, because the boundary sits there rather than between this ski and the M7 Mantra.
Sizing the Völkl M7 Mantra W rests on reports from 163 and up. The shortest length any tester reports on is 163, and it drew the only two overall tester scores on file, a 10/10 and a 9/10, both from testers under 5'6". The ride reports on record are from earlier seasons — the catalog marks a new graphic, and the reports we have cover 24/25 and 25/26. The ski is sold flat, so the binding is a separate decision.
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 Squire 12 TCX — a pairing recommendation, not a compatibility limit.
- Marker Squire 12 TCXVölkl's catalog pairing
Printed in the 26/27 Völkl dealer catalog as the recommended binding for this ski, in sandy–anthracite. It is one of three catalog-level differences from the M7 Mantra, which is paired with the Griffon X 13.
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
- Is the Völkl M7 Mantra W softer or lighter than the M7 Mantra?
- Not according to anything Völkl publishes. The 26/27 catalog prints an identical sidecut (139-96-121 mm), identical four radii on the three shared lengths, and an identical technology list; volkl.com's 26/27 per-length tables give identical weights at all three. An independent test found matching construction and shape and reported the same 2,090 g per ski. At catalog level the differences are the length run, the graphic and the recommended binding.
- What is the difference between the M7 Mantra W and the Mantra 88 W?
- Eight millimeters of waist and a different sidecut design: the M7 W is 96 mm with Völkl's 4 Radius Drive, the 88 W is 88 mm with a 3D Radius Sidecut. For 26/27 Völkl tags the 88 W for powder and this ski not at all, which is the reverse of what the widths suggest. Worth knowing: a tester who rated the M7 W 9/10 still chose the 88 W as her daily ski, calling it a touch more forgiving.
- Does the Völkl M7 Mantra W come with bindings?
- No. It is a flat ski, so the binding is bought separately and the brake has to clear the 96 mm waist. Völkl pairs it in its catalog with the Marker Squire 12 TCX, which is a recommendation rather than a compatibility limit, and mounting plus release settings are a certified technician's job.
- What length Völkl M7 Mantra W should I get?
- The catalog run is 149, 156, 163, 170 and 177 cm, with the radius segments growing at each step. Be aware of the evidence boundary here: no tester in the published record has skied the 149 or 156 — 163 is the shortest length anyone has reported on, and it carries the only two overall tester scores in the published record. Come in with your boots and we will size it with you rather than guess.
- How much does the Völkl M7 Mantra W weigh?
- Völkl publishes a per-length table for 26/27 — 1,610 g at 149 cm, 1,690 at 156, 1,800 at 163, 1,910 at 170 and 2,090 at 177, all per ski without binding — footnoted that weight can vary slightly with production cycles. Those figures match the M7 Mantra's at all three lengths the two models share, which is the clearest published evidence that this is the same ski in a shorter length run. An independent test reported the same 2,090 g per ski at 177 cm.
- Was the Völkl M7 Mantra W previously called the Secret 96?
- One independent review states it directly: the same ski with a new topsheet and a new name. That renaming predates this season, so it is not a 26/27 change. For 26/27 the catalog marks a new graphic and the article number moved in its season digit alone (V2510116 to V2610116).
