1 / 6Völkl Mantra 84 Skis 26/27 (also known as Volkl)
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PTO Verdict
“Full Mantra construction at 84 mm, a group-test win in its width class, and one question nobody has settled: how hard it wants to be driven.”
Best for: Skiers whose staple diet is groomed and firm snow, who want the titanal-frame build of the wide models without the width, and who prefer a ski that hands energy back to one that damps everything flat. Short-turn quickness is a real strength — the group test scored short and long swings 8.0 apiece — and one panelist found the turn initiation easy enough to suit advanced intermediates. Intermediate to expert is the published ability range; firm snow is the published home.
Not for: Powder-first skiers: Völkl hangs no Powder tag on this ski, and in this season's Mantra order that tag sits on the 88 W alone, so stepping up in width inside the men's run is not a tag-backed fix; float rated 4 out of 10 in the one detailed single-ski test. Skiers who spend the season in soft or broken snow: one tester reported it deflecting and banging around once the surface goes soft, with playfulness rated 4 out of 10. Anyone shopping specifically for a bump and tree ski should read the record before paying: a 30-tester panel says it lacks the nimbleness for bumps and tight trees, other testers report easy pivots in moguls, and nothing resolves that. Skiers hoping to be carried along: forgiveness scored 4 out of 10 in that same single-ski test and one panel warns it can feel overpowering to less aggressive skiers exiting a turn — other sources call it surprisingly forgiving, which is precisely why this ski wants a demo rather than a purchase on faith. And anyone who wants to read a test of this exact season's article: the ones on record are prior-season.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible Ski Bindings
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
Völkl's Mantra 84 is the wide-Mantra build carried down to an 84 mm waist. Völkl's five tags cover groomed snow, mixed snow, bumps, piste and professional use. It carries no Freeride tag and no Powder tag; among the six 26/27 Mantras PTO ordered, only the Mantra 88 W carries Powder. Sidecut is 129-84-110 mm, the profile is tip and tail rocker, and it is built in Germany in four lengths from 163 to 184 cm. Nothing narrower came in this season's Mantra order.
What it is not is a lightweight frontside ski wearing a Mantra topsheet. Multilayer Woodcore, full sidewall, a P-Tex 2100 base, and carbon tips whose fibers are embroidered onto a carrier and positioned along the stress lines. The structural piece is the Tailored Titanal Frame: titanal above the sidewall through tip and tail, frame width scaled to each individual length, plus a thinner titanal layer under the binding. Völkl's 26/27 volkl.com table prints three radii per length instead of one — at 177 cm, 29.2 m front, 16.2 m center, 25.5 m rear — and 1,890 g per ski there.
Independent testing of the prior-season article reads it as stiff, precise and firm-snow-first; one tester's summary was that it "works best on smooth terrain, and the firmer the better." That suits skiers whose home runs are groomed, who want wide-Mantra construction under a narrower waist, and who prefer rebound to damping. Powder-first skiers and anyone whose winter is mostly soft or broken snow should look elsewhere, and skiers who want to be carried rather than drive should know that reviewers split hard on how much this one forgives.
Across the line, the Mantra 88 is 4 mm wider and adds a Freeride tag, and the Mantra 84 W carries this sidecut down to 149 cm. The ski ships flat. Völkl's suggested pairing is the Marker Griffon X 13; we fit it to your boots, take brake width off the 84 mm waist and set release on the bench.
Specs
- Waist: 84 mm
- Dimensions: 129-84-110 mm at every published length
- Turn radius: 3D Radius Sidecut — 23.5 / 13.2 / 21.3 m (163); 26.3 / 14.7 / 23.3 m (170); 29.2 / 16.2 / 25.5 m (177); 31.2 / 17.3 / 27.0 m (184)
- 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: 1670 g · 170: 1760 g · 177: 1890 g · 184: 1930 g per ski, without binding
- Lengths: 163 / 170 / 177 / 184 cm
- Origin: Made in Germany
- Binding: Not included — sold flat
- Article number: V2610114.000
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Völkl
- SKU
- V2610114-170
- UPC / GTIN
- 821264838303
170 cm
Völkl Mantra 84
By PTO Team, Based on official specs and professional review consensus
Spec analysis + published on-snow testing of last season's article · 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
“Full Mantra construction at 84 mm, a group-test win in its width class, and one question nobody has settled: how hard it wants to be driven.”
The Völkl Mantra 84 puts an 84 mm waist under the full Mantra build, not under a lightweight frontside ski: the Tailored Titanal Frame, the Multilayer Woodcore, the full sidewall and the German factory all carry over, on a 129-84-110 sidecut. Völkl's 26/27 Best-For set says the intent plainly: Groomers, Mixed Snow, Moguls, Piste and Professional. Among the three men's Mantras in this season's order, only the 88 and the M7 add Freeride. None of the three carries Powder, the 96 mm M7 included; in this season's six-ski order, only the 88 W.
The Mantra 84 won the 82–88 mm group at an independent European group test last season, 39.5 out of 50, ahead of the Atomic Redster Q9.8 REVOSHOCK S, the Salomon Stance PRO 82, the Kästle MX84 and the Nordica Steadfast DC 85. The sub-scores matter more: edge grip at 7.6 was its own lowest of five, and both the Atomic Redster Q9.8 REVOSHOCK S and the Salomon Stance PRO 82 beat it there at 7.8.
How much the Mantra 84 forgives is what the record will not settle, and PTO will not settle it either. Calling it manageable: a forum tester on firm groomers found it 'surprisingly forgiving'; a single-ski review found testers could cruise on tired legs; the European group test rated effort required 7.9 out of 10; one panelist called it 'appealing to advanced intermediates because of the easy turn initiation'. Calling it demanding: a single-ski test scored forgiveness 4 out of 10 and wrote that 'it prefers to be driven, and by an experienced pilot', and one panel warned it can feel overpowering to less aggressive skiers exiting a turn. Same ski, opposite conclusions from experienced testers. Demo it.
Mantra 84 or Mantra 88 is the question customers actually arrive with, and the evidence disagrees with itself. Measurable first: 4 mm of waist and identical published radius tables — despite a different sidecut, the 88 prints the same R1/R2/R3 figures at every length, in two official sources, unexplained. The one same-day back-to-back PTO could find reported 'the difference in turn shape was pretty big', with the 84 quicker and more responsive into the turn, and she could see someone owning both. A skier who tried both bought the 88: 'The 84 was fun but I felt restricted to groomers only.' Reviewers are also openly arguing over whether 4 mm changes anything. Choose on where you actually ski.
The Mantra 84 comes with conditions. Soft and broken snow is its weak side: one tester found it deflects and bangs around as the surface softens, and float scored 4 out of 10. The on-snow record here is prior-season: the on-snow record belongs to the prior-season article, and this season reads as a continuation from the article number and a new-graphic marking. Published feedback clusters on the 177; PTO could find nothing on the 163 or 170. The ski is sold flat, so the binding is a separate purchase and a bench mount.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski, sold without a binding. Völkl publishes no recommended mount point for 26/27; the one figure on record, −12.1 cm from center, is an independent report on a prior-season pair. Our pick: Völkl prints one suggested pairing, and PTO treats it as a starting point rather than a rule — the binding gets matched to your boot and your skiing at the bench.
- Marker Griffon X 13Völkl's suggested pairing
The binding named in the 26/27 catalog REC. BINDING column for this ski, in black.
That pairing is a suggestion, not a compatibility limit and not a release recommendation. Brake width, boot sole standard and release setting are all checked at the bench by a certified technician working from your own measurements — PTO does not publish release values.
Common Questions
- Völkl Mantra 84 or Mantra 88 — what is the difference?
- 4 mm at the waist, and a Freeride tag the 88 has and the 84 does not; both print the same radius table at every length. Testers who rode both split: one found the 84 quicker into the turn, another skied both and bought the 88 because the 84 left him feeling restricted to groomers. Reviewers are still arguing over whether 4 mm matters, so pick on the terrain you actually ski rather than on the number.
- Do the Mantra 84 and the Mantra 84 W ski differently?
- They run the same sidecut at the same price on the same technology list, and the published radius figures match digit for digit at 163 and 170, the two lengths both come in. What Völkl prints differently: the size run, the graphic, the suggested binding, a Woman tag on the W, and ten grams at 170 cm — 1,760 g against 1,750 g, which nobody feels. Neither is described as softer or differently tuned in any Völkl material.
- Does the Völkl Mantra 84 come with bindings?
- No. It is sold flat, which makes the binding a separate purchase and the mount a shop job — this is the single most common misunderstanding on the model. Völkl's 26/27 catalog names the Marker Griffon X 13 as its suggested pairing; bring your boots so brake width and sole standard get checked, and let a certified technician set release.
- What length Völkl Mantra 84 should I buy?
- It comes in 163, 170, 177 and 184 cm, and the published radii step up with every size — the center figure runs from 13.2 m at 163 to 17.3 m at 184. Völkl also scales the titanal frame to length, giving shorter skis less metal, which the brand says makes them more agile. PTO sizes it in shop against your height, weight and how fast you actually ski.
- Is the 26/27 Mantra 84 the same ski as last season?
- PTO reads it as a continuation: the article number keeps its trailing digits across the season change (V2510114 to V2610114) and the only change the catalog flags is a new graphic. PTO found no third-party source confirming this model into 26/27 in writing. So the on-snow record here describes the prior-season article, not the ski on this graphic.
- Is the Mantra 84 a renamed Kendo 84?
- Völkl names no predecessor for it. Two outside sources point at different skis — one at the Kanjo 84, one saying the Kendo 84 was renamed — so PTO asserts neither. Treat any 'replaces X' line you read on this model as that source's reading rather than a Völkl statement.
