1 / 6Völkl Mantra 88 Skis 26/27 (also known as Volkl)
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PTO Verdict
“Grip and speed are settled facts on this ski. How forgiving it is depends entirely on what you compare it to.”
Best for: Advanced and expert directional skiers whose home snow is firm, and who want carving performance out of a 90 mm-class all-mountain ski: groomers, ice, morning refreeze, chalk and shallow crud. One independent review puts its on-piste carving ahead of some skis sold as piste-specific, and another describes edge hold as exemplary on hardpack refrozen overnight. It also works off piste on firm surfaces: one independent review calls chalk and shallow crud a fun blend of precision, power and suspension, while a tester who scored the ski 8/10 overall still reports it deflecting once the snow turns variable and choppy.
Not for: Skiers who log more off-piste days than groomer days: one independent review routes them to something more rockered, more tapered or softer, and means it. Deep-snow days: the tips submarine in fresh snow five or six inches deep over a frozen base, the ski gets hooky as depth builds, and Völkl's own tag set withholds Powder from it. Back-seat skiers get schooled by the tail — the review that defends this ski hardest agrees it becomes less predictable when you lean back. Anyone wanting a playful or forgiving ski should read the scores before buying: one panel logged Forgiveness 4/10 and Playfulness 4/10, and the panel split hardest here. Skiers who want tight, slow short turns will fight the sidecut and the flex pattern. Lighter, finesse-oriented skiers get pointed at the Völkl Blaze 86 or 94 instead. Mogul-first skiers are the unsettled case: one review tells them to choose another ski, while a PSIA demo-team coach and one more reviewer say it works in bumps — demo before you commit on that axis.
At a Glance
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Compatible Ski Bindings
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The Völkl Mantra 88 is an all-mountain ski with an 88 mm waist, shaped for hard snow — a 134-88-114 sidecut, tip and tail rocker, and a titanal frame sized to each length. Völkl's 26/27 tag list runs Freeride, Groomers, Mixed Snow, Moguls, Piste and Professional. Powder is absent — and for 26/27 the 96 mm M7 Mantra does not carry it either. For 26/27 the ski takes a new graphic; two independent reviews report the construction carries over. The build itself landed a season earlier, when the 25/26 redesign turned the Kendo 88 into this ski.
Titanal framing sits over the sidewall at both ends, cut to a width Völkl sets per length, with a thinner sheet of it under the binding. Harder wood meets the full sidewall inside the multilayer core — the company's stated grip mechanism — while the Tailored Carbon Tip embroiders fiber along the shovel's stress lines. Three radii are published per length: at 177 cm, 29.2 m entering, 16.2 m underfoot, 25.5 m on release. volkl.com gives a 177 as 1,930 g per ski. Made in Germany.
It suits directional skiers at advanced and expert level whose home snow runs firm; one independent review rates its carving above some skis labeled piste-specific. It is not for skiers who spend more days off piste than on groomers, and not for deep snow — independent testers describe tips going through 5 to 6 inches of new snow rather than over it, and a ski that gets hooky as the snow gets deeper. Sit back and the tail will tell you. Ask for tight, slow short turns and you will fight the sidecut.
In the line, the Mantra 84 leans toward the piste and the M7 Mantra widens to 96 mm, though Völkl tags neither for powder; the 88 W is the same shape in 149 to 170 cm. It runs long for its number, so sizing deserves a conversation. Sold flat, without bindings — come in with your boots and we will pick the length, match the brake to the 88 mm waist, and mount it.
Specs
- Waist: 88 mm
- Dimensions: 134-88-114 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: 1690 g · 170: 1800 g · 177: 1930 g · 184: 1980 g per ski, without binding
- Lengths: 163 / 170 / 177 / 184 cm
- Origin: Made in Germany
- Binding: Not included — sold flat
- Article number: V2610113.000
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Völkl
- SKU
- V2610113-170
- UPC / GTIN
- 821264838211
170 cm
Völkl Mantra 88
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
“Grip and speed are settled facts on this ski. How forgiving it is depends entirely on what you compare it to.”
The Mantra 88 sits at the 88 mm rung of the Mantra line, and Völkl's 26/27 tag set runs to six, Piste and Professional included, and stops short of Powder — and none of the three men's Mantras PTO ordered gets that tag, the 96 mm M7 included. The 26/27 change is the graphic, stated in print by two independent reviews and echoed by the article number: V2510113 becomes V2610113. The build people still discuss arrived a season earlier, in the 25/26 redesign that renamed the Kendo 88: a wider tip and tail, 129-88-113 becoming 134-88-114 at 177 cm, titanal shifted toward the midsection, away from shovel and tail, and carbon tip filaments stretched downward to cut flutter.
The Mantra 88 earns its hard-snow reputation with ordinary engineering. A Tailored Titanal Frame sits above the sidewall through tip and tail, its width matched to each individual length — longer skis carry more metal, shorter skis less — with a second thinner titanal layer under the binding. Harder wood in the multilayer core meets the full sidewall, Völkl's published explanation for the grip. Three radii per length, 29.2 / 16.2 / 25.5 m at 177 cm, and one review's turn data on a 184 rarely went tighter than 14 m — a medium-arc ski.
The Mantra 88 divides its reviewers over how much skill it asks for, and the split traces to the reference set, not to the ski. One independent review compares it against skis that carve and hold speed as well as it does; inside that group it comes out comparatively tolerant, less demanding in moguls and trees than that reviewer expected. Others compare it against the market at large and find it strict: a strong tail that schools back-seat skiers, a ski that takes you for a ride if you get lazy, described elsewhere as digital — on or off. On one panel it drew 8/10 overall from one tester and 3/10 from another, and the 3/10 tester still scored stability 9/10. Read which comparison each is making.
The Mantra 88's ceiling is soft snow, a shape limit rather than a flaw: independent reports describe submarining tips in five or six inches of fresh, and a ski that turns hooky once the snow deepens. Precision cuts both ways too — one test group would rather be on a Blizzard Anomaly 88 or Nordica Enforcer 89 in tight trees and firm bumps, because those skis are less precise and easier to manipulate. Moguls stay unsettled: one review sends bump skiers elsewhere, two others say it works there.
The Mantra 88 comes in 163, 170, 177 and 184 cm; volkl.com gives 1,930 g at 177. PTO's order covers 170, 177 and 184. Length is the call to slow down on: testers say it skis long for its stated length and several sized down; one 6'3" tester found the 177 short. Sold flat, so binding choice, brake width and release setting are bench work; we publish no DIN number for anyone.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski — sold without bindings. Völkl publishes no mount point for 26/27 in the catalog, so the line marked on the ski is what we mount to. Our pick: Völkl's catalog pairing is the Marker Griffon X 13 — we match the binding to your boot, weight and DIN range in shop.
- Marker Griffon X 13Völkl's catalog pairing
The recommended binding printed against this model in the 26/27 Völkl catalog, in black.
Völkl's recommended binding is a pairing suggestion, not a compatibility limit and not a DIN recommendation. The brake has to clear the 88 mm waist, and mounting and release adjustment are a certified technician's job — PTO does not print or suggest a DIN value.
Common Questions
- Is the 26/27 Völkl Mantra 88 different from the 25/26?
- No — 26/27 is a new graphic on an otherwise unchanged ski, stated in print by two independent reviews and backed by article-number continuity from V2510113 to V2610113. The construction changes people still cite — wider tip and tail, titanal moved toward the midsection, carbon tip filaments stretched downward to cut flutter — belong to the 25/26 redesign. That was also the season the Kendo 88 was renamed the Mantra 88.
- Mantra 88 vs Mantra 84 vs M7 Mantra — which one?
- The Mantra 84 is the piste-leaning step down, tagged Groomers, Piste, Professional, Mixed Snow and Moguls with no Freeride tag. The Mantra 88 adds Freeride to that set. Neither carries a Powder tag, and for 26/27 the M7 Mantra does not either — the M7 Mantra carries the same set minus Professional. The M7 Mantra at 96 mm is the soft-snow step up on width, and it uses 4 Radius Drive instead of 3D Radius Sidecut.
- How is the Mantra 88 W different from the Mantra 88?
- By what Völkl publishes: the length range (149-170 cm instead of 163-184), the graphic, the recommended binding, and a tag set that adds Powder and Woman while dropping Professional. Sidecut, radius figures at both shared lengths, technology list, profile and retail price are identical, and Völkl publishes no claim that the W is softer, lighter or differently tuned. The weights say the same thing: the volkl.com 26/27 per-length tables print 1,690 g at 163 cm and 1,800 g at 170 cm for both, identical at the two lengths the runs share.
- Does the Völkl Mantra 88 come with bindings?
- No, it is a flat ski. The 26/27 catalog lists a Marker Griffon X 13 as the recommended pairing, which is a suggestion rather than a compatibility limit. The brake has to clear the 88 mm waist, and mounting and release setting are bench work for a certified technician — we do not publish DIN numbers.
- What length Völkl Mantra 88 should I get?
- It is built in 163, 170, 177 and 184 cm, and the three radii tighten as the ski shortens — 16.2 m underfoot at 177 against 13.2 m at 163. Independent testers report that it skis long for its stated length and several chose to size down, though one tester at 6 ft 3 in found the 177 short. Bring your boots and we will settle it against your height, weight and terrain.
- Is the Völkl Mantra 88 any good in powder?
- Völkl hangs no Powder tag on this ski, and none of the three men's Mantras PTO ordered gets one, so inside that order the tag set will not point you up a width. Independent reports say the same thing about this ski: tips submarine in five or six inches of fresh over a frozen base, and the ski gets hooky as the snow deepens. It handles firm off-piste snow, chalk and shallow crud well. For deep days the M7 Mantra at 96 mm is the step up on width, which is PTO's read and not a tag-backed one.
