1 / 6Völkl Mantra 88 W Skis 26/27 (also known as Volkl)
In Stock — Ready to Ship
Need binding mounting?
We’ll mount your bindings and set your DIN. Free binding mounting when you order online.
PTO Verdict
“The short-length half of the Mantra 88 — and two testers on the same 163 who could not agree whether it forgives.”
Best for: 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.
Not for: 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.
At a Glance
Terrain
Ability Level
Pair It With
Compatible Ski Bindings
Browse our recommended binding brands for this ski.
Description
The Völkl Mantra 88 W is an 88 mm all-mountain ski built in four lengths from 149 to 170 cm, printed with the same sidecut, radii and price as the Mantra 88. Line the two catalog entries up: same 134-88-114 sidecut, matching radii at the two shared lengths. The published differences number four, and a softer build is not among them: the length run, the graphic, the binding suggestion, and a tag set that trades Professional for Powder and Woman.
The layup is the firm-snow recipe Völkl runs across the Mantra line: titanal framing scaled to each individual ski length, a thinner second sheet beneath the binding, hardwood in the multilayer core against the full sidewall, and carbon embroidered into the shovel along its stress lines. Short lengths carry less metal by design, which Völkl frames as its way of keeping smaller and lighter skiers agile — not a women's-specific softening. At 149 cm the underfoot radius is 10.6 m.
Six women testers across two sources rode it; stiff and stable recur, one reporting it held firm on ice at speed. Where they split is forgiveness, and they split hard. Two rode a 163 at Brighton; one came away saying it did not punish her for sitting back a little, the other that it started to feel like it would get away from her the instant she eased off. Both are honest, which makes this a ski to demo. It rewards skiers who commit to the turn. It is not for finesse-first skiers who steer lightly, and not for anyone chasing quick edge-to-edge feel. Deep snow: the powder tag here is a classification, not a ride report.
Alongside it the Mantra 84 W trades stiffness for quicker edge-to-edge; the real construction break sits at the Mantra 80 W, which swaps the titanal frame for a Glass Frame and Mini Cap. Want a 177 or 184? That is the Mantra 88 — same ski. It ships without bindings. Come in with your boots: we talk length first, then fit a binding whose brake clears 88 mm and mount it.
Specs
- Waist: 88 mm
- Dimensions: 134-88-114 mm at every published length
- Turn radius: 3D Radius Sidecut — 18.5 / 10.6 / 17.6 m (149); 23.5 / 13.2 / 21.3 m (163); 26.3 / 14.7 / 23.3 m (170). The current web table and official catalog conflict on the third 156 cm value, so it is not reproduced here.
- 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: not published · 156: 1620 g · 163: 1690 g · 170: 1800 g per ski, without binding
- Lengths: 149 / 156 / 163 / 170 cm
- Origin: Made in Germany
- Binding: Not included — sold flat
- Article number: V2610117.000
Details
- Type
- SKI
- Vendor
- Völkl
- SKU
- V2610117-149
- UPC / GTIN
- 821264838556
149 cm
Völkl Mantra 88 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
“The short-length half of the Mantra 88 — and two testers on the same 163 who could not agree whether it forgives.”
The Mantra 88 W and the Mantra 88 are one ski in two length ranges, and this is the short end: 149, 156, 163 and 170 cm. That is what the catalog prints: the same 134-88-114 sidecut, the same radius figures at both shared lengths, the same technology list. Völkl publishes four differences: lengths, graphic, suggested binding, and a tag set that adds Powder and Woman, drops Professional — Squire 12 TCX on this model, Griffon X 13 on the Mantra 88. For 26/27 it carries the catalog's NEW GRAPHIC label and steps from article number V2510117 to V2610117; the revised-geometry language in official copy belongs to 25/26.
The Mantra 88 W's construction is the line's firm-snow recipe, with one line worth care: Tailored Titanal Frame width is scaled to each individual ski length. That is a length rule, not a gender rule — a 163 Mantra 88 and a 163 Mantra 88 W fall under it identically. It does mean the 149 and 156 carry less metal by design, Völkl's stated route to agility for smaller and lighter skiers. Underfoot radius at 149 cm is 10.6 m, against 16.2 m on a 177 cm Mantra 88.
The Mantra 88 W's testers disagree about forgiveness, and the disagreement is unusually clean: two of them rode a 163 at Brighton and came away opposite. One wrote that it answered her more the harder she committed, and did not punish her when she laid back. The other wrote that it is not a ski to slouch on, and that it wanted to run away the moment she stepped off the gas. A third, on a 170 in New Hampshire, hedged on purpose: it rewards solid input but forgives the occasional lapse — her emphasis on occasional. Panel scores spread the same way: 10/10 overall with forgiveness 9/10 from one tester, 7/10 with 6/10 from another.
The Mantra 88 W sits behind a wider version of that argument. Reviews of the Mantra 88's 177 and 184 lengths split the same way, and there it resolves into reference sets: one reviewer setting it beside its equals in carving and high-speed composure and calling it tolerant, others judging it against the market and finding it strict. Those testers rode lengths this model does not offer, so their verdicts do not carry to it.
volkl.com prints 1,620, 1,690 and 1,800 g at 156, 163 and 170 cm, without binding, and nothing for the 149. Do not reach for the Mantra 88's 1,930 g and subtract: that is a 177, a length this ski does not come in. volkl.com now prints both per length, and at the two lengths they share the published figures are identical — 1,690 g at 163, 1,800 g at 170. No published weight gap, then. The Mantra 84 W is the quicker, softer step down; the Mantra 80 W changes platform entirely, dropping titanal for glass. Sold flat — binding and release setting are bench work here.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski — sold without bindings. No mount point is printed for this model in the 26/27 catalog, so we mount to the line marked on the ski. Our pick: Völkl's catalog pairing is the Marker Squire 12 TCX — we match the binding to your boot, weight and DIN range in shop.
- Marker Squire 12 TCXVölkl's catalog pairing
The recommended binding printed against this model in the 26/27 Völkl catalog, in sandy – anthracite.
This suggestion is one of the four published differences from the Mantra 88, which is paired with a Marker Griffon X 13 instead. A 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
- What actually differs between the Mantra 88 W and the Mantra 88?
- Four published things: the length range, 149-170 cm on this model against 163-184 on the Mantra 88; the graphic; the binding Völkl suggests — a Squire 12 TCX on this ski, a Griffon X 13 on the other; and the tag set, which adds Powder and Woman here while dropping Professional. Sidecut, radius figures at both shared lengths, profile, core, technology list and retail price all match. If you want a 177 or 184, buy the Mantra 88 — same ski, longer sizes.
- Is the Mantra 88 W softer or lighter than the Mantra 88?
- No published difference exists. Völkl prints the same sidecut, the same radius figures at both shared lengths, the same technology list for both, and publishes no flex index for either ski, so no numeric stiffness comparison can be made. Compared at the same length rather than across the two headline figures, the published figures do not differ: volkl.com prints 1,690 g at 163 cm (the dealer catalog prints one reference figure for this ski, 1,710 g at the same length) and 1,800 g at 170 cm for both this ski and the Mantra 88.
- Mantra 84 W vs Mantra 88 W vs M7 Mantra W — which one?
- The Mantra 84 W is the quicker, less stiff step down; a tester who rode both called the 88 W significantly stiffer and slower edge to edge. The Mantra 88 W adds 4 mm of waist, the Freeride tag and — alone among the six Völkl skis PTO ordered for 26/27 — the Powder tag. The M7 Mantra W at 96 mm is the soft-snow step up on width, and it uses 4 Radius Drive rather than 3D Radius Sidecut; Völkl gives it no Powder tag this season.
- Does the Mantra 88 W come with bindings?
- No, it is a flat ski. The 26/27 catalog lists a Marker Squire 12 TCX 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 W should I get?
- It comes in 149, 156, 163 and 170 cm, and the underfoot radius tightens as the ski shortens — 10.6 m at 149 against 14.7 m at 170. One cell on Völkl's own page breaks the pattern, a 14.9 m rear radius at 156 that sits below its 149 figure, which reads as a typo rather than a design point. One tester advised erring shorter if you fall between sizes, and another who rode the 170 wished for something around 166. Bring your boots and we will settle it against your height, weight and terrain.
- Is the Mantra 88 W any good in powder?
- Völkl tags this ski for Powder and does not tag the wider M7 Mantra W, which is the reverse of what the widths suggest and which PTO cannot explain. Read that tag as Völkl's classification, not as evidence: no tester on record has reported on this ski in soft snow, so PTO cannot tell you whether it is earned. On width alone the M7 Mantra W at 96 mm is the deep-day step up.
- Is the 26/27 Mantra 88 W different from the 25/26?
- No — the 26/27 catalog carries the NEW GRAPHIC label and the article number moves from V2510117 to V2610117 with the model digits unchanged. The revised-geometry language you will still find in official copy, including a center radius shortened by a meter, describes the 25/26 redesign rather than this season. Two independent reviews confirm the same carryover in print, though both write it about the Mantra 88 by name rather than this SKU.
