By Brand

Volkl Gotama Skis

Jim's review: The Gotama has been a crowd pleaser for a couple of years now and it is easy to see why. The "Goat" offers a superb combination of width, flex, and sidecut for the skier who lives for the off trail. Although there are some minor construction tweaks for '08, Volkl has wisely left the general skiing character of this ski unchanged. I tested the Goat over a two day period in February and got a day of deep untracked powdercat skiing followed by a day of deep leftovers at a resort. Through it all, the ski was a near perfect combination of float in the fluff and power in the goo. The Gotama feels like it wants to "flow" from turn to turn rather than push. This quiet feel inspired confidence even when the light was flat and the terrain was throwing me constant curveballs. When I ventured into an area that was sprouting a patch of soft bumps interspersed with medium tight trees, the Goat was smooth and effortless. This is not the stiffest, most powerful fat ski around, nor is it the lightest and most nimble. It is however, a ski that offers one of the best compromises of all these characteristics. I skied the 183 with the boot on the rearward mounting line and for my weight and preferences, it was perfect. Some bigger faster skiers may want the 190, or a stiffer ski in general, but I'm willing to trade off higher mach capabilities for maneuverability.

Tyler says: The Volkl the Gotama is one of the best skis within this category. When Volkl Built the Gotama they produced a ski with a phenomenal balance between performance and ease. At first glance many people look at the Gotama and say "powder only" that is simply not true about the Gotama, the sidecut on this ski allows great versatility. Now I'm not going to sit here and call it a great everyday ski but it certainly has the ability to ski a lot of conditions. No matter if you are wanting to rip GS turns down the steepest faces or ski the trees the Gotama this may be the ski for you.

**Note, this ski does NOT come with bindings**