My first pair of Voile skis were the great Carbon Surfs. Back in 2005, they were the best and lightest fatties on the market. They were rated the #1 powder ski in every ski mag around the globe. And while I really liked them, I had still to bother with heavy, bulky skins. And they were still not as light as my Karhu Guides. I bought some other Voile skis afterwards but always came back to my Guides for pure powder fun because of their weight vs surface ratio. But I think that is about to change…
Over the years, I sort of became obsessed with the term lightweight. As you know, I don’t care much about gear and the plastic exo-skeleton boots you buy and how much your paid per gram for your Meidjo 5.1 bindings. For me, it’s all about fun and playing outside. But still, the feeling of being light on the snow is pretty much the best feeling you can get. My obsession didn't come out of curiosity or because I wanted to show off my 2k$ imported skis on the slopes. I couldn't care less about skimo races or uphill performance. It came mainly came from the fact that I only ski floppy XC shoes in the backcountry, no matter what. So the lighter the skis, the better the downhill control. That is my definition of fun.
Since the rich baby boomers came into the scene with their alpine touring gear, it somehow became possible to manufacture skis under 6lbs. Somehow, the AT crowd was able to turn backcountry skiing, a spiritual recreational activity practiced for fun and enlightenment, into a competitive beat-the-clock sport battle against other rich guys with expensive and exotic gear. Too bad for them, they will never understand the very essence of gliding on planks with bended knees. The one upside to that is that they are responsible for modern light skis and all sorts of new funny meta-para-loco-aramid fibers.
After all these years and all the new technology, I still haven’t found a better XCD powder ski than The Guide (and I've tried a few…) But this year I wanted to try something. My plan was to buy the best and lightest rando racing ski and turn it into my dream ski. I ended up wanted to buy a pair of Merelli VRT skis at a stunning 590g per ski. The main problem with randonnée skis is that none of them come in a waxless version. Well, that is not a real problem, since my plan was to send them to Bri7 to Fishscalized them. The other problem is that they might be super light, the main reason for this is that they only make them 160cm long. That is still problematic, as Bri7 can’t seem to be able to elongate skis yet.
I might no longer need to go through complex, expensive and exhaustive processes to get my dream ski. Voile might have build it for me already. Meet the Objective BC ski, Voile’s new and upcoming BC touring ski. Inspired by skimo racing, the latest member of Voile ski family places an emphasis on fast ascents and long-distance travel. It resides somewhere between the WSP and Vector skis. 4lbs 3oz, waxless, rockered tips…A lot of sidecut... And up to 178cm! Available August 2016...
2 Carbon Fiberglass Layers
Durable Polyamide Topsheet
1.8 mm Steel Side Edges
Rockered Tip
164cm 171cm 178cm
Tip Width (mm) 112 115 117
Waist (mm) 80 82 84
Tail Width (mm) 97 99 102
Radius (m) 8.0 18.5 19.5
Pair Weight 1.9kg 2.1kg 2.27kg
