Really New Skis

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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
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Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Really New Skis

Post by lowangle al » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:02 pm

lowangle al wrote:I haven't had the skis out yet but I've made a few observations. Compared to my old Vectors I saved about 10 oz.(280gr) per pair while gaining 7cms in length. Not bad but I'd have been thrilled to save a whole lb.

Both pairs are mounted using Voiles boot center recommendation and both pin lines are the same distance from that mark. I was surprised (not pleasantly) that of the 7cm I gained only about 2.7 cm were in the tip and 4.4 cm were in the tail. I wish it were the other way around for more float. I'm not too sensitive about mounting location but I guess I could move them back if I thought I need to.

The other surprise was the scale pattern. The Hypers are 7cm longer but the scales are 10cm longer. Since the old skis climbed so well I would have rather seen the scales not increase by more than 7cm. leaning towards possibly better glide.

These aren't big deal things and I have a lot of confidence that Voile knows what they are doing so I am still optimistic that I will like them.
I've had the Hypers out 4 times and they have greatly surpassed my expectations. The extra length, especially in the tails, made for a much better balanced ski with a wider sweet spot then the Vectors. They do not need to be driven towards the tips to keep you centered. This combined with the smoother flex made them more stable, smoother and they tracked much better in powder.

They also toured better than the Vectors. They seemed to have a better glide, at times it felt like I was going downhill when I was actually climbing low angle. The grip also seemed better, more noticeable in wet snow than dry.

I was disappointed when Voile discontinued the Vector, but now I know why and it was a good move. The Vector is still a great ski, and if you can find a pair of gently used ones mounted with hardwires in the $500.00 range I'd grab em.

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voilenerd
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Re: Really New Skis

Post by voilenerd » Fri Jun 14, 2019 7:57 am

I picked up a set of 184 hyper vectors last August. I really enjoyed them for the season. I have them mounted by Voile with HW and running T2 ecos. Scales climb extremely well. I only had to use my skins a few times this season. Kick and glide is great and fairly easy to tele on soft snow. My only complaint is the tips kinda wave back and forth going down steep hardpack. It might be my skills however lacking because im not great skier on hardpack and have hard time doing tele turns on steep hardpack. Next season thinking about getting V6 BC and Switchback X2. Hopefully Voile fixes their hyper line for tele mounts. My Hyper Vectors were grand fathered in under warranty.



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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
Favorite boots: Scarpa T4
Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Really New Skis

Post by lowangle al » Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:06 am

voilenerd wrote:I picked up a set of 184 hyper vectors last August. I really enjoyed them for the season. I have them mounted by Voile with HW and running T2 ecos. Scales climb extremely well. I only had to use my skins a few times this season. Kick and glide is great and fairly easy to tele on soft snow. My only complaint is the tips kinda wave back and forth going down steep hardpack. It might be my skills however lacking because im not great skier on hardpack and have hard time doing tele turns on steep hardpack. Next season thinking about getting V6 BC and Switchback X2. Hopefully Voile fixes their hyper line for tele mounts. My Hyper Vectors were grand fathered in under warranty.
Luckily mine are grandfathered in too. I spoke with Voile about getting my wife a pair and what the worst case scenario would be if a binding ripped out. They said it would be 105.00 plus my shipping to them. I don't think it's a high probability that she'd pull one out and I think it's worth the risk to save the weight.

As far as the tips on steep hard pack I haven't had a problem. Had mine on some steep hard windblown snow and skied it real slow doing P turns, worked real nice. I did find that on carvable snow they hold a line extremely well and are real stable. I ski mine with T4s and love the combo.



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Woodserson
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Ski style: Bumps, trees, steeps and long woodsy XC tours
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Re: Really New Skis

Post by Woodserson » Sun Jun 16, 2019 12:28 pm

voilenerd wrote:I picked up a set of 184 hyper vectors last August. I really enjoyed them for the season. I have them mounted by Voile with HW and running T2 ecos. Scales climb extremely well. I only had to use my skins a few times this season. Kick and glide is great and fairly easy to tele on soft snow. My only complaint is the tips kinda wave back and forth going down steep hardpack. It might be my skills however lacking because im not great skier on hardpack and have hard time doing tele turns on steep hardpack. Next season thinking about getting V6 BC and Switchback X2. Hopefully Voile fixes their hyper line for tele mounts. My Hyper Vectors were grand fathered in under warranty.
I bought some V6 smooth with X2s and they are the bomb in soft snow. Hook line sinker. I love those skis to death. In tight eastern trees I can ski the fall line like a undulating leaf, like I’m descending a staircase. Unreal. Smooth, quiet, pivotable, goddamm. Softer than the Ultravectors



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voilenerd
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Re: Really New Skis

Post by voilenerd » Mon Jun 17, 2019 8:04 pm

Hey wooderson, how are the V6 on hardpack? I also see Voile is releasing the drifter again. Too fat for me however.

I'm curious how the V6s will stack up against my hypervectors. The tighter turning radius sounds great but it seems they have less camber for kick and glide than vectors.



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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
Favorite boots: Scarpa T4
Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Really New Skis

Post by lowangle al » Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:40 am

I'd like to hear what Woods has to say, but I think the Hypers will be more versatile.



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Woodserson
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Re: Really New Skis

Post by Woodserson » Tue Jun 18, 2019 7:08 am

voilenerd wrote:Hey wooderson, how are the V6 on hardpack? I also see Voile is releasing the drifter again. Too fat for me however.

I'm curious how the V6s will stack up against my hypervectors. The tighter turning radius sounds great but it seems they have less camber for kick and glide than vectors.
The V6 has a tighter turning radius because it’s slightly more rockered and softer and less cambered than the Ultravectors. It’s no slouch, but having flexed the Ultravectors (I bought a pair, played with them, decided not for and returned) I think the UV would be a better hardpack ski. I think the UV is ideal if one doesn’t want an Objective AND a V6. It covers both ends of that spectrum. At 155lbs stretched over 6’2”+ on a good day I think the 177 would’ve been slightly too much (stiff) for me, but it was less stiff than the old Vector.

*the above opinions are based on NON-Hyper NON-BC models. Also I have limited hardpack skiing on the V6 due to season getting cut short.



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lilcliffy
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Re: Really New Skis

Post by lilcliffy » Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:01 pm

Not that I have ever tried the V6 nor the current Vector (i.e. Ultra)-

Looking at the specs- the V6 has a tighter turning radius- despite being wider underfoot- because it has much less effective edge than the Ultravector.

To my eye, the V6 is a deep, soft snow specific ski- Voile refers to it as an "everyday powder ski"- Voile refers to the Ultravector as being "the best in our line for firm snow", and "it wouldn’t be a Voile ski if it wasn’t a fierce contender on powder days".

While I certainly see people skidding and sliding around on powder skis on consolidated snow- I personally don't get it. To each their own, but I personally want a ski that will charge and hold an edge on hardpack- I would think that I would "prefer" the UV over the V6 on hardpack- though I much prefer a narrower ski than either for skiing on hardpack...

The UV is obviously designed to be much more versatile than a soft-snow-specific ski- but, that also makes it difficult to get it just right...

Regardless- I would suggest that Voile would appreciate getting feedback on all of this very much from those of you that are putting their skis through their paces. I would think that the "Vector" will continue to evolve as they try to get it just right!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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lowangle al
Posts: 2732
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2014 3:36 pm
Location: Pocono Mts / Chugach Mts
Ski style: BC with focus on downhill perfection
Favorite Skis: powder skis
Favorite boots: Scarpa T4
Occupation: Retired cement mason. Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.

Re: Really New Skis

Post by lowangle al » Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:11 am

lilcliffy wrote: While I certainly see people skidding and sliding around on powder skis on consolidated snow- I personally don't get it. To each their own, but I personally want a ski that will charge and hold an edge on hardpack- I would think that I would "prefer" the UV over the V6 on hardpack- though I much prefer a narrower ski than either for skiing on hardpack...
I skied a lot of consolidated snow this season, luckily it was always carveable and had no problem with the vectors or UV. The only time I had a problem was on 35 degree slope that was too hard. I had to fight to keep an edge and my knees hurt after about four hundred feet of vert. Bigger boots than the T4 would have helped, but I was wishin I had thinner skis. P turns might have worked better but I didn't try them on that run.

I think Voile got all the bugs out of the vector with the UV and to me it is bug free. The longer tails is what did it for me.
The UV is just as capable as the old vector but is much more stable and comfortable allowing you to do everything better.

Voilenerd, I was real happy with the way the UVs skier powder but I can see where the V6 could be even more fun. If you are thinking of getting them for more fun they would probably be worth it, but if you want them because you hope they will improve your performance I would just stick with the UVs.



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lilcliffy
Posts: 4112
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:20 pm
Location: Stanley, New Brunswick, Canada
Ski style: backcountry Nordic ski touring
Favorite Skis: Asnes Ingstad, Combat Nato, Amundsen, Rabb 68; Altai Kom
Favorite boots: Alpina Alaska BC; Lundhags Expedition; Alfa Skaget XP; Scarpa T4
Occupation: Forestry Professional
Instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology
Husband, father, farmer and logger

Re: Really New Skis

Post by lilcliffy » Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:59 pm

lowangle al wrote: I think Voile got all the bugs out of the vector with the UV and to me it is bug free.
This makes sense to me.
The UV is just as capable as the old vector but is much more stable and comfortable allowing you to do everything better.
This is quite something! The original Vector was amazing!
Cross-country AND down-hill skiing in the backcountry.
Unashamed to be a "cross-country type" and love skiing down-hill.



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