The Volkl Kendo is somewhat of a staple among all mountain skis with two sheets of metal. It was one of the first, and is still a competitor and leader in that category. Its 90 mm waist width is designed to be versatile across a wide range of terrain and snow conditions. Tip and tail rocker along with some subtle early taper helps boost the skis maneuverability, and also makes turn initiation easier and smoother, especially when in soft snow. It’s not the lightest ski on the market, but it has an impressive amount of power and excellent vibration damping. Because of its weight and relatively demanding flex pattern, we saw some interesting variety in feedback from our testers, which seemed to correspond to tester weight. All of our testers were on the 177 cm length, so it’s a relatively even playing field despite the differences in sizes.
Jeff Neagle, one of our lighter testers on the Kendo, gave it 5 out of 5 for stability and edge grip, but only 3 out of 5 for playfulness and forgiveness. Jeff mentioned, “the Kendo has a strong following for a reason. Not many skis match this level of performance.” That’s true. Out of all the ~90 mm all mountain skis out there the, Kendo is among the stiffest and strongest. Jeff did add, however, that “you should be relatively aggressive and comfortable driving a ski to get the most out of it. Less aggressive or lighter weight skiers may find it’s a bit of a handful.”
Dave Raybould is also on the smaller side, and his reaction was similar to Jeff’s, with even more emphasis on the fact that it’s pretty demanding. Dave commented that it, “doesn’t like short turns. It’s a stiff ski that’s hard to bend for smaller skiers.” Clearly Dave had a similar experience on the Kendo as Jeff. If you’re around their size you should be ready for a ski that’s going to require a fair amount of skier input and power. Dave also added that it was, “tough to ski in bumps.” He thought it was “best for arcing wide turns on groomers, soft snow, or ungroomed crud.” He also noted that he thinks the Kendo is really only for an advanced or expert level skier.
Mike Thomas is quite a bit bigger than Jeff and Dave, so it was interesting to see how his reaction differed from theirs. Mike thought the Kendo was a “freeride all mountain ski at its finest,” and described it as, “solid, powerful, and quick for the width.” Mike gave the Kendo higher scores than Jeff and Dave for quickness, playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility, which is a nod to the different feel of the ski depending on skier size. Mike went on to say the Kendo is “popular for a reason; it’s a great ski.” He did add, however, that it’s best “for a skier who values a traditional feel from the Volkl brand.”
David Wolfgang was another bigger tester on the Kendo, and his reaction also differed from Jeff and Dave. David didn’t give the ski any scores lower than a 4, so he clearly didn’t feel the same unforgiving performance as our lighter testers. According to David, “this ski works. It had been 2 years since they last changed the Kendo, but why change it?” Something that’s very interesting is David scored the Kendo 5 out of 5 for playfulness, just like Mike. If you’re a heavier skier like Mike or David, you’ll have a much more user-friendly, forgiving experience on the Kendo.
For a lighter weight skier, the Kendo can be fairly demanding, but does have a level of performance that’s excellent for really aggressive skiers, even those on the lighter end of the spectrum. If you’re on the heavier side, you can be a more relaxed skier and really enjoy the Kendo. It has a great blend of stability and maneuverability for that type of skier and could easily be a one-ski-quiver for a lot of people.
