The Volkl Revolt 95 is a playful all mountain twin tip and is back for 2019 completely unchanged, with the exception of a new graphic. This ski is 95 mm underfoot and constructed using a relatively traditional multi-layer wood core. It is strengthened and given some energy with carbon stringers as well. The overall design of the Revolt 95 focuses on performance in the terrain park and around the rest of the mountain. It uses a rocker/camber/rocker profile with thinner tips and tails, what Volkl refers to as a “Butter Zone.” This should soften the tips and tails, while retaining a solid feel with good torsional stiffness underneath. We had 5 testers take out the 2019 Revolt 95, all of whom were on the 173 cm length.
Marcus Shakun described it as a “super fun, playful all mountain experience.” Marcus is very tall, so that 173 cm length is definitely on the short side for him, although he still scored it 4 out of 5 for stability, which is pretty impressive. Marcus thought it would be great for someone “who likes a more forgiving ski with no metal.” He gave the Revolt 95 high scores for quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness, which seems to have been a theme among our testers. He noted that he was impressed by the edge grip, commenting that it “can hold on hard snow, but is best in softer snow.”
Bob St.Pierre is another skier who really could’ve used a longer length Revolt 95, but he too was impressed by its performance. We saw 5 out of 5 for playfulness and quickness from Bob, and he added to those scores by commenting that it felt “very playful and maneuverable, wanted to turn and feel loved.” Bob thought it would be perfect for “park skiers and all mountain tweeners,” but also noted that “anyone from intermediate to expert will love the overall feel.”
Jake Inger continued the trend by scoring the Revolt 95 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness. He commented that “this ski can do anything from park to slalom turns. It is extremely forgiving and feels quite playful.” He did mentioned that he thought the weakness was their performance at “really high speeds,” but was impressed by the overall versatility and thought it was a ski that “could be used many different ways.”
Michael Carroll-Sherwin, like our other testers, gave the Revolt 95 high scores for quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness. He described the Revolt 95 as a “super fun, playful ski with a surprising amount of edge hold.” Touching on the fact that the Revolt 95 was originally designed for what we’ll call “all mountain freestyle,” Michael added that when you’re on this ski “no booter is safe!”
Noah Labow, an accomplished Freeski coach, had a blast on the Revolt 95. We saw 5 out of 5 for playfulness, quickness, versatility, and overall impression from Coach Noah. Noah thought it would be a “fun everyday ski,” and added that he “loved that this ski has camber and minimal rocker.” He thought that made it “ski longer than it was.” That’s something to keep in mind when choosing length. Just because it’s a twin tip with tip and tail rocker doesn’t mean it skis exceptionally short.
For park skiers and playful all mountain skiers, the Revolt 95 is a popular choice. The recommended mount point is true center, which is certainly a nod to its freestyle and freeski influence. Mount is a little further back from center, however, and all of a sudden you have a playful, directional all mountain ski that will be an absolute blast for anyone that likes a slightly softer flexing ski that can handle any terrain and snow conditions on the mountain.
