2025 Volkl Blaze 114

With a fresh new graphic, the 2025 Volkl Blaze 114 returns structurally unchanged. If you like wider, fun skis that can drift and smear with ease, you’re in luck. Bonus points if you enjoy lighter skis that still can rip turns. Volkl uses their existing Blaze attitude and adds in some eco-friendly designs to make the 114 a modern marvel of ski construction. While we get many of the same shaping principles that we have loved about the narrower skis in the line, the 114 takes it to the next level in terms of flotation, playfulness, and even touring versatility. While not many skiers will go so far as to call a 114 “versatile,” the fact that it’s light enough to tour on makes it slightly more well-rounded than its heavier contemporaries. Suitable for tech, hybrid, or alpine bindings, the usefulness of the ski is a welcome ski in the Blaze line. With new 104’s and 94’s for 2025, the 114 could be seen as the driving force and inspiration behind the build changes for those skis.

Volkl, as always, pulls out all the stops for building skis. Constructed with a Hybrid Multilayer wood core, the ski uses a mix of poplar, beech, and Green Core. These elements are all slotted on the bottom to create an insanely light overall feel and character. The Green Core is the big story here, consisting mainly of recycled plastic bottles. These two central strips give the ski an interesting feel—we've seen both PET plastic like this as well as Polyurethane used in ski cores for a while now, and it’s amazing at how these materials can hold up performance-wise as well as reducing the ski’s carbon footprint. If something can do both, then it’s a nice outcome. The 114 contains a titanal binding platform, which does have structural elements to it as well as binding retention. In the tips and tails, we get Volkl’s application of a rubber material to minimize chatter and keep the ski smooth and stable. There’s a lot of surface area here on this ski, so it’s not shocking that the 184 almost hits 2000 grams. Tester Pete Fox notes that it’s “incredibly nimble for a 114-width ski. Fast edge to edge, great float, awesome ski.”

The footprint returns unchanged, and we think that’s a great thing, especially since we got to ski it in deeper snow this winter. At 114 mm underfoot, it’s the widest Blaze, and unsurprisingly, the floatiest. There’s a whole lot of rocker in this ski—it’s basically flat, but there’s still enough camber underfoot to at least mention it. The length of the rocker in the tips and tails is what stands out for this ski, making it clean and smooth from beginning to end. Assisting with the smooth feeling of the ski from a rocker standpoint, the 3D Radius Sidecut also kicks in here. By generating a huge turn radius in the tips and tails (39-meters and 29-meters respectively), the ski takes a direct line. At the same time, the 18-meter center radius allows skiers to get this ski to turn. The weight and hook-free nature make it super-easy to pivot and slarve, and skidded slash turns are super easy and a ton of fun. Bob St.Pierre got to use these on ski test day 3, noting that “even in wind-affected snow, these skis drifted great. They are so incredibly maneuverable and fun in the trees. You do need some snow to bring out the best of their performance attributes, but when the conditions align, like they did this day, I can’t think of a more mobile, playful, or engaging ski to be on at this width.”

We love the new graphics, hopefully this will appeal to a broader audience. With huge tips, big tails, light weight core, and a freeride mentality, Blaze 114 is in a league of its own. Since last year, we have skied it on multiple snowy days here in Vermont, and it absolutely loved being pushed both straight and sideways, whether on-trail or off. Normally, skis this wide require a lot of work to get them to sing, but the 114 has a whole lot of composure for being this gargantuan. It’s an interesting blend, and while most skis are moving a bit narrower, it’s nice to see that there’s still room for a wide, light, fun-loving ski that can tour as well as charge. For snowy days and full-on adventure skiing, it’s tough to beat the Blaze 114.