2022 VOLKL M6 MANTRA SKI REVIEW

It feels like just yesterday that Volkl announced the new M5 Mantra. I vividly remember our first day testing it. It was a sleeper powder day at Stowe with about 10 inches of some of the lightest, fluffiest snow I’ve ever skied. I don’t think there was a single moment when everyone in our group wasn’t smiling. The snow was amazing, the skis were amazing, all was well. While we haven’t had a powder day like that yet this season, we do have a new Mantra to talk about, now the M6 Mantra, and it’s equally good at bringing smiles to our testers’ faces despite not having that blower powder to test it in.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the Mantra in general. It’s an iconic ski and an iconic name. It’s always been designed for advanced and expert level skiers, and Volkl has often referenced the idea that the Mantra is built for the best skier on the mountain. The M5 Mantra was the best yet, and in our testing, emerged as one of, if not the most, precise skis in the mid-90’s all-mountain category. It has tremendous edge grip, superb responsiveness, really good stability at speed, and some versatility too. We’ve talked about it at length over the past few seasons, and it’s really carved its niche in the market nicely.

---

The M6 Mantra carries those trends forward, and in a lot of ways, is a very, very similar ski to the M5 Mantra, but with some subtle tweaks and changes that have improved overall feel and performance, increased versatility, increased forgiveness, and also allows for more variety in turn shapes. Those changes haven’t, however, taken away anything that we liked about the M5. It’s still precise, it’s still highly responsive, and it will still satisfy the best skier on the mountain, which is important. Taking away those characteristics would be taking away what makes the Mantra the Mantra, and no one wants that.

So, what are those changes? There are basically 3 major changes to discuss. One of those changes was relatively expected, the other 2, not so much, and arguably mark a bigger change in Volkl’s engineering going forward. We’re not 100% sure about that last part, but it certainly feels that way. The first change, the one we expected, is 3D.Radius. This technology first showed the year after the M5 Mantra was released. The Kendo 88, Mantra 102, Deacon 84, the Blazes 94 and 106, and plenty of other skis within Volkl’s collection all received this update. Longer radii are used in the tips and tails, while a shorter radius is used underfoot. This design helps a skier achieve different turn shapes, especially different radius carving turns, and it’s really cool. It also works well with the Titanal Frame construction, as is evident in skis like the Kendo. There’s less metal underfoot by design, allowing for a bigger sweet spot and a more natural flex pattern underfoot. By allowing the ski to flex more underfoot and by giving it a shorter radius in that area, it’s much easier to engage those shorter radius turns than on a ski with a singular radius and/or a more consistent tip to tail construction.

Speaking of Titanal Frame, that’s one of the technologies that’s been tweaked in the M6 Mantra, and it isn’t something we necessarily expected to see. For 2022, in the M6 Mantra and Secret 96, we get Tailored Titanal Frame. The word “Tailored” is kind of the theme of these new skis, and it’s something we’re starting to see more of in the industry. Each length of the M6 Mantra and Secret 96 has a slightly different Titanal Frame. In general, metal has been removed from the tip area. Volkl’s engineers determined you don’t need as much metal all the way in the extremities of the ski, and by removing some, they’re reducing swing weight. As you move closer to the bindings or midsole of the ski, the metal goes back to the same width it was on in the previous Mantra, or at least it’s really close, if not identical. Then the Tailored part comes into play. That wider part of the Titanal Frame is shorter on shorter length skis and longer on longer length skis. The idea is a bigger, heavier skier needs more metal, while a smaller skier choosing a shorter length should have less metal, and thus a flex pattern that’s more appropriate for their size, as well as the size of the ski. This is a similar conversation as we’ve had over the past year in talking about Blizzard’s new True Blend wood core, and I think it’s something that we’ll see more and more of in the industry. It makes a lot of sense to customize the performance of each length for the intended skier on that length. It’s more expensive for the manufacturer, but it’s valuable for the consumer.

The other “Tailored” technology is the new Tailored Carbon Tip. The previous M5 Mantra used a unilateral sheet of carbon fiber, similar to what we see in most skis that use carbon. The new M6 Mantra has strips of carbon that basically crisscross in the tip of the ski. The placement of these carbon strips is, you guessed it, custom tailored for each length ski. This is something we expect to see in more and more Volkl skis going forward, as it gives their engineers a lot of control over the turn engagement of each ski. Also, after removing some metal from the tip and tail of the ski, Volkl wanted to make sure they retained strong torsional stiffness, and this new technology gives them a lot of control over that aspect of the flex.

So, what about performance? As we said at the beginning of this article, overall, the M6 is very similar to the M5. Still responsive, still really good edge grip, but it feels a little more versatile now in a few different ways. Let’s start with the 3D.Radius and its effect, as I think that’s a really important new feature on this ski. In my opinion, 3D.Radius has two major benefits. It makes the ski feel quicker underfoot, and also makes the tips and tails less catchy. That phenomenon is extremely evident in skis like the Blaze 106, but also holds true in the M6 Mantra and other narrower skis as well. The M6 Mantra in the 177 cm length has radii of 30 m in the tip, 18 m underfoot, and 24 m in the tail. For comparison, the M5 in the same length had a singular radius of 19.8 m. The shorter radius underfoot, although not a drastic difference on paper, really changes the way the ski comes across the fall line. I find it completes a carving turn more easily, or more specifically, a mid to shorter-radius carve. I think this is one of the most important technologies in Volkl’s skis right now. It allows the skier to (relatively) easily make both big, sweeping Super G turns as well as tighter, more aggressive GS turns. I like that a lot, and I am excited to get that performance in the M6.

The other benefit of the 3D.Radius is the less catchy feel in the tips and tails. While you can make a quicker carving turn on the M6 than the M5, it also releases the tail edge more easily and feels more compliant when you want to skid or smear a turn. That’s enhanced by the fact that the swing weight is a little lighter and the tips and tails aren’t quite as stiff, at least in the longitudinal sense of stiffness (they still have equally strong torsional stiffness). In other words, the M6 Mantra is noticeably easier to flick around than the previous ski. The M5 wasn’t as challenging in that regard as other skis in its category with lots of metal (think Bonafide, MX99, etc), but it wasn’t exactly easy either. It was something that required good technique for sure. The M6 still responds best on the feet of a skier with good technique, but the way it allows you to play around with the style of turn you’re making is noticeably easier than on the M5, and I think most skiers will really appreciate that.

The new Tailored Carbon Tip retains the precision and responsiveness we’ve come to expect in the Mantra, and if anything, it takes it to another level. It’s noticeable that the M6 Mantra performs better at slower or more moderate speeds compared to the M5. I think that’s a combination of a lot of things, including the shorter radius underfoot and lighter swing weight, but I’m going to give some credit to the new tip construction too. Although it’s lighter up there, it feels like it’s puling you into a turn a little more easily. The previous ski, at times, felt like it required a lot of speed to really come alive. The M6 feels less planky when you’re just cruising around at slow speeds. It allows you to make fun little carves on flatter sections of trail, an area where the M5 kind of felt like it was bored, as if it was saying “why aren’t we on the steepest trail on the mountain?” I think the M6 has a similar personality, it loves steep, challenging terrain and a skier who will push it, but now it feels like it’s saying something like “hey, this is fun too! Sure, go ahead and make some fun turns while you’re cruising down this green circle.” I think that is a valuable characteristic to have in a ski, especially when a manufacturer can achieve it without taking anything away from the top-end of the ski like Volkl did with the M6.

Choosing length is arguably more important than ever before with the new M6 Mantra, as you are going to get slightly different performance in each length. We’ve been busy putting different skiers on different lengths and will continue to do so throughout the season, so don’t hesitate if you need help deciding what’s best for you. To summarize, and to wrap up this review of the new M6 Mantra, I think it’s fair to say that Volkl just made it better. It’s objectively a better ski, which is saying a lot, because the M5 is also a really, really good ski. I think it’s natural for skiers to get excited about something that’s totally new, but that’s not always the best thing for a manufacturer to do. If you’ve got a good recipe already, don’t just throw it away and start over. Maybe just add some extra spices or change your cooking times…. We’ve seen that method be successful in recent years for other big players like the Blizzard Bonafide 97 and Nordica Enforcer 100, and I think Volkl nailed it too with this new ski. Give the people what they already like, just make it a little bit better.

---

Written by Jeff Neagle on 01/06/21