2024 VOLKL REVOLT 96 SKI REVIEW

For 2024, we’re getting some new Revolts! The 95 which has been around for almost 10 years now has now been given some modern upgrades that just make a lot of sense for Volkl, especially with the direction that we’ve seen park skis moving recently. By bringing forward many of the attributes that has made the Revolt an amazing park and all-mountain ski, Volkl has been able to add new technology that brings this ski to the forefront of modern freestyle. While many skiers will use the Revolt 96 as a park-specific ski, that’s not going to be the case for everyone. This Revolt 96, much like its predecessor, is a fantastically fun and entertaining as an all-mountain option for a huge range of skiers. We’ve been talking up the merits of mid-90's twin tips for a long time around here, and this one fit right in with the best of them.

From a construction perspective, this new Revolt 96 isn’t that far off what we’ve seen in the past. It’s still built with a MultiLayer Wood Core consisting of poplar and beech. This core has been on the dense side of the Multi-Layer spectrum over the years, and it does lead to a somewhat hefty feel in the ski. The 173 cm length tips the scale at 1920 grams, which is on the heavy side for a twin-tip, but it also makes sense when we’re dealing with durability, aggressive takeoffs and landings, high-speed rails, butters, and presses. It’s a thicker core profile than a lot of other skis in this range, especially in the tips and tails, again adding to the durable and stable nature of the ski. Aside from the poplar and beech, there’s not a whole lot else going on here internally—we're seeing the fiberglass laminates holding it all together, but it’s a pretty simple build overall.

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The shape and profile is where we’re seeing some differences and modernization. The rocker profile stays a bit more the same, with tip and tail rocker to go along with underfoot camber. This rocker is enough to make the ski great in softer snow, trees, and bumps, while being precise enough to handle carving both in and out of the park. While there are some park skis out there that fall more on the cambered side of the spectrum, which is great for generating pop in the park and pipe, the Revolt 96 leans a bit more to the freeride side, with decent rocker and splay in both tips and tails. When we bounce over to shape, there’s more going on. Based on the park success of the competition-oriented Revolt 90, the new 96 employs more taper to the footprint. This allows creative skiers the ability to smear and press the skis off of jumps and lips without the fear of catching or hooking an edge. It’s a smoother way to take off and land, and this tapered shape seems to be catching on when it comes to competition park skis. The older version had very little taper, and while that was great for having a long and smooth effective edge, it did cut into the park prowess a little bit. This increased taper not only jives with how park skis are used these days, but also provides a smoother snow feel in the deeper snow, making it a better floater and a more playful ski in an all-mountain and freeride format.

Keeping with the shape, but in a slightly different angle, the skis also get Volkl’s 3D Radius Sidecut, which adds a new element to the overall feel of the ski. You can really tighten up the turn shape of this ski if you’re pressing through the middle, and if you have it mounted either on the team line or somewhere close, that’s generally where you’re going to be. It’s not as wide of a spread of turn shapes as we see in some other, more directional skis in Volkl’s line, with the 181 offering up a 23/20/22-meter range in the tip, waist, and tail zone. As you go shorter, these numbers decrease as well, making it a tighter radius ski in the smaller sizes. The extra 1 mm of width underfoot doesn’t do a whole lot either in or out of the park, it’s likely been added for the purpose of incorporating the 3D Radius Sidecut. This, as well as the added taper, are the two main differences in terms of shaping for this new ski.

Performance-wise, we’re still dealing with a fun-loving twin-tip, and that has not changed. Directional skiers will want to move the mount point back a few centimeters to get the most versatility, but park and freestyle lovers will be quite happy on the line. I’ll let Jeff to speak to that in his section, but for myself, and others like me who love the feel of a sturdy, playful ski, it’s worth going back about 4-6 cm from the line. At that point, the ski comes to life when it comes to all-mountain use. The tips of the skis are super-easy to initiate, and when you get it up on edge, it makes some very clean and round turns. Since it’s flexible, skiers can access the entirety of the sidecut to make it come across the fall line with ease. Compared to its far more directional brethren, the Mantra M6 at 96 mm underfoot, the Revolt 96 is considerably easier to carve across the trail and operates very well at moderate speeds. The tails are strong, especially given the core profile thickness, so do not mistake this for a noodly park ski. It’s a whole lot of fun on the groomers, and while it lacks that top-end stability as well as the ability to really lay into it in a high-speed carve, everything else from short-swing turns to medium-radius arcs are a whole lot of fun.

One of the best parts of having a twin-tip is the ability of the ski to venture off the corduroy. In the bumps, I’m a huge fan of the straighter cut of the ski as it allows you to take a more direct line down the hill. The ski doesn’t pull you around if you don’t want it to, and it makes it easy and fun to wiggle around the moguls as much as you’d like. The tips and tails aren’t too wide, so they’re simple to maneuver through the troughs and crests. When you pop into the trees, it’s about as smooth as a ski gets. The Revolt 96 is just as happy going sideways as it is going frontways, and that’s a huge advantage when it comes to tighter glades like we have here in Vermont. The ability to K-turn out of a tricky spot with the twin-tip is a thing of beauty, and it allows you to continue on your line with minimal interruptions. It’s balanced, pure, and intuitive when you get off-trail, and that’s a huge benefit to this ski, taking it far from being just a park ski and adding it to the long list of super-capable mid-90's all-mountain skis. In that zone, the new Revolt 96 is one of the most playful of the bunch to be sure. Now I’ll hand it off to Jeff, who’ll give his 2 cents on park-specific performance.

When Volkl mentioned they were replacing the Revolt 95, my ears perked up. That was my daily driver ski back in 2015/16, and I’ve skied it a bunch since then too. It has always worked well for how I like to ski. Capable in the park, but not completely out of place anywhere else you decide to take it. I do, however, think that in the past few seasons, it’s become just a touch outdated, mostly thanks to the shape. The Revolt 95 had that extended sidecut shape with the widest point of the ski being right at the end, whether in the tip or the tail. The new Revolt 96, on the other hand, works in a lot more early taper, which makes sense for a ski like this in the park. Generally, someone buying this ski is likely not focusing on competitions, rather just wants to have a fun, playful, buttery ski in the park. Maybe someone will compete on it, and it wouldn’t be wildly surprising, but with skis like the Revolt 90, I still think that’s a fair assessment. By putting some early taper in the shape, they’ve further reduced any amount of catchiness, which is noticeable in an all-mountain format, but equally as beneficial in the park. Switch takeoffs are a little easier, butters are a lot easier, and in general the ski is just more forgiving, which is nice to have.

I’m not sure I’d recommend it for a true beginner park skier, regardless of ability elsewhere on the mountain. I think something narrower and lighter would work better for a skier like that. The Revolt 96 doesn’t feel lightweight. That surprised me a little bit as first as the shape exudes playfulness and quickness. I think a novice park skier would feel a little weighed down in the park. Probably is dependent on skier weight and actual strength, but it’s something to consider. Now, for a more established park skier, I don’t think the weight is an issue. I had just come off some lighter twin tips, and lighter by a few hundred grams per ski, and switching to the Revolt was definitely noticeable. In fact, it was almost disappointing at first, and I didn’t really feel like I wanted to do much on them. A couple 360s, some rails, but not much. The more and more I skied it, however, I started to adapt to the weight and it stopped bothering me completely. There was such a stark contrast between my initial assessment and how I feel about them now, it leaves me thinking that if I hadn’t been on something lighter to start, I wouldn’t have even noticed. For some skiers, even, the extra weight would be a benefit rather than a challenge. If you’re a big skier yourself, or if you like to go really big, and especially if you’re a combination of the two, something like this will work a lot better for you. So, while it’s got some weight to it compared to other skis, I’ve now checked off lots of 5s, a couple 7s, some rodeos, and there’s really not much left in my 37 year old bag of tricks. The Revolt 96 did it all with ease and a confidence-inspiring amount of stability and damping, which is often lost on park skis.

My assessment of the Revolt 96 as a park ski is that it’s better for someone that’s been doing it for a while than someone new to that side of the sport. I’m probably an excellent example. 37 years old, former slopestyle competitor, and at this point in my life, I’m just getting worse. The Revolt is great for someone like me. That said, I could see a strong teenager ripping around on these. I could definitely see someone in their mid-20s who’s a strong skier turning it into an absolute weapon as a park/all-mountain ski. I think there’s a lot to like here. Of course, then there’s the non-park skier too. Anyone who just wants a fun, easy going, playful twin tip that they can kind of bash around the mountain and not worry about too much would potentially love these skis. They’re $449. While that’s not like... free, it’s one of the cheapest skis I can think of that has high level capabilities. You could win that amount in prize money on them in local rail jams. I just get really excited about affordable skis, and that’s an incredibly low price. You gotta give credit where credit is due, and while a lot of people will point to the Chinese manufacturing on Revolt models, $449 is undeniably an impressive price point, so kudos the Volkl for making a sweet ski and keeping the price under $500.

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Written by Bob St.Pierre and Jeff Neagle on 03/30/23