2023 Volkl Revolt 104

Other than a graphics update, the 2023 Volkl Revolt 104 returns unchanged, and that’s great news for skiers who are looking for a strong blend of freestyle and freeride attributes in their mid-100's twin tip. This is a unique ski, and it possesses some interesting technology that sets it apart from the rest of the skis in this zone, and in actuality, there aren’t many skis in that zone. The Revolt 104 benefits from a multi-layer wood core consisting of aspen and maple, so this is a different base from other skis. They’re both on the heavier/denser side of the wood spectrum for use in skis, and that makes the Revolt 104 a bit heavier and sturdier. While there’s no metal in this ski, that denser core makes it feel quite a bit more rugged, and that’s awesome for high-end freestyle and freeride skiers. There’s a good amount of taper and splay in the shape, and this makes the ski fantastic for backcountry freestyle conditions as well as in-bounds powder performance. If you’re looking for a sturdy, mid-100's twin tip that can do it all, the Volkl Revolt 104 is the way to go.

Jeff Neagle and Matt McAlary were both on the 180 cm length. While Jeff noted that the “Long rocker makes it ski slightly short,” Matt found it to be “True to size, and I’d buy this length.” Jeff had a high score of 5 out of 5 for playfulness, with mostly 4’s the rest of the way for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and flotation. He gave 3’s out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability. As a freestyle skier like Jeff should feel, he states that it’s “Such a fun ski! It's definitely best for a certain type of skier, but every time I ski the Revolt 104 it leaves a big smile on my face. Super easy to flick around and slash turns even though it's not the lightest ski in the world. The long rocker lines give it a very surfy feel, especially in softer snow conditions. I gave it 4 out of 5 for float, which is really good for a ski that's just 104 underfoot. The tip is pretty wide and the long rocker helps keep the ski planing even at slower speeds in deep snow. Surprisingly, it actually carves quite well too. They milled the core of the ski pretty thick, which really helps give it more stability than you'd expect given the profile and construction. The vibration damping and its smooth feel always impresses me, or even surprises me. I do think it's a little clunky as a park ski, but I also know plenty of people use it in the park and enjoy it. I think the ideal application is for a skier who wants one ski that they can do a little bit of everything with. I think my favorite setup for this ski has been with a Duke PT 16. That creates a pretty heavy setup overall, but it's something you can rip in the resort in a variety of conditions, use as a park ski, and even do some touring too.” Matt McAlary had very similar experiences and scores as Jeff, with 5’s out of 5 for forgiveness and playfulness, and 4’s for overall impression, versatility, flotation, quickness, and maneuverability. He notes that “This ski was super fun. I enjoyed the more forward mounting position. It allowed me to have a bit more tail to play with. Not super light but not heavy by any means. I was surprised by how well it carved. It did feel like it had fairly significant camber but felt very compliant nonetheless. The tips and tails are soft which made for a very playful experience in the sense that you could smear turns and press into the tips and tails and make the whole mountain sort of feel like a park. I'd recommend this to any skier that wants a freestyle-oriented ski to take them anywhere.” And that’s certainly the point of this ski—that it fits that freestyle mold quite well, but that’s far from its only defining characteristic.

On the 188, Joshua Matta found it skied true to size, and scored it 4’s out of 5 for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, and playfulness. All his other scores were 3’s. He notes his mount point in his comments: “I skied it -2. Fun all mountain twin damp but still poppy and playful. Recommend mount point really freestyle bias skied really squirrelly at recommended. Good ski for an intermediate to expert for mixed off trail with freestyle thrown in.” Skiers should be familiar with how different mount points affect a ski in order to get the most personalized performance out of the Revolt 104. Nick Wright noted that it felt a bit short, mostly due to the more centralized mount point as well. His top score was a 5 out of 5 for forgiveness, with 4’s leading the charge the rest of the way, so a pretty high baseline average on this ski from Nick for sure. The Revolt 104 was “As much fun as I thought but with more meat than expected (and it was welcome). Tore through crud much better than expected and was able to hold an edge whole ripping some HOT laps. Pleasantly surprised at the stability—this ski will please more than just the park rat and freestyle enthusiast.” It’s always good when a ski has that “surprising” factor that leads testers to have a positive experience.

From park and pipe to powder and pillows, the Volkl Revolt 104 has a whole lot of fun built in to the core and the shape. Thanks to the use of denser wood, more dramatic taper, and a fun-loving rocker profile, this ski checks a whole lot of boxes for freestyle and freeride aficionados all over the world.