Women's 08/09 Volkl Skis

Volkl also continues to offer the Aura. Wider than the Aurora, this is a twin tip that's good for more than just the park. Featuring a lightweight wood core, a high strength titanium sheet, and a 94 mm waist, the Aura is a blast just about anywhere on the mountain, and can float through the powder or power through crud. Don't let its wide waist fool you; this baby can also hold an edge and is great for wide, swooping turns. The Aura has a new look this year, moving away from its milky white and blue graphic to a more dynamic Asian-inspired theme. Again, a personal call, but I prefer the new graphics over the old.

Once in a while you put on a ski and fall in love. That's how I felt about the Volkl Aurora. A mid-fat with 85 mm waist, the Aurora features Volkl's new "Wide Ride System." This is an internal Power Transmission (iPT) binding interface that's built into the ski body and slides into position on the ski's inside rails, for a rounder flex pattern. I found it smooth, stable, great in the big turns, and powerful enough to cut through crud like butter. Like most Volkls, the Aurora is terrific on edge, so it even performs well in icy conditions.

If you're more interested in speed, definitely try the Fuego, introduced by Volkl last year. The Fuego is a sports car to the Mercedes-like Aurora. I found it spirited, fun, light, quick, easy to edge, and fast, fast, fast. With a 73 mm waist, the Fuego is for the advanced to expert skier who wants to rocket down the groomers.