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2023 Volkl Deacon V.Werks

SkiTalk Test Team

Testing skis so you don't have to.
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Philpug: This ski blew all our testers away. It is safe to say that it was the overwhelming shocker of the test, in the best possible way. The Deacon V.Werks is a scalpel; yes, we have had skis like that in this category, and while some have had the tenacious grip of the V.Werks, none have had its feel, even the original RTM V.Werks.

Völkl has something special here; I think it is very well the best and most successful application of a carbon-based premium ski. Make sure you bring your A-game, though, because where some skis will let you relax from time to time, the new Deacon demands your attention -- and rewards you in spades when you provide it. It has probably one of the smallest sweet spots of any ski in this class, and it makes no excuses for that.
  • Insider tip: If you are in between sizes, go with the shorter of the two. No one will think lesser of you.

Erik Timmerman: Super-smooth cruising ski. It's not for me, but what it made me want to do was go to Sun Valley, where I could just stand on it and make big arcs on nice snow. The ski is silky smooth and has beautiful construction, but I felt like it knows what it wants to do. You just have to accept that and get out of the way. If cruising big arcs is your bag, you and the Deacon V.Werks are gonna be best buds.
  • Insider tip: The system binding has a really flat delta. I felt like I could have gotten more out of it if there was a way to change that, but there isn't. It may be just right for you, but it was not for me.

Drahtguy Kevin: Clicking into the Deacon V.Werks provided a surprise. It is extremely light and extremely connected to the snow. On edge, it grips like a gator but is easy to release at any point in the turn. I varied turn shapes, speeds, and terrain, and the V.Werks handled it all admirably. A consistent flex and predictable tip are other attributes of this ski.
  • Insider tip: Don’t let the weight fool you; the Deacon V.Werks is a smooth, stable, ripper.


Winks
Size tested: 177cm
Location tested: Mammoth Mountain
Conditions tested in: Fresh corduroy

The Volkl ski you didn't know you wanted! I really enjoyed the carbon Deacon, great edge hold, smooth, well rounded groomer carver. Not a lot to complain about here. I thought it would be a little faster and a little snappier, but carbon is quite stiff material-wise and doesn't like to change shape too much. The ski itself is not very stiff but it does create some weird dead feelings with the carbon underfoot, again not something that bothered me too much as the ski is quiet, I just think the regular Deacon might have a bit more snap that I enjoy from most skis. The only drawback I found was whenever I hit some hard snow or a bump I felt this sort of shockwave move through from my boot, something I didn't like at all but my guess was because the carbon just isn't very good at absorbing shock. It‘s still stable and very fun, but it was bothersome to me whenever I took it up to high speed and hit some crud.

All in all I really enjoyed this ski. It‘s smooth, and has a nice speed limit to it that made big turns very exciting to make. Despite its small flaws I would highly recommend this ski as a fun morning ski. I am never one to ski a groomer carver as a all-day ski, but early mornings, especially in the spring, this thing will be a lot of fun.
  • Insider tip: Get it up to speed and make some bigger turns.
  • One thing I would change: A bit more material underfoot and under the binding.
 
Awards
Who is it for?
Good skiers who are on their game and are looking for a light, narrower all-mountain ski need look no further. Groomer zoomers looking for a technical ski that doesn't scare you away.
Who is it not for?
While this ski works well at slower speeds, it excels as the mph grows. To paraphrase Col. Jessup, ”You want this ski? You can’t handle this ski.” Anyone looking for a great deal, this thing is pricy.
Skier ability
  1. Expert
Ski category
  1. Frontside
  2. All Mountain
Ski attributes
  1. Groomers
  2. Off Piste
Segment
  1. Men

Specifications

right ad
Available sizes
167, 172, 177, 182
Dimensions
132-84-115
Radius
15m@177cm
Rocker profile
  1. Full camber
Size Scaling
  1. None
Construction design
  1. Carryover
Binding options
  1. System

Balsh

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 23, 2022
Posts
29
Location
France
Hello, thank you for the review. Would be happy to have your insights on below questions as looking for acquiring a new pair. :)

1- How do they compare with the Atomic Redster Q9.8 Revoshock? Is one better than the other for groomers?
2- Skiing almost exclusively on groomers, but during the full season so facing many different types of snow from December to April. Are the V-Werks a good choice or slalom / pure groomers skis remain better if no intention to go offpist?
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
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SkiTalk Tester
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Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
Hello, thank you for the review. Would be happy to have your insights on below questions as looking for acquiring a new pair. :)

1- How do they compare with the Atomic Redster Q9.8 Revoshock? Is one better than the other for groomers?
Both are these two skis will give you the same results on the groomers, solid tenacious grip, they just go about it differently, the Atomic is heavier and more traditional construction where the V.Werks is a carbon infused test bed for Volkl technology.
2- Skiing almost exclusively on groomers, but during the full season so facing many different types of snow from December to April. Are the V-Werks a good choice or slalom / pure groomers skis remain better if no intention to go offpist?
While not a slalom ski per say, its will be a great hard snow ski but there are narrower options out there in the 70-80mm range that would be better hard snow specific skis but...in this range in the mid 80mm segment, there are few, if any better than these.
 

anders_nor

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Jan 18, 2020
Posts
2,597
Location
on snow
I've skied them back to back, cant really say the q9.8 does anything better


q9.8 wants to ski for you and feels very wide underfoot when going edge to edge and transisitions, for superfirm the camber/rocker profile in theory makes more sense for Q9.8 but felt you couldnt really use it as intended.

deacon 84 loves hard snow, it doesnt love straight up ice, for ice, 60/70mm is key
 
Last edited:

Balsh

Booting up
Skier
Joined
Dec 23, 2022
Posts
29
Location
France
So for mid-turn hard carving, skiing on ski slopes >90% of the time but on all type of snow (groomers, hard, soup, mogul, ...) the V-Werks might be slightly easier to turn edge to edge / hard carving than the Q9.8 ? But potentially other skis in the range 72-80mm under foot would be better overall ?
 

DGrogan

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
Skier
Joined
Jan 1, 2023
Posts
3
Location
Clovis, CA
A couple years ago I bought a pair of Rossi Hero Elite Plus TI 174s and I never really jived with them…just did not like the feel at speed. I gave them to my son and picked up a pair of 2020 Volkl Deacon 76 (176) and I really like them. I have traditionally always liked the GS type of ski.

This weekend my son and I swapped skis so he could give the Deacons a try and he really liked the feel of the ski. Much more stable at speed, better edge grip, and smoother feeling than the Hero Elites.

I am looking for a ski that is more like the Deacon 76s than the Heros. It would be easy to just buy another set of the 76s but was thinking of getting a little different that still has most of the same qualities as the 76s

How much of a difference are the Deacon 84s or Deacon V-Werks in the edge grip, dampness, and stability at speed than the Deacon 76s? I see the 84s have a radius closer to the Heros but they are also 3D…how will the 84s feel in radius compared to the Deacon 76s 18.3?
 

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