Some 2010 Volkls

 I was alluding to more than one of my ski buddies, who are on last gen Gold or Ginshu graphic Gotamas, who immediately decried the new shape before even a demo.

Thats all I was trying to get across.

It goes without saying "to each his own"

I really cannot wait to ski the "10" Gotama.  It may not be for everybody based upon what I am reading here.  However, I have been relying upon my friend Mike Desantis' opinions about which skis to demo and purchase for some time now,  and he has never steered me in the wrong direction.  Mike owns www.skimd.com and skied the new Gotama last year and has nothing but raves about the way it skis.  He told me that he was amazed at the manner such a wide ski goes on edge on the hardpack and still performs in the soft powder conditions. 

The comments here lead me to conclude that there seems to be an east coast favorable bias and a west coast negative bias as far as the new Gotama is concerned.

Only time and more skiers responses will  tell the real story. 

Yes, I have purchased the ski and I expect it to be in strong demand in the east, especially with shops and manufacturers managing their inventories so carefully in this economy.

Stan

I doubt it. I think what you are seeing is a fair bit of skepticism from a few visible and locally respected posters. Who seem generally to be skeptical of skis that are "wider" with full rocker or reverse camber.  The very skis taking over the "all around" market in the west - and for good reason IMO. To each their own. But I think the market overall will write an interesting story over the next two seasons.

I may or may not love the new goat when I demo it - but IMO out of Volkl's line up, the only skis worthy of any consideration whatsoever are the Kuro, Katana, Gotama, Chopstick & Kiku. Notice a common theme?  

In the remote possibility that this might have been directed at me via left field, allow me to restate my own perspective.

I am not skeptical at all of "wider" skis with rocker variations. I am skeptical of one particular narrower one. I buy for a ski shop and our goal is to sell skis and to have the type of skis that our customers can really use. I bought 18 skis this year of 98mm or greater, and 11 of those have some variation of rocker. I also skied every one of them back to back to back in a combination of 18" or so of mixed powder and chop and some firm choppy wind blown and some firm groomers, before I bought the selection that I did. My evaluation of the particular ski in question was simply that compared to most of the other skis I tested that day, it was near the bottom of the list as far as overall performance. If I were to buy one ski for myself to ski that mix of conditions every day for a year straight, the '10 Goat would not be the one. Many of the other skis that day were simply better and many of those had some form or other of rocker.

SJ

Doesn't this all come down to personal preference?  After all it wasn't that long ago that a 72 mm ski was considered a wide powder ski.  I think we're all looking for something that can do everything and make up for the lack of skill the narrow skis of the past showed up right away.  I remember great skiers of the past and not so past like Glenn Plake and Scott Schmidt on 210 GS skis and they seemed to ski everything well because they had skill & talent.  Some people love the Goats, some people hate them.  I ski a Mantra and I love them but I know people who hate them.  Lets be real, every ski skis a little different and every skier skis a little different.  When you offer an opinion, that's what it is, an opinion based on your experience and your skill & style.  I love ratings and reviews but I always take them with a grain of salt & never to seriously.  What I do look for is either consistent "I love them" comments or "mixed" comments.  The only thing I take notice to is a lot of "hate" comments. 

I've never been on the old Gotama's, but as I noted here www.epicski.com/forum/thread/87388/mini-review-nordica-mach-4-volkl-gotama-icelantic-shaman#post_1140109 I loved this years model on hard pack.

I'm wondering if some of the difference in peoples reactions comes down to how their boots are set up.  I think that if you are set up so the default is to pressure the tips of your skis quite a bit, you will not like the 2010 Gotamas on hard snow.  If you are set up more front-back balanced, I think you are more apt to like them.