The men from Volkl were very excited by the Bridge. It is a ski that, forgive me, is to bridge the gap between traditional groomed run skiing and the new skool movement of park, pipes and backcountry. In effect this is an allmountain ski for the 21st Century. When fitted with Markers exceptionally well engineered Duke binding they certainly looked like a mean piece of kit. So on snow...
Well the sidecut is a bit more aggressive than with many of the freestyle skis and I did appreciate that on piste and felt that they were willing to turn but not with any great eagerness. On the slushy and variable terrain we tested them upon they coped adequately but did not inspire me to take a more aggressive line but rather just ski- I guess in the way that many an adept four wheel drive car crusies over the rough stuff but leaves you feeling a little drowsy.
To be fair though it is a ski that shoul dprove to be hugely successful as it really is a go anywhere ski, with some power reserves to hold its own on firm snow and with the park, pipe, powder and with the amazing Duke binding, some touring thrown in for an adventurous weeks skiing.
Powderr or kicker? Now there's a good answer to this question: Both!! Because The Bridge is the perfect "bridge" between freeride and freestyle. A ski that feels just as comfortable in park n' pipe as in the back country- with an extremely high level of performance. With the right mix of width and a light core, it combines the best of both worlds. The Bridge looks good too: Asiatic designs from the Volkl freeride world mixedd witht the typical urban styles of Volkl freestylers. The heart of the Bridge is its Dual Layer Sensor wood core, a honeycomb wooden core with double layer construction that gives a very precise ride feel. For maximum stability the core has been coated in intersecting layers of fibreglass and bonded with large quantities of special glue. The Special Edge from Volkl, Armed Edge, has been left in the Tough Box. The combination of Armed Edge and Tough Box create Power Construction which allows the bindings to be very securely anchored in the body of the ski. The bindings are effectively prevented from tearing out under extreme ski conditions. The Bridge is best used with the new Duke from Marker, the first freeride binding with real function.
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