The Völkl Racetiger SC UVO is Völkl’s interpretation for a non compromise Slalom ski. Very similar in construction to its brother the Völkl Racetiger RC UVO, it differs slightly on its behavior but not performance, since both models are great skis.

With a 122 mm shovel, turns come easy all the time at any speed. Given enough inclination, the Völkl Racetiger SC UVO quickly bites the snow allowing a very comfortable turn entry. The rest of the arc comes with very little effort. Stability is granted and the 72 mm width won’t be noticed by the majority of skiers. Rounding turns and coming straight for the next one is a piece of cake with this ski. Part of that is coming from the 105 mm tail and how the engineers at Völkl have drawn the shape. However, don’t think this is a very round tool to use. You can put your turns to an end anytime you desire, but the point is it won’t require a noticeable effort as it may happen with those old supercarvers we’ve all used sometime.

Völkl Racetiger SC UVO – Neon-Yellow
© Marker Völkl International GmbH

We’ll find the Völkl Racetiger SC UVO in the shops in six different sizes. The shortest one being at just 150 cm up to the 175 cm the longest, stopping at every 5 cm for each new one. The 175 cm size is really similar to the RC UVO model. In fact, I’ve come to believe it is the same ski with a different paintwork. But let’s move on. Its shape and focus is on the short turns except in the longest size, which is a Race Carver, instead of a Slalom Carver. There we go with the RC and SC names.

Now, you can see its real soul. The SC UVO is a more Slalom-ish model without falling deep in the concept, with all the annoyances of a pure race model. Exactly the same as the RC UVO but the latter being a long-turn focused pair.

The Völkl Racetiger SC UVO comes with a binding and plate from Marker, the xMotion 12.0 TCX D model, to be precise. These bindings are designed in a partnership between the two brands, so you won’t be able to find them in any Marker’s catalog. As in any other top notch ski, this interface allows a nice range of movement for the ski to bend under high pressure so there is no interference in the transmission. It has all the goodies from Marker: the Triple Pivot Technology, the Intelligent Backward Release (Marker’s distinguishable sign) just to mention a couple of them.

Völkl Racetiger SC UVO – White-Black
© Marker Völkl International GmbH

Arrived to this point, some readers may be thinking what to choose, the RC or the SC. As it’s been said above, RC stands for Race Carver, and SC stands for Slalom Carver. Although the difference between the two is a bit narrow, as the longest size in both models dramatically shows. At the end of the day, the SC should be for those willing to have a more Slalom experience, with an easy turn entry and little effort to chain any event with the next one. That said, I wouldn’t be bothered to get an RC instead. This is purely a matter of taste. I discovered many years ago that the one who makes the turn is the one on the top.