[VIDEO] Getting started with the Elan Voyager, the first foldable piste ski

Often ahead of its time, this year Elan is presenting a new innovation that could surprise more than one. After proposing the Ibex Tactix, a foldable touring ski, for the Slovenian army, the general public will this year be able to put on the Voyager, the world's first foldable downhill ski. Since you have to see it to believe it, we went to test this ski on the Tignes glacier.

The concept

It took 8 years of development to release the final version of Voyager. 8 years of research and trials not always fruitful, as Vinko Avguštin, Elan's research and development director explains to us: “even if we always believed in the project, the first versions were not really skiable. You could directly feel the difference with a real ski. This final version is beyond our expectations, it's a real good piste ski » As soon as you get started with the Voyager, only the sole reveals its foldable function: at first sight, everything brings it closer to an Amphibio 14, ski on which the construction and shape are based. However, once folded, the Voyager fits into a travel bag of less than a meter. For true travellers, there is a suitcase version with a compartment for skiing and another for travel gear, all on wheels. Skiing is for all city dwellers passionate about skiing: from Paris to Grenoble, whether you travel by train or by car, the Voyager offers a practical and original solution. It takes 1500 euros for skiing in a pack with poles and carrying bag.

Once folded in its transport bag, the Voyager does not exceed the meter

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The system

Getting started with Voyager is extremely simple. When the ski is unfolded (in ski mode, therefore), all you have to do is block the ski stops then open the latches at the front and rear of the binding. This can then pivot 360° around its front stop to land at the front of the ski. The ski can then be folded in half at its center. To unfold it, the handling is exactly the same in the opposite direction: the binding is pivoted, taking care to engage it in the plate , then the two latches are activated to then release the top-ski. “ Simple as a cake ”, adds Vinko: the system has been thought out so that it cannot be mistaken, so it is impossible to get trapped on the snow.

Once unfolded, the hinge system is very discreet

And on the snow?

The Elan Voyager has not been tested under the best possible conditions. This Monday, November 15 on the Tignes glacier , fresh snow had irregularly covered the groomed piste, and the mist did not allow you to see much further than your skis. The skier was put to the test before skiing! However, the first sensations seem to confirm the statements of the Slovenian manufacturer . The few Voyager runs performed on foot were in no way tricky, on the contrary. We have a downhill ski on our feet and the impression of solidity puts the skier in confidence. We will have to take the Voyager out on more compact snow to find out whether or not the Made In Elan performance is there .

Discovery of the Voyager in difficult conditions! ©H. Clechet

The Voyager has a full wooden core built in a sandwich, then laser cut to fit the insert to fold the ski . The manufacturing process is therefore exactly the same as for an Amphibio 14 up to cutting. Same core, but also same shape. We find the Amphibio technology with a rocker on the outside of the ski and a classic camber on the inside to combine fun and grip. Everything therefore predestines the ski to be good on the piste!