Ski: Rossignol Sender Free 110

Reviewer height/weight: 6’0” 215lbs

Ski weights (per ski): 2198g/2204g

Length skied: 184

Actual length (with straight tape): 181.6cm (base measurement: 183.5cm)

Dimensions: 140-110-133

Mounted: -2.5cm from true center

Bindings: Pivot 15

Locations: Sunshine Village

Conditions skied: Park, Slush, Sketchy Frontside Spring All-Mtn

Days Skied: 4

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Intro:

The Sender Free 110 was all over your Instagram mid-way through last season, with the whole squad dishing out the mandatory Instagram posts about Rossi’s new flagship freeride ski. With its instantly recognizable topsheet and a fairly in-your-face marketing campaign, you’re going to be seeing them all over the slopes this coming season too. It wouldn’t be the first Rossignol Ski to go ‘viral’. But how do they feel in hand and how do they ski?

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Shape/Flex/Construction:

The Sender Free 110 is a bit like the famed Rossignol Sickle brought ‘up to date’. It’s lighter and more user-friendly but the sidecut and overall ‘look’ of the ski certainly recall that cult classic. If we’re being honest, it’s a Black Ops 110 in all but name.

The new ski has moderate camber underfoot and plenty of tip/tail rocker. Like other Black Ops skis (oops) they don’t have much taper, offering rocker for float but pretty much full sidecut when you get them on edge. Overall, they don’t feel super stiff to me, but they are on that end of the spectrum. I’d probably call them a 9/10 underfoot softening to maybe a 6 in the tip and a 7 in the tail. The construction features Rossignols ‘Air Tip’ with rubber dampening and titanium around the binding area. The result is a stiff, damp ski underfoot but it gets pretty playful tip and tail.

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On Snow

Keep in mind that I only rode these in late spring, so my ‘mountain’ terrain was limited, and quickly melting slush made for variable conditions. That said, the versatility of the Sender 110 should be the standard for an all-mountain freeride ski. The generous amount of camber underfoot makes the ski feel solid and capable of bulldozing through anything in its path at high speeds. But at the flip of a switch, it can be a playful and poppy freestyle machine. The early rise in the tip, while more subtle than other skis I’ve ridden, is more than enough for keeping the ski in control on less than ideal (skied out/ kinda icy/ kinda slushy/ almost moguls but more like bomb holes) terrain.

That paired with the forgiveness and playfulness that the tail rocker had to offer makes the ski a blast in tighter areas. I spent most of my mountain days on these bombing straight down these cruddy runs, into the best side hits I could find. I’ll get more into how these were in the air later on, but just know that you can throw almost any condition of landing at these, regs or switch, and skills permitting you have a decent chance of riding it out.

*Variable* conditions for some late spring skiing

To be honest, even at 110 underfoot this isn't a bad ski for groomers. Obviously it's wider than you want for some crisp on-piste skiing, but even compared to the ol’ faithful Soul 7 the ski feels stable. I’d even argue it has less flop in the tip than its predecessor while at high speeds on solid terrain. The flex pattern feels uniform throughout the ski, and even with the twin tip and tail rocker, the rear of the ski can hold its edge and make a proper turn feel pretty good. This is not where the ski is meant to be ridden, but for the times you need to take the path more traveled on the way to your favorite hit or even the park, the ski won't be slapping and sliding on the corded blues.

Twig: I didn’t get much time in the park on these before sending them to Curt but I did ski them in some mixed snow and some pow. They float really well when you are skiing more fall-line, and they CHARGE but they aren’t the easiest ski to throw sideways that I’ve tried. I’d put that down to the lack of taper and fairly solid flex (I’m also much smaller/lighter than Curt, so they feel pretty stiff to me). I still enjoyed buttering around on them on hardpack, they have plenty of rocker for that, but in pow I found them a little hooky when you get up on the noses. They are a great one-ski quiver option, I had CASTs on them and they were super fun in the mixed snow you get on sub-optimal condition tours and the weight is pretty manageable too.

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Park

So I was HYPED to try these in the park, probably more than I was to ski it on the mountain. After seeing all the clips of PWhite and Jonah going fast and skiing smooth, the Sender 110 looked like an absolute blast in the park. It did not disappoint. The Air Tip that Rossignol has in both tip and tail gives this somewhat heavy ski a decent swingweight. While I wasn't doing crazy spins onto anything, 4’s out and switch up combos were easier than expected for a 110 mountain ski. The wider base gives some added stability while sliding the metal and the tip and tail rocker gives forgiveness on sloppy attempts. Nonetheless, it is a mountain ski, and while it was a blast beating it up on rails it’s not my first choice for it.

Jumps stood out more for me on the Sender, and all that applies for park jumps easily translates to natural hits or the janky side booters you can find at most resorts. While the swingweight again is a highlight, it is a great ski for carving out floaty 3s and the odd rodeo 5. Bigger spins and sends were tricky given the nature of the wide ski and the size of jump I was hitting. Landings on these were exceptionally stable and which made a big impact on me as the jump I was hitting was bombed out and was covered in some thick slush. While most were getting swallowed in the mess that day, I was somehow able to ride out with ease. The camber made stomps solid and made me feel completely in control. The early rise was forgiving on under/ over rotations, while still driving through the thick slush to keep me upright. Would I have had as much fun on this on a hard-packed day with less forgiving conditions? Probably not, but nonetheless the mountain Sender did hold its own in the park.

Sliding on some metal up at Sunshine Village

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Durability

While my quick 4-day stint on the ski doesn't say much about the durability, and I’m unsure of how much abuse Twig put them through before handing them off to me. I can say that after hitting various rocks, stumps, rails, and boxes the ski is still in great condition. The topsheet is intact even after a hard hit with a rail that I was sure would leave a mark. Edges are still one solid piece after some good rail skiing, but given it's not designed for that I’m unsure how long they will last.

Twig: I definitely didn’t thrash them, but they feel solidly built. The binding plate meant that mounting them felt bomber. There are fatter edges out there but they should hold up to occasional park use. More than that would be guesswork.

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Comparisons

Vs Nordica Unleashed 108

I enjoy both of these skis, and they do ride somewhat similarly and are designed to be ridden in the same conditions and terrain. The biggest differences between these two skis are the swingweight and the flex pattern.

Swingweight is a given, while Rossignol implements their AIR TIP tech into the Sender 110, Nordica has full metal tip and tails. The Sender was much more floaty in the air, easier to grab, easier to spin, etc. The Nordica is heavier in the air, but I would put money on the Unleashed having more durability in the tip and tail.

The flex patterns on both skis stand out in different areas. The Unleashed has clear flex points on them, and are extremely playful in the tip and tail considering how stiff they are underfoot. The Sender 110 has a more uniform flex pattern to it. I’m sure if I had more time on them and was able to break them in, the playfulness would start to show. But the Nordica is definitely easier to butter, where the Rossignol holds up better on landings, and is more impressive at holding its edge in the tail for absolutely railing turns.

Vs Dynastar MFree 108

Interestingly, for two skis coming from sister brands aimed at a similar market, the MFree and Sender 110 are very different. The MFree feels damper and potentially stiffer too, yet goes sideways far more easily while feeling much less stable in a straight line.

The difference comes down to the taper profiles, with the large amount of taper on the MFree making for an incredibly pivot-y ski, while the Rossi’s prefer to track more fall line. We really like both skis, and think they are two of the best options on the market right now. If you ski a lot of tight terrain and like to butter around, the MFree is superior but for wider open and more fall-line skiing, the Rossignols are the better choice.

Showing off the bases before getting buried in a bombhole

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Conclusion

I’d foresee the Rossignol Sender Free 110 being a hugely successful ski. The Rossignol Soul 7 was too, but to be honest, it was more accessible and easy than actually good. The Black Ops 110… sorry, Sender Free 110 is still relatively accessible, and will doubtless be a success, but for all the right reasons. It’s simply a very good ski.

It is still fairly easy to ski, yet has plenty of power and can handle being pushed hard. It has all the skiability of the Black Ops 98 and 118 but with much less weight, making it far easier to handle in tight spaces, and much more easy to deal with in the air. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the skis in the Black Ops line move to this construction in the near future.

This is a ski that could find a place in just about anyone’s quiver, and make most of your other skis redundant. Out west, you could ski it daily (and I have been, even using it as a park ski). On the east, it seems like it would be ridiculously big but honestly, it would still be pretty fun on soft days. They’re also fairly neutral across styles, you can ski them fairly powerfully (more my style), but also comfortably with a more lazy style like Twig’s. I don’t really have much bad to say about them, they aren’t THE most powerful or playful, but all skis are a compromise and these are one of the most balanced mid-to-fat skis we’ve tried.