Rossignol Soul 7 2016

I took the 172cm and 180cm out for some laps early on the Harmony and Peak chairs on Whistler on a spring day. Conditions were tracked out snow and some pow on top of refrozen slush.

I swapped the 172cm for the 180cms very quickly. They feel like different skis! The 172cms had tenacious grip and didn't want to be slarved around. The 180cm was much more easy going. Maybe they have a larger sweet spot?

First thing I noticed was the light weight. These are easy to spin and manipulate. They float well in heavy pow, grip well enough on hard snow (way better than beat-up park skis, but not like all-mountain carvers), and are ok in crud. The key think is they are easy to use and predictable.

Compared to the Rocker2 108, they are mounted further back and have more running length/less rocker, so they ski a bit more like a traditional ski. These are grippier and a bit more work to pivot, but still playful and easy going compared to other types of skis.

A lot of shops in Whistler offer these as rentals, and I see why. They work great in soft snow, and are totally usable on harder snow. They introduce skiers to newer technologies like hollow tips/tails and rocker without riding like something completely unfamiliar.

• Terrain
  Park
  Pow
• Design
  Clean
  Busy
• Durability
  Fragile
  Durable
• Weight
  Light
  Heavy
• Style
  Uncool
  Cool
• Flex
  Soft
  Stiff
• Camber
  Cambered
  Rockered
• Pop
  No Pop
  Poppy
• Stability
  Jittery
  Stable