2023 Rossignol Black Ops 98

If you’ve followed along at SkiEssentials.com, you’ll know we love skis like the 2023 Rossignol Black Ops 98. These wider twin tips are just so much fun and have such a wide range of application, that they’re impossible to overlook. The sad part is that a lot of people gloss over them for one reason or another. Whether it’s the twin tipped shape or the lack of metal throughout, skiers seem to find their way to more directional and traditional skis, and we think they may be missing out on some great products like these Black Ops 98 skis. They carry forward construction-wide, but get a different graphic just to keep things fresh. Built with a poplar wood core, damp tech in the tips and tails, and a titanal beam underfoot, these skis have the edge grip of a narrower ski, the dampness of a ski with more metal in it, and the freestyle acumen of a true park ski. Whether you’re using them in powder, bumps, trees, park, pipe, or groomers, the Rossignol Black Ops 98 has a progressive and fun-loving spirit to it that’ll allow you to easily accomplish your daily ski goals. In the 182, the ski produces a 19-meter turn radius and weighs about 2000 grams pre ski, so it’s not going to be the quickest or most agile option out there, but it is a lot more stable and energetic than those numbers will suggest.

Nick Wright was on that 182, and this ski really fits his fun-loving style. Nick found the 182 to be a good length for an all-mountain ski and scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for quickness and maneuverability. The rest of his scores were all 4’s including overall impression, stability, versatility, and playfulness. Nick notes that the “Black Ops 98 really blew me away with how a fun poppy ski could also retain a great edge hold. Short quick turns were super fun to make still felt like I could lay out some wider turns with equal ease. Maybe not the ski for a big powder day but it certainly makes the days with less snow still feel really special.” Joshua Matta, another fun-loving skier with more of a technical background found the 182 to be true to size and just right. He scored the ski 5’s out of 5 for overall impression, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. 4’s were given for versatility, stability, and flotation, with a lower score of 3 for torsional stiffness and edge hold. Joshua notes that the Black Ops 98 was the “Dampest ski of the test thanks to the amount of rubber in the skis. Good edge grip for its width, blasts though crud with no deflection, and pivots in woods. Good for intermediates and up, would be a great Eastern tree ski. No real complaints on this guy.”

Dave Hatoff noted that his 172 was a bit short, scoring the ski top marks of 4 out of 5 for quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, and forgiveness. His remaining scores were all 3’s, showing the well-rounded nature of the ski. Dave calls it “Approachable, easy to ski. Pretty soft flex, a bit chattery at speed on hard snow. All-mountain capability for a directional twin tip. Would appeal to intermediate or advanced skiers who want an easy flexing, all-mountain ski that can ski a wide variety of conditions. Nice daily driver ski for east. Rocker profile makes it a pretty good floater for an under 100mm waisted ski.” Also on the 172, Brad Schauermann felt the ski was true to size, but would likely move the binding back a few cm were he to do the mount. He still scored mostly 4’s out of 5 for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility. Brad notes that “The recommended mount point was further forward than I would like. Skis are super noodly and playful. Perfect for the person that likes to play on the sides of trails and get all the side hits. Much better at making shorter playful turns than longer gs ones. could be fun in some deeper snow and in the trees. good for all ability levels, very approachable.”

Most of our testers used the terms “approachable” and “accessible” when describing this ski, and that’s great news for a various group of skiers who are looking to do a little bit of everything. Thanks to the rubber inserts and the titanal beam underfoot, these skis have a pretty strong and stable build for high-end skiing, and also a playful and fun-loving shape for those who like to tone it down a bit.