Rossignol’s Experience skis have become quite popular over the last decade. They offer versatile all-mountain performance and the brand does a great job developing different models within the line to work with different level skiers. For 2023, the Experience 86 Ti returns unchanged as a carry-over model. Sitting atop the collection is the Experience 86 Ti, essentially the flagship model. It’s also now the widest Experience ski that Rossignol makes, quite a change from the previous Experience 92 Ti and 94 Ti. Both the shape and construction have changed, leaning a little bit more towards carving and firm snow than previous models, but still retaining some good versatility too. Rossignol uses what they call All Trail Sidecut, which we would describe as extended sidecut, more similar to the Experience shape if we went back 2 generations. They do, however, have more rocker than those skis. The All-Trail Profile has camber/rocker lines that are more similar to the most recent generation. Gone are the vertical metal struts in the previous ski, and they’ve been replaced with traditional titanal laminates. We also get Rossignol’s Carbon Alloy Matrix and a new Drive Tip Solution. In Drive Tip, a complex blend of fiber and visco work to absorb impacts and funnel energy from the tip into the mid-body of the ski. If anything, Rossignol has taken these skis to the next level compared to any previous Experience ski, most notably in their power and carving performance.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber
CORE MATERIALS
Carbon Alloy Matrix
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers, All Mountain
On the 178, Dave Hatoff notes that the ski is true to size, scoring it top marks of 5 out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability. He also gave 4’s out of 5 for versatility and overall impression, with the rest of his scores as 3’s. Dave states that “This ski is like a Cadillac, smooth and stable. Great edge grip and so solid at speed. A great font side carver with some soft snow capability due to its shovel and profile. Precise and predictable. Can make rough snow feel smooth underfoot. Fairly stiff in flex, meant for an advanced or expert skier.” The metal construction does a great job at making the ski feel a lot more stable than the maneuverability may let on. While stiff and high-performance, the skis are certainly manageable and a lot of fun.
Marcus Shakun was on the 185, and at 6’5,” that’s going to be the best length for him. Marcus gave it his lowest score of 3 out of 5 for flotation, and high scores of 5 out of 5 for torsional stiffness and edge hold. All of his other scores were 4’s, and this is a pretty high baseline for Marcus’ scorecard. He notes that “This ski gives you the all-mountain experience Great for advanced intermediate to advanced skier. Really performed best on harder snow. Not lightning quick, but fast edge to edge. Easy to engage the turn, but can also break the turn from being locked in. Soft corn snow gets thrown around a bit. Doesn’t like to be pushed too hard.” Fellow tall skier Nate Gardner felt the 185 was on the short side, but that didn’t stop him from scoring the ski 5’s out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, quickness, maneuverability, versatility, and overall impression. The remaining scores were 4’s, so like Marcus and Dave, we have a high general level of scoring for the Experience 86 Ti. Nate states that the Experience 86 Ti “Feels short with a bit extra tail to it. Nice in a short turn. Stable in a longer turn, but a bit pushy.
There’s a lot of skiers out there who are looking for the mid-80's front-side/all-mountain ski that has stability and edge grip for days. This iteration of the Experience 86 Ti is one of the best we’ve seen, splitting the difference between the E88 of two years ago and some of the earlier, more carvy versions of the model. The 2023 Rossignol Experience 86 Ti is an excellent choice for advanced and expert all-mountain skiers who spend a lot of time on the groomers, but don’t want to limit it to just that.
