2023 Rossignol Experience W 82 Basalt

The 2023 Rossignol Experience W 82 Basalt is an awesome choice for intermediate to advanced skiers who spend most of their time on groomed terrain, but also want a bit of extra width and shape for off-trail adventures as well. At 82 mm underfoot, these skis blur the line between a front side carver and an all-mountain ski, and that's great news for a lot of skiers who want the ski to do more than advertised. These Experience W 82 Basalts do just that--offering a stable and quiet character for ladies who don't want the heft of metal, but still want a smooth and damp ride. The Basalt stringers do a great job at filtering out unwanted chatter and vibrations, leaving these skis surprisingly quiet and agile. We'll see a lot of happy skiers on these skis, of all abilities, making all sorts of differently shaped turns on a variety of conditions and terrain. In the 159 cm length, these skis produce a 13-meter turn radius, and this is a great turn shape for most front side applications. Feel free to lean right into it--there's no lack of power here, but the most impressive part is how agile and friendly the skis can be, creating a great cross between a hard-charging carver and an all-mountain dancer. While 82 might not seem like it's too wide these days, it wasn't long ago that a ski this wide would look like a powder ski, so the 82 Basalt definitely has some soft-snow capabilities built in.

Brooke Mars found the 159 to be just right and true to size. She scored the ski top marks of 4 out of 5 for stability, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, and edge grip. A low score of 2 for versatility isn’t terribly surprising given the narrow and on-trail intent of the ski. Brooke states that “even though the rep said this wasn’t as firm as the Ti, I feel like I disagree. Did well holding an edge in firmer conditions but struggled through the sugar. Not an outstanding ski in my opinion, much prefer the Ti over the basalt model.” It is impressive, though, that they can get so much performance out of Basalt.

Ann MacDonald was on that 159, and while she notes its trueness to size, she also acknowledges that it was too short for her. Ann's top scores were 4's out of 5 for versatility, forgiveness, and flotation, with 3's for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. Overall, all 3's and 4's are pretty darn good scores, and for a strong skier like Ann to have these for more of an intermediate ski is a great thing. "Good all mountain ski for a variety of conditions. Not overly aggressive so would suit a variety of skiers. Great for groomers or a quick shot through the woods. Good intermediate ski for girls that want to explore the front side." Sounds like exactly what Rossi is going for with these skis for sure.

Any way you look at it, the low to mid-80's is a great place to be for intermediate skiers who spend most of their time on the groomers. Thanks to the innovative new way that Rossignol is building their skis, and the quality of materials that they use, there's a lot of ladies who are really going to enjoy the performance and friendly nature of the 2023 Rossignol Experience W 82 Basalt. In addition to the width, the skis get some tip rocker to help out as well, and while the skis are more on the traditional side of the spectrum in terms of rocker, the tip profile allows not only for better flotation, but also for easy turn initiation. The camber underfoot and through the tail holds on tight to the edge, making it easy and smooth to hold a turn throughout the arc.