2023 Rossignol Rallybird 92

The 2023 Rossignol Rallybird 92 is a fantastic choice for advanced skiers looking for something light, quick, energetic, and insanely versatile. As far as all-mountain skis are concerned, the low to mid-90's range represents a great place to be for true well-roundedness. You can buy these sight unseen and ski them and be happy. Built with a paulownia wood core, double LCT, Diagofiber, Damp Tech, and full vertical sidewalls, skiers are getting a whole lot of technology and sophistication in their skis. The paulownia is light and energetic, while the Line Control Technology made of Visco material dampens the ski. Damp Tech in the tips furthers the silent nature of the Rallybird by filtering out unwanted vibrations. These are pretty short-turners, with the 162 cm length generating a 14-meter radius, and at 1600 grams per ski, they’re pretty light as well, making them some of the more maneuverable and quick skis in their class.

On that 162, Alli Ruschp notes that it’s “true to size, and no need for me to go longer for east coast skiing.” She scored the ski top marks of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. All other scores for flotation, forgiveness, and playfulness were 4’s, so Alli has a pretty darn high opinion of these Rallybird 92’s. Her scores echo her comments: “Loved this ski! That 92-waist width is a perfect width to tackle most of the resort conditions and terrain. This would be my first option to take on a trip out west, its stable and smooth, carves a mean turn but if it snowed would also be playful enough to have fun in the powder. Geared towards an advanced lady looking for the ski that can do it all. If you are mainly skiing out west, you could consider going up to the longer length to get the large turn radius and extra floatation but I found for east coast, the shorter length was better for me as I could easily maneuver in the trees and make tighter turns on the busy slopes. Also, very beautiful top sheet adds to the appeal with a pop of pink in the tails.” What good is a ski if it doesn’t look the part, right?

Shannon Walton notes the 162’s trueness to size, scoring it top marks of 5 out of 5 for quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility. 4’s went for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, stability, and flotation. This is a very high average score from Shannon here, indicating a strong preference for the Rallybird 92. She calls it a “Really fun ski, impressed with the ski overall. Great edge hold on firm snow, really easy to swing around and maneuver. A little tip chatter at high speeds. Overall, a solid ski!” With that air tip in there, it’s not terribly surprising that there’d be some chatter at speed, especially in firmer snow. Carly Monahan felt the 162 was a “wee bit short” but she’d still choose that length for herself. She scored 5’s out of 5 for quickness and maneuverability with 4’s running the table the rest of the way save for a 3 in flotation. Like Shannon and Alli, we’re still seeing very high average scores for this ski, showing consistency at a top level. Carly calls it “Approachable, but not a pushover; this ski holds its own in crud and on hard pack - it is light enough to get deflected a bit, but not so much as to throw off your groove. It would be a great ski for a progressing intermediate skier, or an advanced/expert skier who wants a ski that’s stable but not super demanding. Would be just as happy in soft snow, or dancing nimbly through glades, as it is on groomers.”

There were a lot of adjectives and superlatives thrown around in this writeup, and most of the credit goes to Rossignol and their construction and shaping of the Rallybird 92. These things are fun, easy to use, and have a very high-performance ceiling. Thanks to the modern construction and freeride character, there’s a whole lot of skiers out there who will benefit from the awesomeness of this ski.