2025 Rossignol Arcade 88

The 2025 Rossignol Arcade 88 is a strong all-mountain ski that carves amazing turns yet remains open-minded to the possibilities of off-trail performance. These skis, for all intents and purposes, replace the Experience 86 Ti, carrying forward the notion of a strong carver with endless energy. They’re stiff, too, using a thick wood core and a metal layup to create pin-point precision and tons of power. The Experience 86 started to creep into premium ski category and carried with it a premium price. The new Arcade 88, on the other hand, makes the value more of a selling point, dropping almost $200 off the retail price of its predecessor. In a world where prices of almost everything are skyrocketing, it’s great to see a quality product with a lower price point. Advanced and expert skiers will have the best time here as the skis are on the stiff and demanding side of the spectrum.

By using a poplar wood core with an LCT strip in the middle, Rossignol keeps it simple. The thickness of the wood core is what stands out here, though, as the Arcade 88 is a stiff ski with a lot to lean on. We also get a full titanal layer and VAS damping in the tips. The full sidewalls work in unison with the build to make endless edge grip a priority. The 178 weighs 1800 grams per ski, which is in the middle range of weights for skis in this category. It ends up feeling quite a bit sturdier and damper than that weight lets on, delivering amazing energy and rebound on any type of snow surface. Tester Greg Petrics notes that he “loved this ski when I got on it and I was instantly impressed with its ability to hold an edge on piste, but also stay on top of some fresh snow. That 88mm width really is a do everything ski, and this ski excels at everything with an eye at making sure you have fun on the pisted snow.” That blend of on and off-trail performance is exactly what Rossignol’s going for here. We’ve found that the carving power and ability is off the charts in this width class.

At 88 mm underfoot, this ski falls strictly into the all-mountain category, but it feels like more of a dedicated carver. This doesn’t mean it can’t go off-piste, but it excels in a front side realm for sure. The tips and tails are wide and not really rockered. The lack of taper and rocker contributes to the carving performance and lead to direct edge contact through the duration of the turn. We do see shorter turn radii even though the effective edge is long—that speaks to the dramatic sidecut of the ski. The 178 registers a 15-meter arc. We normally see that number on a shorter more front-side oriented ski so it’s an interesting mix of shape and turn here on the Arcade 88. Bob St.Pierre notes that “This is one of the more groomer-oriented 88's out there. While it has some all-mountain notes to it, the Arcade 88 feels a lot better on-piste rather than off.”

We had an absolute blast on the new Arcade 88 this year. We learned that advanced and expert skiers will harness more of the potential while intermediates and progressing skiers may be set back by the stiffness. It works amazingly well on groomers, specifically in mid-radius arcs, but also can open it up for higher speeds and more aggressive skiing. With a lot of camber underfoot and a dramatic sidecut, this is a different style of ski than the outgoing Experience 86, and with a reduced-price tag, we’re loving the value to performance ratio with these all-mountain beasts.