Rossignol is going XP

[Krummholz]

Then it seems like a situation of wait and see.

[rongon]

It's now 2024 and I see a lot of shops are selling this XP 120 ski for $479.

I like that it comes in 180cm length. Weighing in at about 7 lbs/pair (3200g) and with a waist width of 90mm but at the same weight, it looks like competition to the good old Ultravector BC, but $200 less expensive. True, the Ultravector BC is 96mm across the waist, so its construction is lighter, yes...

The Altai Kom is lighter at 6 lbs 3 oz per pair, but that's in its longest 174cm length, which is a lot shorter than the 180cm XP 120. However, the Kom is a lot fatter at 98mm width in the waist.

So, the XP 120 sells at a competitive price, and has a good set of dimensions for me (a step up from M78, but not all the way to >95mm waist). It might be a good ski. I don't know. Therefore...

Anybody had a chance to flex one, or perhaps ski a pair? Thoughts?

[fisheater]

@rongon The thing about those Rossi’s, along with the Fischer’s and the Madshus is the laminated “air core”. They all have the same construction. They are not torsionally stiff. If you ski only soft snow they are fine. The other thing is the flex pattern, I have nothing good to say about the popular ski I skied from this group. It seems like some people like the Madshus flex, but always with caveats.
You get what you pay for, but that doesn’t mean what you pay for won’t work for you.
Good luck, and best wishes for success.

[wabene]

The Rossi's I've squeezed (yeah baby) seem to have much more camber than other skis in this class. Haven't skied em tho
In descending order of camber
Rossi
Fischer
Madshus
I would say the Voile skis have the least camber, but are a different class of ski. More downhill than XCD. The Voile's are also much more torsionally rigid and $$$.

[lemon]

I'm considering the Kom, but while at the local shop today the sales guy said it didn't have enough side cut, a big turning radius and was heavy. He pushed me towards the Rossi XP 120 Positrack. He said he's skied both. Man this ski is light. Gotta think it will get kicked around. @Woodserson obviously is not impressed .
Any thoughts? Experience on the Rossi?

I had a pair of koms, I had a switchback on them. I thought they were one of the most maneuverable skis I have ever skied, as long as the snow is soft. Got alot out of them and still think about getting another at some point.

[wabene]

I'm considering the Kom, but while at the local shop today the sales guy said it didn't have enough side cut, a big turning radius and was heavy. He pushed me towards the Rossi XP 120 Positrack. He said he's skied both. Man this ski is light. Gotta think it will get kicked around. @Woodserson obviously is not impressed .
Any thoughts? Experience on the Rossi?

I had a pair of koms, I had a switchback on them. I thought they were one of the most maneuverable skis I have ever skied, as long as the snow is soft. Got alot out of them and still think about getting another at some point.

Sounds like a good endorsement. No more skis for me right now, but if I'm looking for a downhill oriented backcountry ski right now it's between the Kom and the Voile Endeavor....

[JohnSKepler]

It's now 2024 and I see a lot of shops are selling this XP 120 ski for $479.

I like that it comes in 180cm length. Weighing in at about 7 lbs/pair (3200g) and with a waist width of 90mm but at the same weight, it looks like competition to the good old Ultravector BC, but $200 less expensive. True, the Ultravector BC is 96mm across the waist, so its construction is lighter, yes...

The Altai Kom is lighter at 6 lbs 3 oz per pair, but that's in its longest 174cm length, which is a lot shorter than the 180cm XP 120. However, the Kom is a lot fatter at 98mm width in the waist.

So, the XP 120 sells at a competitive price, and has a good set of dimensions for me (a step up from M78, but not all the way to >95mm waist). It might be a good ski. I don't know. Therefore...

Anybody had a chance to flex one, or perhaps ski a pair? Thoughts?

I’ve installed bindings on, waxed, skied, and maintained both Voile and Rossignol BC skis. They’re not comparable in any way other than saying they both slide on snow. Honestly, the Rossi is a toy compared to a Voile. Like comparing a Mercedes G-Wagon to an Isuzu Trooper. But the Trooper is definitely lighter. I don’t mean to imply that you can’t ski a Rossi BC and have a ball. I did. But comparing a Voile anything with a Rossi BC is not going to lead to any kind of useful conclusion other than one is cheaper than the other.

[Rodbelan]

I would tend to agree with your comparison (Mercedes-Isuzu)... Of course you can ski (and ski well) with Rossi BC nordic skis; but they are cheaply made and designed. For Pure Nordic and Alpine, they have good stuff... but the R'n'D behind their BC nordic skis is kind of left over... (I am not saying this from the top of my head; I have a good source... a guy that worked at Karhu and Altai in the beginning + I've been skiing some of them myself). Rossi needed a turnkey solution for most retailers, offering everything from nordic to alpine... this is where rely their strength (in the marketing sphere of things). And this is what — partly — enables them to be very competitive. See also how they take some alpine touring design ski (not too successful) and made them into a *new* BC nordic ski in an opportunist way... Again, some guys may find them perfectly suitable for their needs. I mean a ski is just a ski (not a rocket!).

[havuja]

I do not get everyone here dissing XP 120 without skiing or seeing them, or even trying to collect data on them to understand what they might be about.

I generally agree that Rossi nordic bc -line is not on par with, say, Åsnes. At the moment I have a pair of Rossi BC65's, which I bought in an emergency to cover for a broken pair of e99's. They might not have the finesse of some other skis, but I've mostly liked them for what I use them for.
NONE OF THAT MATTERS because what we are talking now is XP 120, and it is a different ski. Like all of you commenting they are not worth shit, I have never skied or seen those skis. So, I might be wrong, but I think they just might actually be good skis, built unlike other Rossignol nordic bc skis. It looks they might be built more like Rossi alpine touring skis (Blackops, Seek7), which seem fairly highly regarded in their class. So a Blackops Alpineer with scales, for about the same price as Koms, half (or possibly only one fifth in EU) of Voile? What is not to like? There are not too many options in that class,
WHY NOT JUST give someone a chance to buy them and ski them and tell their opinion about them? I would switch my Koms to them, but as I can not do that without losing money I'll leave it for later.
ALSO their weight is stated differently in different shops(Rossignol does not give the weight), so they might be much lighter than 1600gm per ski. AND I remember BC 120 reviewed here, and for what I remember they were called fun and capable skis both bc and inbound. Silence followed. I think that this ski too is likely more from AT world than the nordic line, unlike their earlier wide scaled skis.
So WOULD YOU JUST GIVE A CHANCE for someone to try these skis for what they are? I am not a fan of Rossignol, but I am happy to see more skis in this class. They most likely will not outperform Voile skis for now, but I would not be surprised if they came close. Or beat the Koms. And Koms are never on big sale in EU, Rossi skis often -50%. l hope all of you experts would perhaps just listen to learn more about given skis if you know nothing about them. I do not want to see them end this line (BC 120, XP 120) without anyone really hearing about these skis, just because of you. I prefer more competition.

[Bostonian]

Great post. When it comes to anything on social media, there are brand influencers at work to steer opinions. The opinions most often swayed are the weakest minds. People who come to social media to fill something missing in their lives. Maybe that’s a sense of belonging. It can also be a hustle for ex-spurts.