Rating
Overview
During this week of powder, it has been a case of who is first on the mountain gets the best runs. Today I fancied trialling some more powder-focused skis. Two years ago, after moving to the French Alps, I bought a pair of Salomon BBR 8.9s (176cm). These started as a quick wide-ski-for-powder-day rental, but I really enjoyed them. Needless to say, they were strapped on the roof for the way home! Since then, they’ve been my go-to skis since the BBR is a true all-mountain ski that appeals to my style. One day it’s mostly carving fresh corduroy, the next it’ll be surfing powder zones. Yet, with this string of fresh-powder days, I thought I’d try the newer Rossignol Soul 7 HD on display in my local ski shop.
In reality, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from this ski as my background is a mixture of freestyle on twin-tips and carving on groomed pistes rather than free-ride or trekking. I used to ride on twin-tips or more piste-focused skis, however my aforementioned BBRs have been great to play on the mountain, both carving hard and riding some fresh powder when the days are just right.
Of course, there are skiers who’ll only ever ride the more remote stuff and this type of ski will have a following, but for many of us, it is simply an option-ski to have for those powder days, when we fancy something a little different.
Features
- Tip Width: 136mm
- Waist Width: 106mm (for 180cm model tested)
- Tail Width: 126mm
- Turing radius: 18m
- Large front tip: 90mm
- Partial rear tip: 30mm
- Mass: 3.1kg (per ski inc. binding)
- Binding fitted for test: Look NX12 Konect
Ski Handling
As a fan of carving down the piste at fairly high speeds, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Soul 7 HD holds a nice larger-radius turn on the freshly groomed stuff and thin powder coating. What is a shame, at least in my opinion, is that the ski doesn’t seem to react when pushing harder during the turn and the radius is fairly fixed. At speed, the Soul 7 HD is stable and inspires confidence during the more conventional runs needed to get around the mountain. But it is the hard-to-reach areas where this ski starts to work well. In deeper powder, where there is at least 30cm of the really good stuff, this ski starts to make sense. Conventional skis would have sunk and been a waste of time early on, but these wide Rossignols simply sit on the surface and can be carved gently this way and that. The wide tail seems to support well enough not to sink-in too deeply when leaning back. It lacks the ‘surf’ feeling of my BBRs but gives stable, predictable turns all the way down.
When back on the piste, I found the Soul 7 HD a little nervous when running straight and it tends to either carve its fixed radius or immediately lose the tail depending on the pressure and weight distribution. At first, I found the skis breaking away at the rear far too easily compared to what I’m used to.
I was riding a 180cm model, which gave me nice float in the powder as I’m not all that tall or heavy, and although it is easy enough for the more capable skier to control, it doesn’t initiate a turn as easily as other skis.
Appearance
What I really like about the Soul 7 HD, is the overall appearance of the ski. The fluorescent yellow highlighting against the matt black appeals to me (and worked well with my boot-and-trouser combo!) and the combination of materials and construction should keep the ski looking good even after the inevitable wear and scuffs. The 3D hexagonal depressions in the tips are a nice touch, and I believe they’ll help keep the skis looking good. Even after a few knocks.
The front tip gives a massive 9cm of clearance to help with those unexpected lumps and the rear tips are large enough to prevent that dig-in situation from skiing ‘switch’ on anything but the smoothest piste. The metallic insert in the tails should give protection should your tails find some unpleasant surprises below the surface of less-deep-than-expected powder.
Verdict
I enjoyed trialling the Soul 7 HD, but being honest, if owning just one set of skis, I would take the BBR any day of the week. If you tend to ski piste on a standard carver or slalom ski, the Soul 7 HD is a great option as a second set. Within the freeride arena, I’m sure it is a great ski – its ability to carve and remain stable at speed is commendable – but as an overall one-size-fits-all ski, it leaves me a little disappointed.
Certainly, I’d say the ski is a great bit of kit for those who like to trek up the mountain on skins in search of the freshest, private powder, but for the all-round skier, I don’t feel this is the best choice of ski. It requires a capable skier to make it turn so is also not suitable for beginner/intermediate skiers who haven’t yet mastered the balance between sliding and carving in the turns. But then they are unlikely to try the sort of off-piste zone this ski was designed for, either.
As a means of summing up, I wouldn’t buy this ski since I have no need in my current lineup. However, I’d happily spend another day or two on the Soul 7 HD when the mountain conditions are just right for it. But even then, I’d want to be in a zone where I could avoid groomed pistes where I’d be missing the high speed carving flexibility of my BBRs. I’ll give this ski 3.5 out of 5.
NF
