Review: Rossignol Sender Free 118

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The Sender Free 118 replaces the long-standing favorite of many a big mountain charger, the Black Ops 118. They have the same shape as that legend of a ski, but borrow the slightly lighter construction of the endlessly popular and award-winning Sender Free 110. The result is a ski that still charges hard but isn’t as much of a tank to ski as the Black Ops 118.

Groomers & Resort Skiing:

At 118mm underfoot the Sender 118 was never going to be quick edge to edge. It’s still not a light ski either, so it isn’t the easiest to handle on groomers. However, our testers were very impressed by how well the ski tracked on edge regardless of condition. It’s a big ski, but skied with the right technique it’s manageable in the resort. Of course, it’s a big day ski but it handles much more than just powder predictably and confidently.

Powder & Mixed Conditions:

The new construction of Rossignol’s 118mm option makes it much easier to ski than its predecessor. We often think of swing weight as something that only affects a ski in the air, but when a ski is really heavy, you can feel it when turning too. That swing weight effect is more or less gone for the new 118 thanks to less material in the tips and tails, making it much easier to ski on lower-angle slopes and in tight terrain like glades. It floats like a dream, and it’s still more of a fall line charger than a ‘surfy’ ski, but it’s much improved for ease of use in soft conditions. For that, it does give up some of the crud-busting performance of the Sender Free 110, but it’s still one of the most capable skis we’ve tried in choppy snow.

"These skis are insane from the second you step into them, you can feel the stability. On hard pack it’s slow to come around through the turn, but I couldn’t get over how well it tracked, even on hard pack. In powder they are a dream, it was just point and shoot. The best thing I can compare it to is going from an XC bike to a downhill bike. The ski does a lot of the work for you and just inspires confidence to go deep on all of your favorite hits!" - Lucas Boudreau, ski tester

Park/Jibbing:

The Rossignol Sender Free 118 works for some backcountry jumping, however, for mere mortals, it’s not the lightest ski and it’s certainly sluggish in tight spots. It works for jibbing and doing tricks if you’re skiing fast and going big but it’s a slow ski to come around, so it’s not the best on smaller features or for playful skiing. There’s plenty of tail for stomping switch but it’s more of a charger than a jibber, if we’re honest.

Conclusion:

The Sender Free 118 makes Rossignol’s widest ski a lot more accessible without detracting from its top-level performance. It’s definitely still a niche tool, for someone charging hard somewhere it snows a lot. For most, we’d recommend the smaller 110 but if you’re the right skier, these are skis that could make your day a whole lot better.