Review: Rossignol Super Black Ops 98

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Rossignol’s Super Black Ops 98 is a precisely-tuned sports car that bridges the gap between all-mountain jibbing and on-piste carving performance. The ridiculous 80s-inspired topsheet (ignore it or embrace it!) hints at the ski’s intentions–embracing your inner hotdogger and having fun all over the mountain. But this isn’t your average dad ski. Mixing rock-solid edge grip with a damp, smooth ride, the Super Black Ops 98 beckons for speed and style no matter the terrain or conditions. It’s been around for a few years now, but we hope it doesn’t go anywhere anytime soon.

In a nutshell

• Length Skied: 182 cm
• Stated Weight: 2000 g per ski
• Stated Dimensions: 131-98-121 mm
• Stated Sidecut: 19 m (size-specific)

Length and Mount Point

Our tester crew rode Rossignol’s updated Super Black Ops 98 in the 182 cm length, a size that everyone from 5’ 9” to 6’ 2” got along with swimmingly. It comes in 162, 172, 182, and 192 cm lengths. The Super Black Ops 98 rides both short and long depending on what you’re looking to do with it, but it never seems to lose stability, pop, or edge grip. In other words, if you’re falling in between sizes on the ski, you’ll likely be happy with either way you go. A shorter option will be more maneuverable and playful, whereas a longer size will beg for speed even more.

The ski comes with a fairly traditional, directional mount point, which most testers found appropriate for all-mountain ripping. Don’t care about directional skiing and want to turn it into more of a freestyle ski for park laps, switch landings, and sliding rails? Bump up that mount point 2-3 cm and you’ll be happier.

Where does the Rossignol Super Black Ops 98 shine?

What makes the Rossignol Super Black Ops 98 such a great ski is that its relatively simple design doesn’t pigeonhole it into any particular category or style of skiing - it caters to a pretty broad swath of skier types from hardpack chargers with a need for speed, to all-mountain jibbers, to big-mountain skiers that like techy, bony lines without a ton of snow. Compared to similar skis in it’s category like the Nordica Enforcer 99, Volkl Mantra M7, and Dynastar M Pro 99, it’s much less “serious” of a ski, begging you to play around with your turn shapes, soar off that next roller with a little more speed, and boost that big sidehit you’ve been eyeing all morning.

One thing is certain, and that is this ski has absolutely wild amounts of edge grip–it’s got one of the smoothest feeling rides out there with huge amounts of suspension for when the snow isn’t all that smooth. Better yet, that damp, quiet, and stable ride is paired with a really energetic core and a round, predictable flex that lets you load up the ski and pop, slash, or butter off anything in sight, especially knowing that it’s got your back no matter how sketchy the landing is.

One tester with a heavy freestyle background raved: “The Super Black Ops 98 is totally my type of ski: a chargy all-mountain ski that allows for confident and powerful turns. I see it as a great one ski quiver for the East Coast at 98 underfoot, and a great option for non-powder days out west. I also love it in the park for its stability. The stiff flex pattern makes my off-balance landings forgivable and adds confidence on larger features.”

Another big-mountain tester added: “So fun and powerful! It absolutely rails carves, it's so quiet yet so responsive. These are like velcro but they don't feel uncontrollably locked in. Really easy to ski very fast in just about any condition, powder/soft stuff included, the short size slithers through moguls.”

Where does the Rossignol Super Black Ops 98 make some compromises?

The powerful nature of the Rossignol Super Black Ops 98 comes with the caveat that it requires strong legs. Testers noted that it could quickly tire you out, especially when all it will make you want to do is ski fast, jump off everything in sight, and harness its playfully energetic nature. In other words, while it’s not impossible to chill on this ski, and it’s still fun on mellow cattracks back to the base, the whole point of the Super Black Ops 98 is high-energy freeriding, so buckle up.

We would also probably seek out a wider waist width for really deep days, but don’t be afraid to take the Super Black Ops 98 into some pow - thanks to long, subtle tip rocker lines, it floats surprisingly well in pow.

What would a perfect day on the Rossignol Super Black Ops 98 look like?

Given that the Super Black Ops 98 works exceptionally well just about anywhere on the mountain - this is the ski that’s going to make those days where you’re not really sure about conditions some of the best of the season. It’s versatility and confidence-inspiring nature will have you teeing up lines right under the chairlift you’d normally avoid days after a storm, knowing the ski’s got your back.