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2021 Rossignol Black Ops Escaper

SkiTalk Test Team

Testing skis so you don't have to.
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Philpug: Rossignol is hitting it out of the park with its Black Ops collection, and the volume leader could very well be the 94mm Escaper. Soft-snow-biased skis in the mid-90s are getting a good amount of attention this season, so the Escaper that will be flying first off of the ski wall.

I would say the Escaper is the most versatile of the Black Ops. At 94 mm underfoot combined with only 10 mm of tip-to-tail taper, it is the quickest and most playful of the collection. This is the ski that the Experience 94 wanted to be. With its wider tail, the Escaper does expect your attention; it rewards skiers with good technique but won't punish those who are still improving. If you get your weight back, it will remind you -- and quickly.

Insider tip: No, the names don’t make sense. Get past it, because these skis rip. While it is available with a system binding, please don't go there; a Pivot 15 Raw is the proper choice.​
Wade Holiday: This ski surprised me. I haven’t bonded with a Rossi in years, but this one has a different feel. It is a bit more damp and solid than I expected, with a great preferred turn shape in both carved and blended turns and a friendly but encouraging tip. It holds well through most of the turn in the scraped-out snow. The only thing I'm not so sure about is that the tail releases a more abruptly than I planned sometimes. I think the tail profile is meant to be a bit more “slashy” than I am.

Insider tip: Length seems true; mount point feels good, albeit a tad forward.​
 
Awards
Who is it for?
Stronger skiers who like a ski that can finish a turn.
Who is it not for?
Lighter finesse skiers could get bounced around; the Escaper has a backbone. The overly analytical or opinionated.
Skier ability
  1. Advanced
  2. Expert
Ski category
  1. All Mountain
Ski attributes
  1. Moguls
  2. Off Piste
  3. Trees
Segment
  1. Men

Specifications

right ad
Available sizes
156, 164, 172, 178, 186
Dimensions
128-94-118
Radius
19m@178cm
Rocker profile
  1. Camber with tip and tail rocker
Construction design
  1. All new
Binding options
  1. Flat
  2. System

WildH

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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Mar 5, 2020
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Good to see some info out on these. Really want a lighter more playful ski to use on days where my enforcers 100s are too much. How do these compare to the enforcer 93?
 

Philpug

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Good to see some info out on these. Really want a lighter more playful ski to use on days where my enforcers 100s are too much. How do these compare to the enforcer 93?
[Jedi hand wave] These are not the lighter and more playful ski that you are looking for. [/Jedi hand wave], If you want somethime more lighter and more playful that Enforcers, the Armada Declivity 92, Elan Ripstick 96 and the Salomon QST92 is where I would start.
 

WildH

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Thx Philpug. Maybe I should go a bit further. I like my enforcer 100 for soft snow, getting through crud, open terrain, etc, but my 185 is quite a bit of ski to push through steep and tight trees, mogels, etc.

I'm not into park or big hits, but am always searching for something off piste, and I do tend to really drive hard. Was thinking these in 178 might be a good fit.

I see the Declivity mentioned alot. How are these different?
 

SkierGolferNH

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Dec 5, 2018
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45
You say "While it is available with a system binding, please don't go there; a Pivot 15 Raw is the proper choice. " why is that?

Also, this ski seems similar to the Holy Shred, what's the difference?
 

Philpug

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You say "While it is available with a system binding, please don't go there; a Pivot 15 Raw is the proper choice. " why is that?

Also, this ski seems similar to the Holy Shred, what's the difference?
The Konnect system binding while works well on a narrow carver, it's stack height is too tall for a ski of this width, ideally you want to be as low to the deck as possible. Rossignol doesn't even allow is to review the ski with that binding. As far as the Pivot 15 Raw, it has a low stack height, low swing weight and in laterally rigid. All great attributes to maximize this skis performance.
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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PNW aka SEA
Good to see some info out on these. Really want a lighter more playful ski to use on days where my enforcers 100s are too much. How do these compare to the enforcer 93?

Phil mentioned the armada declivity 92... its an excellent ski that won't likely get nearly the press it deserves.
 

SkierGolferNH

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Dec 5, 2018
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The Konnect system binding while works well on a narrow carver, it's stack height is too tall for a ski of this width, ideally you want to be as low to the deck as possible. Rossignol doesn't even allow is to review the ski with that binding. As far as the Pivot 15 Raw, it has a low stack height, low swing weight and in laterally rigid. All great attributes to maximize this skis performance.

Makes complete sense. thanks.
 

WildH

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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West Fargo
Phil mentioned the armada declivity 92... its an excellent ski that won't likely get nearly the press it deserves.

What is different about the two in terms of feel? They look similar to me. Sorry for some many questions....I fully realize that this is hard to describe sometimes. I wish I could just demo them both, but unfortunately live in an area that makes that impossible so I'm trying to get an idea of the characteristics before pulling the trigger and am thankful for your input.

Here's my issue. I have one set of skis currently and they are enforcer 100s at 185cm. I get out 8-10 days a year in varying conditions all of which require travel so I don't know what snow will be like until I get there. While the Enforcers are fanstatic pushing through most conditions generally more open areas but, a lot of the time I end up in skied out bumps, steeper trees, and variable loose dense snow. In those conditions I am fighting them a bit and get worn out. I demoed a set of enforcer 93s in 177 at Canyons last year it was a pretty big difference in ability maneuver in bumps and tight steep trees. I found I was able to hop around and snake in and out of lines quicker while generally just having more fun.

Does either of these skis (Declivity or Escaper) have a similar feel at possibly a slightly lighter weight (the 93s were still a touch heavy)?

Maybe I'm trying to convince myself of the Escapers because I can get them at near cost, but if it's just basically a narrower version of what I already have, then a couple hundo bucks isn't going to matter.

Thanks again for the input. :)

PS....I'm 6'0" 170lbs. Consider myself solid intermediate to expert. Find groomers kind of boring after a couple of runs unless there's some sort of features (but it's still way better than a kick in the nutts).
 

GregK

Skiing the powder
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Ontario, Canada
Here's my issue. I have one set of skis currently and they are enforcer 100s at 185cm. I get out 8-10 days a year in varying conditions all of which require travel so I don't know what snow will be like until I get there. While the Enforcers are fanstatic pushing through most conditions generally more open areas but, a lot of the time I end up in skied out bumps, steeper trees, and variable loose dense snow. In those conditions I am fighting them a bit and get worn out.


These are the conditions the old Enforcer 100 excelled at and the 93 with its stiffer tail is more demanding in. Might be a drop down in length needed but screams of a tune issue and would put money that your 100s are edge high tip/tail causing them to be way more work than they should be. Stone grind the bases flat with a 1/3 tune and you’ll have new skis for $40! Would try a tune on the 100s first as that’s all you might need to rediscover them.

What bindings are you using on the 100s? Toe height adjustment might also help things or swap out from heavy demo bindings.
 

WildH

In the parking lot (formerly "At the base lodge")
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GregK - I actually had a stone grind on the them and tuned last year before that trip. By edge high, do you mean too steep on the side edge? (I'm still learning the lingo on tuning.)

Don't get me wrong. I like my Enforcers a lot actually. I learned on a set of Sin 7s coming from snowboard background and the enforcers were night and day better skis. My only gripe is that I feel I like they just want to be driven hard. They perform fantastic when you do, but once I get to firmer snow in tight trees it gets interesting and I feel like I'm needing a lot of input maneuver....more so than the 93s I tried. Maybe it is indeed the length that I'm feeling.

Bindings are Griffon Marker 13.
 

GregK

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GregK - I actually had a stone grind on the them and tuned last year before that trip. By edge high, do you mean too steep on the side edge? (I'm still learning the lingo on tuning.)

Don't get me wrong. I like my Enforcers a lot actually. I learned on a set of Sin 7s coming from snowboard background and the enforcers were night and day better skis. My only gripe is that I feel I like they just want to be driven hard. They perform fantastic when you do, but once I get to firmer snow in tight trees it gets interesting and I feel like I'm needing a lot of input maneuver....more so than the 93s I tried. Maybe it is indeed the length that I'm feeling.

Bindings are Griffon Marker 13.

Your bindings are nice and light so that won’t be the issue.

By edge high, I mean that the bases aren’t flat and that the sides/edges of the ski are higher than the middle of the base. If you were to put a flat edge across the ski base with a light behind it, you would see light coming through the center of the base under that flat edge. Pic of an edge high ski.

2318301D-A4DB-4279-AED5-F5A0BC070B08.png

Even if that looks okay, I still drag a bastard file on a 45 degree angle flat across the base to see if there are any high spots on the edges after a grind. Common for a few spots to grab the file. Pass over these high spots while cleaning the file often until they no longer catch. Doesn’t hurt to check and could be a reason why the skis are more work than they should be. Then set the 1 degree base and 3 degree sides by hand.

This should help but the shorter length would help even more I think. A 177cm or 179cm in a new 94/100 maybe the ticket.
 

Viking9

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SO CAL
Phil if you were skiing mammoth and had to choose between the 178 or the 186 on the first two days of a storm which one would you choose ?
Im 6’1 175 advanced.
The soul 7 would be a no brainer for me but I see the escaper front end and think it might ski a little shorter.
 

Philpug

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Phil if you were skiing mammoth and had to choose between the 178 or the 186 on the first two days of a storm which one would you choose ?
Im 6’1 175 advanced.
The soul 7 would be a no brainer for me but I see the escaper front end and think it might ski a little shorter.
This will ski longer than a Soul 7, apples to apples. For Mammoth with it being pretty open, I would err on the longer side.
 

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