Rossignol Soul 7 180cm Mount Point 2014-2016

[oswaldr2]

Just picked up a used set of 2016 Rossignol Soul 7 180cm skis with some Axial3's that will need to be remounted as the previous owner skied 29.5 boots and I'm 27.5.

I have not personally demo'd a set to play around with the mount point, so I'm curious how owners of these feel about where they are mounted? I was thinking either at the line or +1 given that I'm 5'9" 160lbs so on the shorter end of these skis. I ski freeride mostly and advanced/expert terrain.


Recommendations on the mount point would be great. I'm assuming everyone will say line, but I guess we'll see.

 

[jmeb]

I've only skied them on the line which felt about right.

Personally I'd just shove my boot in the toe, and look at where the midsole is vs the mark on the line. If it looks to be in a semi-reasonable spot (probably about +1cm), I'd just remount the heels approx 1.5cm ahead of the current spot. That'd give you plenty of adjustment to dial in your forward pressure, and put less holes in your skis.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I'm not a fan of departing from the recommended mount point that the manufacturer provides. They've done the research, right?

If you want a more powder specific ski mount it back a bit. If you want a turnier ski move it forward. Don't be overly concerned about a second set of holes in the skis. The ski is wide enough to have more than sufficient strength to handle two mounts. I have some Atomic Bent Chettlers that have at least 4 mounts. I trust them empirically.

 

[jmeb]

Oh yeah, lessening holes wasn't supposed to be about strength. I've got a pair with 3.5 sets of holes that still are in great shape. More resale or simplicity. The latter only makes sense to me cause I'm typically drilling my own skis.

 

[oswaldr2]

If I didn't have the toe piece redrilled and only redrilled the heel, the boot would be at +1.2cm ahead of the line. So I probably need to talk to Larson's to see if they can move the toe piece back 1cm to 1.5cm to get to the line and still keep the drill hole integrity.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Without seeing the actual locations of holes and the boots, I would guess that you'll have the room. You have a difference of 2 cm in BSL which means that the toe will move back 1 cm and the heel move forward 1 cm given the same center of boot location.

 

[oswaldr2]

I think technically I don't have to re-drill the heel piece and I can just move the toe back roughly 1cm. Then the heel would be pretty close to all the way forward in the same drill holes. But really if I ever were to get a smaller boot, I'd probably have to pay again to have the heel redrilled.

 

[MJA]

My 180s are mounted on the line and I'm 5'9" 150. They've been great in untouched snow but for advanced/expert terrain at your weight I'd be a little worried about the stability in the 180 (and probably the 188 also).

 

[oswaldr2]

My 180s are mounted on the line and I'm 5'9" 150. They've been great in untouched snow but for advanced/expert terrain at your weight I'd be a little worried about the stability in the 180 (and probably the 188 also).

I’m kind of feeling out my quiver for that. I have 2016 177cm Enforcers that cover me for that terrain that’s technical at A-Basin, snowbird, Alta, JHMR, etc....

Going to see if the Soul 7 can also cover me for that same terrain as well, I guess we’ll see.

What do you mean about my weight though? Would somebody heavier or lighter be stable on them? Not really following.

 

[MJA]

I primarily ski Alta and Snowbird and the next ski down in my quiver is the Enforcer 93 in 177, which I love. Someone lighter would definitely be more stable. They're a lightweight and very flexible ski (some would say too flexible), whereas the Enforcer is an entirely different feel that is significantly more stable given it has two sheets of metal. IMO they do not handle heavy chop, crud, or true hard pack well at all. Where they excel is soft snow and the trees. Rossi stiffened up the newer versions of the S7, particularly in the tips, to help improve some of its shortcomings, but even the newer versions are on the softer / more playful end of the spectrum. I'm in the process of replacing my S7s with something with more backbone that is still relatively lightweight and agile, likely either the Volkl 100eight in 181 or Head Kore 105 in 180. I am probably going to re-purpose my S7s for touring.

Edit: what also adds to the Soul 7's instability is the significant tip taper and rocker. They ski VERY short, particularly due to the taper profile, which limits their effective edge and makes them twitchy at speed. The benefit to this is they are remarkably maneuverable in good snow in tight spaces.

Second edit: I just re-read your post and it says you're 5'9" 160 lbs. I thought when I originally read your post it said 5'9" 180 lbs? The stability should definitely be better at 160 than 180, but the underlying situation is the same, hence why I'm looking for something else at 150 lbs.

 

[oswaldr2]

I'm thinking I'm going to make the Soul 7's my powder ski and DD my Enforcers. I guess I can't really say this for sure until I ski both, but that might make the most sense in my new 2 ski quiver. I only drove the Enforcers last year for everything, loved them but wanted something a little better for powder, but not a full blown powder ski.

So seems like long story short, I should be at 0, I wouldn't want to go -1 since I'm on the shorter side of 180cm.

 

[MJA]

I think your plan makes sense. I’d say mount at 0, but what do you mean you’re on the shorter side of 180cm?

 

[Primoz]

My vote is -2, no matter how it sounds It sure depends on this how you ski, but if you try to ski at least a bit harder, and especially on 180cm Soul7, you would want to be back, so tips stay up and "floating" even if you press a bit harder instead of sinking into snow. You might be a bit smaller then me (I'm 181cm and some 75kg), and Soul7 are pretty damn short at 180cm, so as long as I didn't move them back, I could forget charging them hard. But I also admit, I might not have perfect powder skiing technique, as my background (and technique) is more on icy racing slopes. But either way, for me moving them some 2 or 2.5cm back, improved feeling of this ski in really good way for me.

 

[Doug Briggs]

My vote is -2, no matter how it sounds It sure depends on this how you ski, but if you try to ski at least a bit harder, and especially on 180cm Soul7, you would want to be back, so tips stay up and "floating" even if you press a bit harder instead of sinking into snow. You might be a bit smaller then me (I'm 181cm and some 75kg), and Soul7 are pretty damn short at 180cm, so as long as I didn't move them back, I could forget charging them hard. But I also admit, I might not have perfect powder skiing technique, as my background (and technique) is more on icy racing slopes. But either way, for me moving them some 2 or 2.5cm back, improved feeling of this ski in really good way for me.

For a dedicated powder ski, for sure. The Soul 7 isn't a great all around performer and its strong suit is pow.

 

[Primoz]

@Doug Briggs true. I have old Soul7, non HD version, and they are great powder ski, but for anything else, well... it's useless to waste words for that, so I wouldn't even bother trying to mount it to be more all round ski, as it's simply not. It's pow ski and nothing else. For a bit more serious stuff I have Super7 and even though much wider, they ski whole lot nicer then Soul7 as soon as you put them to a bit harder pack.

 

[oswaldr2]

@Doug Briggs true. I have old Soul7, non HD version, and they are great powder ski, but for anything else, well... it's useless to waste words for that, so I wouldn't even bother trying to mount it to be more all round ski, as it's simply not. It's pow ski and nothing else. For a bit more serious stuff I have Super7 and even though much wider, they ski whole lot nicer then Soul7 as soon as you put them to a bit harder pack.

interesting you bring up the super 7, I actually just picked up a pair on Craigslist with Marker Duke bindings that fit my boot at the center line (so glad about that). So who knows, maybe I won't even keep the Soul 7's as they were $100 more and still need to be remounted.

 

[Ecimmortal]

interesting you bring up the super 7, I actually just picked up a pair on Craigslist with Marker Duke bindings that fit my boot at the center line (so glad about that). So who knows, maybe I won't even keep the Soul 7's as they were $100 more and still need to be remounted.

Not sure why you would choose a spineless tourist ski like the Soul 7 over the Super 7 .

 

[Primoz]

Not sure why you would choose a spineless tourist ski like the Soul 7 over the Super 7 .

For right conditions they are still super nice skis, and quite a bit lighter then Super7 so skinning up is easier But agree, range where Soul7 works great is pretty damn narrow, compared to range of conditions you can ski Super7 in. So if you go just with one pair, Super7 is definitely way to go.

 

[oswaldr2]

So I heard that the 2018/2019 HD (v3) recommended line is the same as the -2 free ride line on the 2017 HD (v2). Any truth to that? I haven't looked at the against each other. I have a buddy mounting v2 HD's and we are trying to figure out if he wants -1 or -2 on 180's.

Also the v1 Soul, didn't like. The Super v1 is much better, for whoever said that before...

 

[GregK]

So I heard that the 2018/2019 HD (v3) recommended line is the same as the -2 free ride line on the 2017 HD (v2). Any truth to that? I haven't looked at the against each other. I have a buddy mounting v2 HD's and we are trying to figure out if he wants -1 or -2 on 180's.

Also the v1 Soul, didn't like. The Super v1 is much better, for whoever said that before...

From Blister Gear-
. The v3 Soul 7 HD has a recommended mount point of -10.15 cm from center. That’s a pretty traditional mount, and it’s made even more interesting given that the v2 Soul 7 HD had two recommended mount points (-5.9 cm and -7.9 cm), while the original Soul 7 only had one mount point of -5.9 cm from center.