• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Comparison Review Wet Noodle slapdown: Rossi Soul 7 vs Stockli SR 95 comparison

Couchmaster

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
94
About me Me, AARP candidate, 170 lbs 5'7". Legs are my best feature, but they are weaker than they should be. Been skiing for a long time, never raced and I have craploads of bad technique which gets absurdly worse if the snow turns to crap. I like quick turns on piste and a slalom type of ski. Goal is to ski off piste better so I'm heading there more and more.

About the conditions: I slept in and got to the Mt @ noon. By then, lots of folks had gone home, which was a good thing as conditions worsened not long after I got there. @ 3 days back the mega gallons of water (we had 10-12" of RAIN in a 3 day period) that had closed the ski area (it was 46 degrees there) turned to fluffy stuff when the cold crept back. 9" of new over ice. I think they had groomed some slopes, but there was no evidence of it. Cut up big bumps with 28 degree powder snow of @3-5 inches covered the ice. Usually. Till too many turns had mounded the available snow and left bare ice patches. Off piste was no ice, but occasional rocks with 9" of loose cut up snow. Dudes riding up on the chair said it was a whiteout, but they've clearly never been in one. It was too cold and windy for me to reply and I stayed bundled up. It wasn't though. A whiteout is where you can barely see your shoes and even standing vertical is confusing. We had approx 200 yards of visibility in the fog. The fog made bumps and terrain changes all but invisible in the flat light. The upper slopes had @ 25 Mph wind gusts and it was blowing such that the side you were looking at covered the rocks but when you looked back you clearly saw them. I find those kind of conditions difficult, generally.

The skis:

1st) Used 2014 172 Rossignol Soul 7's with Axium bindings, they came with pre-scratched Ptex on the bases which I left alone, I contributed a significant scratch count on both skis today.

2nd) Stockli Stormrider 95s 174's with Marker Griffon binding. Flawlessly new and straight from Dawgcatchers stash of brand new ones. (was an old school transaction, minimal contact as in no tracking numbers or confirmation emails etc etc, but they got the skis done right and looking great to me in short order, very pleased)


SHORT VERSION SUMMATION: Rossignol Soul 7 would be the ski I would keep if a Sophies Choice kind of thing was foisted on me. I'd walk away from the Stocklis faster than a crack dealer from a cop.

I took the Stocklis up first, expecting to be wowed. Wasn't. Ran into a couple of bumps that were all but invisible to me and almost pitched over my skis. That caused bad habit #209, (combined with going slow) leaning back too far to rear it's ugly head and I didn't get my mojo back. I'm not a charger by anybodys stretch of the imagination, but I ski faster than most on any slope. I had a hard time getting these up to the speed which they wanted to turn, although I got some good carved turns in here and there. Off piste, not much better. Maybe 10 runs of this and I was feeling like I should have brought up my 2004 model skis I'd so cravenly tossed aside like a used condom when these shiny new ones showed up. But wait.... there's more. I just assumed I was having a crappy day. Till I swapped skis out and put on the Rossignols.

The Rossi's were day to the Stocklis night. What a difference. The Soul 7s turned when I wanted, stayed on top of the snow, and were positively fun fun fun. I started to get some speed up at times. The Rossis were easier for me to initiate a turn. Thus, I could pop 3 or 4 in a row just as fast as you can read that. I like that ability. When I came out of a turn it was easy to turn them the other way. Good times. My only fall was hitting an invisible bump in them, I don't know what really occurred, but somewhere after a half gainer and a somersault I blew both skis off and had a nice slide, but it wasn't disturbing at all, not just cause a young girl came along and helped the old guy gather up his shit show although we were both laughing at it. I jumped back up and was looking forward to putting the boards right back on. Next run down I noticed that most folks were taking a less steep version to get to the same spot, so I took the other side of the slope to avoid the slam:)

When I examine it, I suspect I know why I feel that way about the Soul 7s. Where as another board member recently said they were "Wet Noodles" that I would soon discard when I skied the Stocklis. The Rossis do not carve as well as the stocklis, and they'd often break away and slide on me. They feel more sloshy, if such a term can be used. That's fine, I have shitty technique, as I said, and I only carve well consistently on good days. It wasn't a good day. The Stocklis want to carve, they do it well. Well, they did it a few times for me.

My plan is to try them both in better conditions. But for this single time, the better ski was not the vaunted Stockli 95, it was the wet noodle. I'm ready to start a "Wet Noodle Fan Club" about now there was that much difference for me. I was shocked at this knowledge I gained as about everyone seems to prefer the Stockli over the Soul 7, and wanted to share what I learned with you folks. Hope it helps a few of you. I ski at Mount Hood Meadows on Mount Hood if anyone wants to try either or both of them out, connect up with me. I wear a size 9 ish boot.
 
Last edited:

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
Wow, not what I expected, not so much that your liked the Rossi so much but that the Stockli fell so flat. While they are indeed different animals, I didn't think these you the anyones outcome.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Couchmaster

Couchmaster

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
94
Thanks Phil, I might be in agreement with you. Maybe.....depending what was said of course....
I didn't think these you the anyones outcome.

It's all good. I clearly need to get the Stocklis out more and work on my (lack of) skills. Wife wanted to go all coastal today, so I'd like to be getting crabs but they are saying 35-40 waves with big assed logs that the recent record rain brought down to the ocean. Which means I'll be working on the boat next few days.... the rematch will have to wait. No crabs, no skiing just excessive lubrication (aka grease) . (insert sad face here)

Unless the pup wants to get out and bother the seals and the great whites on a kayak....she hasn't caught a seal yet. Not for want of trying.
 
Last edited:

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Whenever I see folks on this forum waxing poetic about Stoecklis, I suspect that they are people whose carving skills / dedication to properly initiating a turn far exceeds mine. Same with Kaestle.

I would like to demo another Kaestle and get my hands on some Stoecklis, though, just to prove it.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Yeah, it was a good day. Best day Tahoe has seen in a couple of year.

To be fair, that wouldn't take much
/ducks
/runs

But seriously, it looked epic.
 

SBrown

So much better than a pro
Skier
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
7,847
Location
Colorado
Whenever I see folks on this forum waxing poetic about Stoecklis, I suspect that they are people whose carving skills / dedication to properly initiating a turn far exceeds mine. Same with Kaestle.

I would like to demo another Kaestle and get my hands on some Stoecklis, though, just to prove it.

I would love to wax poetic about Stöcklis, but they were kind of dicks at their table at SIA and after three trips I never GOT ON ANYTHING dammit. So that is really good for my pocketbook, I guess.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
I would love to wax poetic about Stöcklis, but they were kind of dicks at their table at SIA and after three trips I never GOT ON ANYTHING dammit. So that is really good for my pocketbook, I guess.

Should just steal them from FTM.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
IMG_0262.JPG
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
^^^^ Sucking at a high level for sure.

Bet those Cochise's were about perfect too.
I will be writing a Cochise review over the weekend. I will say they need gravity to get the most out of them.
 

Jim McDonald

愛スキー
Skier
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Posts
2,101
Location
Tokyo
Nice review, Couchmaster.
Shows that there's no perfect ski, only (maybe) a perfect ski for `you' under certain conditions.
On another day the SR95s might be just your cup of joe while the Soul 7s lose the magic.
 

SkiNurse

Spontaneous Christy
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
1,698
Location
Colorado
I would love to wax poetic about Stöcklis, but they were kind of dicks at their table at SIA and after three trips I never GOT ON ANYTHING dammit. So that is really good for my pocketbook, I guess.
I agree with the "attitude" of the guys at the Stockli SIA table, but was able to demo a ski. Have to say, I liked Kastle better....better service & better skis.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
Admin
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 1, 2015
Posts
42,624
Location
Reno, eNVy
I agree with the "attitude" of the guys at the Stockli SIA table, but was able to demo a ski. Have to say, I liked Kastle better....better service & better skis.

Stockli has been through many forms of distribution over the past decade and I think they are still trying to get their model together but are moving in the right direction. As far as comparing the skis..it is like comparing BMW and Mercedes, both are very good just different tastes.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
SkiTalk Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
9,282
Location
Steamboat Springs, Co
@Couchmaster nice job, on the stockli's were you able to play with the mount point at all., It sounds like the bindings may have been back a bit from the description.
 

SBrown

So much better than a pro
Skier
Contributor
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
7,847
Location
Colorado
Stockli has been through many forms of distribution over the past decade and I think they are still trying to get their model together but are moving in the right direction. As far as comparing the skis..it is like comparing BMW and Mercedes, both are very good just different tastes.

This was just human incompetence, not corporate. The guy at the Head tent was a dick, too, and I know that isn't normal.
 

Drahtguy Kevin

Après aficionado
SkiTalk Tester
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
1,817
Location
Northern Colorado
This was just human incompetence, not corporate. The guy at the Head tent was a dick, too, and I know that isn't normal.

I find it odd that people paid to represent a brand in a positive light can be such tools and alienate customers. Those who know me know I can be a bit crass at times, but I realize I have to bite my tongue and be nice to jack wagons for my business. It's not that difficult.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Kastle tent featuring Mavis. She is pleasant, helpful and has time to answer questions. So is Chris Davenport, a regular guy who skis better than 99% of the people on Earth.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top