The Rossignol Soul 7 HD has made a name for itself in recent years for its soft snow performance, maneuverability, and just how much fun it is to ski. Rossignol was one of the first manufacturers to produce skis with this much rocker combined with significant early taper in the tips and tails. The focus has always been on soft snow performance and maneuverability, but for 2018 Rossignol gave the ski a new tip design and construction, and tweaked the entire shape of the ski. The result is increased stability in the tip, while retaining what the Soul 7 has always been about: fun in soft snow.
Mike Aidala tested the Soul 7 HD in the 180 cm length and really focused his feedback on soft snow performance. We didn’t have true powder in which to test it, but we did have some nice soft spring-like snow during the afternoons of our test. Because the Soul 7 HD doesn’t use any metal, but rather relies on carbon and wood for its performance, it stays nice and lightweight. When combined with its shape, it gives it an ultra-quick, maneuverable feel. “The Soul 7 HD was perfect in the soft snow. It floats really well and handles the busted up spring chunky snow. The skis pivot really well making short turns easily.” The ability to make short turns and performance in soft snow isn’t surprising there, but it’s nice to see that Mike thought it could handle that choppy spring snow without getting too unstable or being deflected by imperfections in the snow surface.
While Rossignol did make changes to help quiet down the tips, Bob St.Pierre did note that they’re still relatively soft compared to most freeride skis. Bob is a fairly big, powerful skier, so his low score for stability didn’t really surprise us. Bob thought it “performs well” in soft snow, but wouldn’t want it as his firm snow ski as on his feet it just didn’t have the stability and edge grip he was looking for. That is, however, pretty much what the Soul 7 HD is all about. It’s not designed to be the most powerful ski or have the best vibration damping, it’s designed for quickness and fun in soft snow, and it most certainly achieves that. Bob tested the 188 cm length, which happens to be the longest available, but also noted that he thought it skied a little short.
Jeff Neagle tested the 180 cm length and also focused his feedback on maneuverability, quickness, and the light feel of the Soul 7 HD. He did, however, score it 4 out of 5 for stability and noted that the new version of the Soul 7 HD does have less tip chatter than the previous ski. According to Jeff, “the Soul 7 HD continues to offer easy, user-friendly powder performance to a wide range of ability levels. Intermediates will find it to be approachable, while experts who value light, quick powder skis will be thrilled.” If you’re looking for the ultimate in stability and power, you’re not going to find it in the Soul 7 HD. You will, however, find the pinnacle of maneuverability and playfulness when skiing in soft snow. It’s a tremendously fun ski in tight terrain and doesn’t have to be skied exceptionally fast to enjoy it.
The Soul 7 HD has solidified its position in the ski industry. You can essentially consider it the leader in quick, user-friendly soft snow performance. It still relies on the significant early taper or 5-point sidecut that was used in the original design and has arguably helped inspire a whole new shape of skis. If you’re looking for a fun, quick, maneuverable ski for softer snow conditions look no further than the Rossignol Soul 7 HD.
