2022 Rossignol BLACKOPS Escaper

Rossignol marketers put this Escaper in the Freetouring section of their catalog, and sure, it can be used in that format, but from what we've seen and experienced from the Escaper, it's capabilities are just so much more. For a lot of skiers, this 2022 Escaper fits the bill for a one-ski quiver--quick and agile, but still pretty darn stable. Built with a paulownia wood core, it's got the light start of a backcountry and touring ski, but with the Diago Fiber added, it gets a pretty nice boost of power for resort and all-mountain skiing. This ski has the shape, at 94 mm underfoot, to be versatility incarnate--capable of floating through the fresh and carving up the groomers with no issues whatsoever. Even larger and more aggressive skiers are impressed with these skis and their ability to be multiple things, but the most impressive part is the energy and pop coming out of the turn. While they include tip and tail rocker, it's still got a fair amount of camber underfoot to assist with that rebound.

Nate Gardner is one of those more powerful skiers who's pretty impressed with the Escaper. He skied the 186, noting that it's the right length for him. He scored the ski a top mark of 5 out of 5 for flotation, with 4's lining the rest of the scorecard. These are some consistently high scores, and while we're happy to see them, they fall more in line with a more high-performance ski, and we're not upset about that in the least. When a ski is able to achieve this type of average, and is this light and quick, that's an impressive thing. "Escaper is right as in this ski will let you escape into any condition. Short turns - check. Long turns - got that too. Slow and skiddy - sure. High speed carvy- it’s got your back. Quick edge to edge for a wide ski." Sounds like a lot of boxes were checked as Nate took the Escaper out for his test drive.

Sam Freund was on the 178, and he noted that it was on the short side for him, but still skied true to its size. He gave the ski all 4's right down the line, and this is right there with Nate for his high-end impression of the Escaper. Sam notes that he "really liked this ski. It was a really nice combination of playful, and versatile, especially in the varying conditions. Fun in the bumps, and held up nicely in groomed terrain." Sounds like a fun and versatile ski to us! The combination part of the ski stands out the most, as it's able to do all of these different things all at the same time, and that's truly the mark of a well-rounded all-mountain ski, not even mentioning the backcountry possibilities. Andrew Ruschp skied the proper 186, and he scored 5's out of 5 for versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, playfulness, stability, and flotation. That's a lot of high scores from Andrew there, showing his favorable impression of the Escaper for sure. Andrew calls it a "Super rad ski. Took everything I could throw at it and excelled. Perfect East coast 1 ski quiver. So fast Bobby Saint P he could barely keep up." Yup, it's true, it was difficult to keep up with Andrew on his test runs. Looked like he really did like the ski from my perspective as well.

It's important to not always rely on the marketing departments to label the usage of the skis. The Escaper is a prime example of that. Sure, it's light enough to use as a touring or backcountry ski, but that would take away so much of the potential of the ski as a resort-specific one-ski quiver, and that's where we see a lot of the skiers landing on this ski. Whichever way you choose to use the Escaper, it's sure to be a whole lot of fun, and that's what it's really all about.