2022 Rossignol Experience W 82 Ti

For the 2022 season, Rossignol has completely reworked their Experience all-mountain collection for both men and women. This Experience 82 Ti is the only women’s specific ski that uses metal, and in general, the new Experience line is a little more focused on groomer and carving performance than ever before. This ski uses a poplar wood core with traditional horizontal titanal laminates. That sets it apart from previous Experience Ti models that used vertical metal struts. The new construction gives it a more robust, more stable feel with increased vibration damping, but it’s still relatively lightweight too. Rossignol also uses what they call Drive Tip Solution. There’s a complex blend of fibers and visco in the tip of the ski that’s designed to take harsh impacts and vibrations and turn them into useable energy underfoot. The shape of the Experience W 82 Ti is mostly camber, although we get some smooth progressive tip rocker. Differing from the last generation of Experience skis, there’s no early taper, meaning the higher you get the ski on edge, the longer the effective edge and the better grip you’ll get.

Nifer Hoehn skied the 159 cm length, which she thought was “too short, for sure, but there wasn't a longer option.” Seems as though Nifer and Carly tried to test this ski at the same exact time, as Carly was able to get a longer length, which we’ll get to in a little bit. Sticking with Nifer, however, despite the shorter-than-ideal length, she was quite impressed by the Experience W 82 Ti, in fact, it’s fair to say she was actually surprised by it. “The graphics for this ski are, at best, meh. Tan and taupe with a light pink accent... they look dated and not in a hip way. That being said, these skis skied way better than I anticipated. They are light on your feet, so between that and the graphics, I was expecting to be underwhelmed and I love when my expectations (especially unfounded ones based on graphics) are blown to bits. These are steady, but not in a boring way, throughout the turn and they're soft, but not lackluster, and give a little holler back when you put some pressure on them to initiate the turn. I took them on some fast and big turns, and was impressed with how they came around and held the edge consistently throughout the turn. Wish I'd had some time to take them in some bumps.” That’s great feedback from Nifer, and we love the fact that she still found good grip and stability despite being on that 159 cm length. As we’ve seen through other testing, these skis also handle moguls well too, but in that scenario, they do require a fairly skilled skier due to the flatter, stiffer tail. Nifer’s scores supported her written feedback. 4 out of 5 marks for stability, forgiveness, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression, and we would venture a guess that if she had been on the longer length, a few of those characteristics would’ve jumped up to 5 out of 5.

Carly Monahan grabbed that 167 cm that we think Nifer would’ve liked. Thankfully, Carly thought that length was perfect for her. We did get some 5 out of 5 scores from Carly, including stability, quickness/maneuverability, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression. “An incredibly approachable, carving-focused, all-mountain ski. While not the most aggressive carving ski out there, the Experience W 82 Ti turns really smoothly and is easy to engage without sacrificing stability or stiffness. It feels really light underfoot, but still highly capable of powerful turns. Truly a great ski for anyone spending most of their time on groomers, laying into turns, but not wanting to feel spent after just a handful of runs.” Carving skis are often quite tiring, and we love the idea that Rossignol has achieved a ski that blends high-level carving performance with some forgiveness and a less fatiguing feel. They’re also more versatile than most carving skis, so they work better for a full day of skiing while exploring different terrain and through changing conditions.

If you spend the majority of your time on groomers, value carving performance, but don’t want something that will beat you up or feel pigeon-holed to perfect corduroy, you’ll love the Experience 82 Ti. Rossignol has a strong heritage of building race skis, and that experience and expertise has certainly trickled down into these new Experience skis. They are, hands-down, incredibly fun to ski.