Ski Reviews
2024 Rossignol Sender Free 110 Ski Review
The all-new Rossignol Sender Free 110, at first glance, seems like a ski that bridges a gap within the Rossi line. While that may be mostly true, it also stands on its own quite well not only for competitive freeride athletes, but also recreational skiers looking for playful flotation and a fun-loving ski. In Rossignol’s world, the Blackops 98 and 118 have been the cornerstones of their freeride line, while the Sender series, mainly the 104 Ti and 106 Ti+, has occupied the directional side of the spectrum. When these two lines, and their encompassing widths and builds unite, we get Sender Free 110. So, in one sense, this 110 blends the freestyle and freeride acumen of the Blackops skis, and in another, it takes the more business-like form of the Sender models. Whichever way you choose to look at it, the Sender Free 110 has a unique character that allows it to be its own ski.
AT A GLANCE
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2024 Rossignol Sender Free 110 Skis |
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AVAILABLE SIZES |
TURN RADIUS |
SIDECUT |
WEIGHT |
PRICE |
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176, 184, 191 cm |
20 m @ 184 cm |
140 / 110 / 133 mm |
2,200g @ 184 cm |
$899.95 |
By starting with a poplar wood core, the Sender Free 110 has a sturdy and stable start. We see more in common with the Sender 104 Ti in terms of the build, as it gets a Ti beam underfoot, two layers of Diagofiber on top and bottom, Rossignol’s signature Air Tip, and two rather large zones of Damp Tech material in the forebody and aft areas of the ski. While Blackops uses Damp Tech in the very ends of the ski in the tips and tails, this 110 has larger laminates that keep the ski more grounded and quieter even in choppy snow and firmer conditions. Additionally, when compared to Blackops, the use of Air Tip in lieu of the Damp Tech in the tips allows the 110 Free to feel more floatier and lighter when it comes to maneuvering through deeper snow, crud, and chop. Whereas Sender 104Ti is rooted in a lighter paulownia wood core, the Free 110 gets that bump up to poplar to make it sturdier under duress and more confidence-inspiring for seasoned athletes. For weight, the Sender Free 110 tips the scales at 2200 grams per ski in the 184, which is right in line with the 187 Sender 106 Ti+. It’s 300 grams heavier than the Sender 104Ti in the 178, and about 350 grams lighter than the Blackops 118 in the 186. This is a pretty significant drop in weight without dropping much else when it comes to performance. There’s more material overall, for sure, in the 118, and it’s also one of the heavier skis on the market, so there is no real need for Rossignol to go out and make an even heavier version. The lighter weight seems to work better for this shape and style of ski.
The shape of the 110 is both refreshing and interesting. This is where we see more of a blend/mix of attributes coming together and creating something new. The shovel shape, at 140 mm wide, is more akin to that of the Sender 106’s 133 mm tip, complete with similar taper shape and rounded lines. The tail, on the other hand, is decidedly more Blackops 118-inspired both from a tapered and rounded perspective. It’s considerably more playful in the back end than the Sender 106. The 133 mm tail is only 7 mm narrower than the shovel, making it more symmetrical than not, and firmly entrenching this ski in the freestyle/freeride realm. It’s a bit narrower than the 141 mm tail of the 118, but that fits in with the overall footprint. The resulting 20-meter turn radius is more on par with that of the Sender skis rather than the straighter 25-meter cut of the 118. For the most part, it’s very interesting to see what aspects of each ski Rossignol chose to pick and implement into this new model.
We run into many of the same situations when it comes to the profile of the ski as well. Sender Free 110 has the tip rocker of the Sender 106 and the tail splay of the 118. With some camber underfoot, it’s decidedly a freeride profile that highly emphasizes both tip and tail flotation and playfulness. It’s easy to wiggle around in the shovel thanks to the Air Tip and the rocker, and it’s insanely maneuverable in the tail, as it’s basically a wide, flexible twin tip that has no issues riding switch in any type of snow. Even if backcountry freestyle isn’t your thing, it’s still nice to know that the slashy, smeary, and more sideways-oriented skiing that’s so popular and en mode these days is totally in this ski’s wheelhouse. Surfy skiing is right at your fingertips (toenails?) with the Sender Free 110, and so much of it has to do with the modern shape and profile.
For me (Bob), the resulting performance is about what you’d expect: insane amounts of fun, fantastic snow feel, and endless soft-snow versatility. We got on these skis on a few great days here in Vermont, and they certainly excel in our tighter trees and woods. Even further, when you get them out on some of our wider trails and terrain, they light that stuff up, too. Since it’s a soft-snow oriented ski, it seems fairer to start with the deep stuff. I can certainly feel the lighter tip float up and over the snow, and since we do have to make multiple subsequent turns around here pretty much all the time, it’s great to have that maneuverable swing weight in the front of the ski. The tail does what it’s told, and this is something that we can’t quite say about Sender 104 or 106—those skis are pretty locked in. The playful rear end of the ski makes clean and quick moves when you tell it to, encouraging both creative and aggressive skiing. We found some good things to jump off, and Jeff can talk more to that in his section, but the fact that you can land squared and centered on these skis with no loss of balance is a huge selling point for those who are in constant defiance of gravity. Since the ski is a 110, we’re not looking for a "wow" factor when it comes to groomer performance, but the build combined with the round shape makes for a lot of fun on the softer corduroy. It’s a pretty crisp turner, and since it has some decent flex to it, you can still get it up on higher edge angles and access the entirety of the 20-meter sidecut. It’s damp and stable enough to note, and while there are better pure carvers at this width (Nordica Enforcer 110, for example), this one certainly holds its own and is a lot of fun. When that soft snow gets cut up, and crud results, we had a blast just mobbing over the junk at high rates of speed. The Sender Free 110 has no issues with simply plowing through less-than-stellar conditions, including our firmer sub-surface that we deal with quite frequently here at Stowe. Overall, we found the ski to have great energy, a composed feel, and polished powder performance.
Jeff’s Review:
On my end of the spectrum (Jeff here), this ski is an absolute blast to ski. I can’t get over how easy it is to ski, while still feeling like it’s supportive of higher speeds, drops, big jumps, and basically anything else you want to do. I found myself at least feeling like I was skiing better than just about any other ski I’ve been on this season, and I think that phenomenon would carry over to other skiers as well. I’ll be the first to admit when I saw it, then when someone at Rossignol said it could fill the Soul 7 role, my initial reaction was "there’s no way that’s true." Generally when you get a ski this wide with a tail as bulbous as it is, there’s some amount of catchy-ness and it can be a lot for some skiers. Low angle trees at moderate speeds were incredibly easy to ski, which feels just like that Soul 7, but the other side of this ski’s range of capabilities is the power and freestyle influence in its build and shape. Go win a Freeride World Tour stop. Go do a backflip off your favorite wind lip. Go look for weird hidden giant east coast gaps like I was finding on it. Go build a backcountry jump. Heck, go do a cork 9 off it and land switch. All of those things come to mind when I think about this ski, but it still has that easy side too. You could make a good argument that the Black Ops 118 has all those latter elements too, but that ski is nowhere near as easy to ski. It’s a tank and pretty tiring. There’s not much Soul 7 in a Black Ops 118. I don’t think anyone would disagree with me there. Also, not only does this Sender Free provide easy performance for a Soul 7 customer, it actually makes all those other things easier too. Or, at least, it does for me, and I think it would for more mere mortal skiers. Those FWT guys probably ski the Black Ops 118 and don’t have any clue what I’m talking about. That’s great, but those skiers are the tippy top of the ability pyramid.
It is, hands-down, a well-designed ski, and I think you’re going to see a lot of them at your local hill, especially if you live somewhere with bigger freeride terrain and get a lot of snow. Even if that doesn’t sound like where you ski, however, and you’re located somewhere like northern Vermont like we are, it’s still an excellent tool for multiple applications and a lot of fun to ski. Will you see at many as we did when the Soul 7 first hit the market? Probably not, that would be wild. Will you see more than Sender 106 Ti+ and Black Ops 118? I think the answer there is almost definitely. Hats off to Rossignol on this one. Sweet skis.
Is the Nordica unleashed 108 similar to the Sender Free 110?
Not very similar in terms of construction but somewhat similar in shape. The 2024 Rossignol Sender Free 110's construction includes a Ti beam underfoot, two layers of Diagofiber on top and bottom, Rossignol’s signature Air Tip, and two rather large zones of Damp Tech material in the forebody and aft areas of the ski. This lends for an extremely damp and stable ride with the combination of these materials and the their strategic placement. The 2024 Nordica Unleashed 108 has a full-performance wood core and two sheets of fiberglass with vertical carbon stringers. This construction lends for a very energetic ride that is both playful and stable. Hope this helps!
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