2025 Rossignol Arcade 88 Ski Review

Rossignol’s new Arcade series, consisting of the 84 and 88 has some pretty big boots to fill, especially in this omnipresent ~88 mm width. For years, Experience has led the charge in Rossignol’s all-mountain department, and this most recent Experience 86 Ti was probably our favorite yet. For Rossignol to then move to an entirely different ski was at first a bit upsetting, as skiers are known to be romantic and nostalgic about these things, but a few runs into the Arcade 88 for 2025, and it starts to make more sense. Experience, for years, kind of vacillated between all-mountain and slight front side, with this latest iteration being the best carver of the group. Moving to Arcade 88, the carving precision has been upped as the ski takes on more of a turny shape and style, almost blending the looks and feels of the Forza 70 with the Sender Soul 92 and meeting somewhere in the middle. The big stories with Arcade 88 versus the outgoing Experience 86 Ti that it’s replacing are a lower cost, a more precise feel, and a tighter turn radius.

Built with a full poplar wood core and a full titanal laminate, the Arcade 88 also benefits from Rossignol’s VAS (Vibration Absorption System), Air Tip, and LCT (Line Control Technology). While the narrower Arcade 84 uses a metal beam underfoot, the 88 gets the full metal treatment for the top end of dampness and power. The VAS consists of a rubberized material found in the ski's shovel to keep the unwanted vibrations at bay. This works well with the LCT strip of ABS that runs through the central chord of the ski. We’ve kind of settled into the notion that the ABS in the middle works like an additional sidewall, especially if you think of the vertical sidewalls acting as struts alongside the ski. This is where a big difference shows up between Arcade 88 and Experience 86—the outgoing ski had a mix of vertical sidewall and cap construction for a bit more of a versatile feel while the new model has full sidewalls for greater precision and edge grip from tip to tail. In the flat ski, as this is offered both flat and with an SPX Konnect 14 system, the 178 hits 1800 grams per ski on the scale. The previous version was very close at just under in the 176, so the weight's kind of a wash, and right on par with some other close competitors like Volkl Mantra 88. This ski is offered both with a Konnect system as well as open/flat. The ski on its own is a fantastic carver. If you put your own binding on it, then that’s going to increase the versatility, which I think is a good thing. The Konnect system is fine, but opening this ski up to more all-mountain use is probably the way to go.

At a Glance:

2025 Rossignol Arcade 88 Skis

We also see a marked difference in the shaping of this Arcade 88, as it leans a bit back to more of a carver than an all-mountain shape. At least, it’s not a narrower version of a freeride ski like Enforcer 89 or Head Kore 87��the Arcade 88 stands on its own, with a bit of help from both wider and narrower siblings in the Rossignol line. With measurements of 136/88/125, this ski creates round and somewhat shorter turns of 15-meters in the 178. It’s true to that arc too, with minimal taper and slight tip rocker. There is tail rocker, but it’s more of a release/ease of use type of bend rather than a drawn-out profile to aide in flotation. The dramatic sidecut gives the ski its turny personality for sure, as there aren’t many other skis out there with this long of an effective edge to accompany such a short radius. This seems borrowed from Forza V-70, and if the success and overwhelming positivity from that ski filters into the Arcade 88, we’re looking at happy skiers here. Basically, when you tip the ski on edge, it’s going to come around quickly. Fans of carving pure, clean, and round turns will love how the shape and profile pair with the build to create and access performance.

This ski, much like its Experience 86 predecessor, has a very high-end feel to it. We saw the premium performance in the 86 Ti, and that certainly carries forward into Arcade 88. Skiers who are looking at a top-end product but don’t want to pay Stockli or Kastle prices will be more than satisfied with the Rossignol Arcade 88. Starting with on-piste performance, as that’s the meat and potatoes of this ski, Arcade 88 is a wide carver with smoothness and stability to spare. It’s a rare combination here, of a wide underfoot platform, short radius, and sturdy build. It takes no time at all to settle into the rhythm and routine, especially if you have that 15-meter arc at the forefront of your ski brain. Medium radius carves are pure bliss on this ski, and it doesn’t seem to care if the snow is hard or soft. The way it hooks in, delivers strong grip through the middle, and rebounds out of the turn into the next due to the camber is darn near poetic. One of our favorite trails here at Stowe is Lower North Slope. This wide-open cruiser won’t spark a whole lot of adrenaline coursing through veins, but it’s a fantastic testing ground. The test here is if a ski can make Lower North Slope exciting and interesting, then that’s a good turning ski. Arcade 88 passed this test easily. Others in this group include Black Crows Mirus Cor, Salomon QST 92, Head Kore 93, and Blizzard Thunderbird R15. Basically, you need a shorter arc, an energetic feel, and good edge grip to enlighten the mellower terrain, and skis like this are top of the class. The good news is that when the slopes get steeper and firmer, the Arcade 88 impresses here, too. While it’s certainly happier accessing the higher edge angles to boost the roundness of the turn, you can break it free and get some good skid performance as well. Upper Nosedive is a good example, where it’s more technical and you must vary your turn shape and style to cleanly ski the S-Turn portion. When it opens to a wider, steeper groomer after the top section, Arcade 88 settles in nicely, although high-speed carved turns are not a top strength here. This ski likes to cut across the fall line and adhere more to the stated radius whereas something like the Enforcer 89, with more of a freeride profile, can achieve those faster, more direct carves. The point here is that if you want to go fast on the Arcade 88, you should be prepared to run a flatter ski—it's much happier at high edge angles at medium speeds.

While Rossignol is touting the Arcade 88 as an “All day, any day” ski with “100% Anywhere” personality, we’re not so sure it’s the best off-piste option in this width class. Skilled skiers will be able to make the Arcade 88 perform just fine in bumps, trees, soft snow, etc., but that’s probably the minority. Skiing this thing in moguls is a bit of a handful. The tips and tails are wide for this application, and the camber makes it unwieldy in the troughs. Lighter skis in this zone, like the Elan Ripstick 88 or Salomon Stance 90 provide better mogul performance, but those skis don’t carve nearly as well, so it’s all about prioritizing what you are looking to do the most. This Arcade leans more to the front side as a result, and skiers/shoppers should be aware of this preference. The same can be said for the trees. Here in Vermont, we have a lot of tighter woods, and they do get packed out. As a result, you don’t need a floaty ski a lot of the time around here, just something that can make quick and easy turns. The fear with the Arcade 88 is that the camber keeps the quickness and agility to a minimum because it makes the smeary and drifty turns required to maneuver through the woods a bit more difficult. Again, skilled skiers will have no issue turning the Arcade 88 into a true all-mountain weapon, but for those that need a bit of help from the ski, it’s going to be a challenge.

Probably the coolest thing about this new Arcade 88 is the price. We discussed before how the ski is a viable alternative to the premium products of the ski world and now’s a great place to accentuate that fact. The outgoing Experience 86 Ti crept right up to the $900 dollar mark as of last season. Now, Rossignol is making nearly the same ski with a $200 reduction in price. There aren’t many companies out there doing such things, and it’s highly worthy of noting. You’re still getting a high-end ski that can handle so many different types of turns at a top performance level, and it’s a lot more affordable than it used to be. Whether it’s groceries, cars, or countless other items that have skyrocketed in prices over the past few years, the 2025 Rossignol Arcade 88 can boast a reduction, and that’s kind of crazy. This is such a good value for the performance, and it should help drive sales and reach of this fantastic product. Price aside, if you’re looking for a smooth, stable, and confident cruiser that has all-mountain capabilities, the new Arcade 88 is pretty sweet. It falls more on the traditional side of the spectrum, mainly due to the camber and build, so skiers who like the feeling of driving a ski and being an active participant in the process will get the most out of this new Arcade experience.