Rossignol Black Ops?

[noslow]

I checked them out and the bases seem pretty flat to my eye. If they are edge high it's very minor, certainly not glaring enough yet to justify $70 for a stone grind. I don't have a base bevel tool since I honestly never mess with edges on any of my skis but I'll borrow one and do a couple passes at 1 degree. Beyond that I'm gonna keep skiing them more before making any adjustments

If they look flat then it’s likely the base bevel then. Didn’t sound like they were too far off but hitting the edges with a guide should make a difference. Edges are usually pretty coarse from the factory so even following along the edges by hand with a diamond stone will make them less grabby but still keep them sharp.

[forumskier]

Put some time on 190 Wildcat 108s today. Definitely a bit stiffer than either the Sender Squads or BO98s. Squads are more ski though, heavier, more damp, more planted. All are really good skis. Quite a bit of overlap going on here.

[Dantheman]

Last week I was checking ebay for some bindings for my kid and happened to see a pair of 2024 Squads with SPX 12 demos in great condition with a $200 reserve and no bids. On a lark I put in a max bid of $250 and walked away. Got an email this morning that I got them for $200+ship. Figure I can sell the bindings for at least a hundred.

Pretty solid score. Nice peace of mind having a backup pair.

That brings my current Blackops quiver to Sender Squads x2, BO 118, and Sender 94 Ti. Largest quiver I've had in years, should be pretty well covered now. Haven't even skied the BO 118s and Sender 94s yet as both were end of season/summer scores.

Arrived today. Skis are 9/10, bindings are basically mint.

[Wes Mantooth]

Day 2 on the 98’s and I liked them more. Experienced a more intuitive and poppy side of them. They love to do transitions in the air when skiing bumps. Definitely agree with the above that they’re not that great in soft snow. Plenty of backbone for crud busting but they don’t float too well as expected

[forumskier]

Damn the 192 BO98s rip low tide! Loving these things. Nimble yet stable. I want to move mount back -1 from recommended on the demo bindings and check to see if I like even more. Might be buying a backup pair since I can’t find anything as similar to full rocker Mantras.

I think I still like full rocker Mantras more, but it’s close and BO98s are more parky/poppy without losing much backbone. M4 Mantras slightly more damp.

[noslow]

Good to hear you guys are enjoying the Blackops 98! Hope to try out my shorter length 182cm next week maybe.

[Dantheman]

FYI in case anyone is looking to hoard some squads. They ship.

[phatty]

FYI in case anyone is looking to hoard some squads. They ship.

Even the coveted Forza 2.0!

[Wes Mantooth]

Damn the 192 BO98s rip low tide! Loving these things. Nimble yet stable. I want to move mount back -1 from recommended on the demo bindings and check to see if I like even more. Might be buying a backup pair since I can’t find anything as similar to full rocker Mantras.

I think I still like full rocker Mantras more, but it’s close and BO98s are more parky/poppy without losing much backbone. M4 Mantras slightly more damp.

Yeah this is a super fun ski for high pressure spells. Awesome edge hold if you lay them over, pretty forgiving, yet stable enough to go fast. The pop is insane, but almost requires a less deliberate input. I find if I let the ski load up naturally like in the trough of a mogul etc it’ll fling me into oblivion (in a fun way), but if I consciously pop off the tails on a more flat surface I don’t get as much out of them. They definitely favor a pretty neutral stance whenever you’re breaking the edges free but you can still press hard into the front of your boots while carving


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[Fred Pabst]

Damn the 192 BO98s rip low tide! Loving these things. Nimble yet stable. I want to move mount back -1 from recommended on the demo bindings and check to see if I like even more. Might be buying a backup pair since I can’t find anything as similar to full rocker Mantras.

I think I still like full rocker Mantras more, but it’s close and BO98s are more parky/poppy without losing much backbone. M4 Mantras slightly more damp.

Fun skis. Not great, but very capable easy turning all mountain skis. I have the 192 cm from a few years back, the black cat graphic which are kind of dumb. Anyways, mine are mounted at -1.5 cm from rec, and they still feel longish in the tail. Skied them recently in some semi-deep wind effected pow and they were tip diving. Obviously they are a park rat ski with some all mountain chops, the park rat part being lost on me. I love the rubber inlays to the tip and tail. They are as quiet as a Stockli. They are probably my Jay Peak ski of choice.

[noslow]

Finally got out on my 182cm BO 98 mounted -1.5cm today. Got them ground flat and then tuned them 1/3 myself. Was very impressed with the edge hold and carving ability. Should be perfect for my West Coast daily driver travel ski to pair with the BO 118.

Had heavy Spring like conditions in the afternoon crud and you could feel the weight disadvantage vs my 200gr heavier and stiffer 21 Faction CT 2.0 so I’ll be keeping those for heavy snow crud busting. Felt like an easier, more forgiving version of that ski which is what I wanted for out West.

[forumskier]

Finally got out on my 182cm BO 98 mounted -1.5cm today. Got them ground flat and then tuned them 1/3 myself. Was very impressed with the edge hold and carving ability. Should be perfect for my West Coast daily driver travel ski to pair with the BO 118.

Had heavy Spring like conditions in the afternoon crud and you could feel the weight disadvantage vs my 200gr heavier and stiffer 21 Faction CT 2.0 so I’ll be keeping those for heavy snow crud busting. Felt like an easier, more forgiving version of that ski which is what I wanted for out West.

Good stuff! The Blackops 2 ski travel quiver covers a lot of terrain/conditions IMO.

I’m trying to think about how they compare to Menace 98s/Slicers. My Menace 98s were 187cm, and I mounted those even closer to center, so not a direct comparison.. but I think Menaces were more damp and planted. The BO98s feel stiffer and more poppy, while still pretty damp. Menaces felt easier to break into a slarve and more buttery, with softer tips/tails. I really liked Menace 98s, but prefer the BO98s and wondering how much of that is due to sizing. Wondering what 192 Menace 98s would feel like mounted -5ish.

[noslow]

Good stuff! The Blackops 2 ski travel quiver covers a lot of terrain/conditions IMO.

I’m trying to think about how they compare to Menace 98s/Slicers. My Menace 98s were 187cm, and I mounted those even closer to center, so not a direct comparison.. but I think Menaces were more damp and planted. The BO98s feel stiffer and more poppy, while still pretty damp. Menaces felt easier to break into a slarve and more buttery, with softer tips/tails. I really liked Menace 98s, but prefer the BO98s and wondering how much of that is due to sizing. Wondering what 192 Menace 98s would feel like mounted -5ish.

Agree that the Menace 98 is noticeably softer(especially underfoot) and find the tip slope a little better on the BO 98 for passing over things along with faster bases. Always found my Menace 98 bases slow no matter what I did with them but the BO 98 bases are great.

I think the biggest difference between them is that the Menace 98 had a traditional, longer turn radius and the BO 98 has a similar length underfoot but blends in a tighter ones at the tips and tails.
The Menace 98 you had to get moving in the 187cm till they were fun carving vs the BO 98 that acts like a shorter radius ski when you really tip them over. So the Menace 98 had to be mounted closer to center to initiate turns easier. The BO 98 you can move back and still be playful and stable when flat.

Do think it’s hard to compare the different lengths too but I initially had the 181cm Menace 98 for about a day before switching to the 187cm.it was just too soft and even that length needed higher speeds to get going.

[JRainey]

I think I'm going to try an ski the BO118 every day this season. So good.

Early season noodling around bushes, rocks and 'micro-terrain' is so nice on these. If you like a to work a ski front to back, I think the line is the place to mount.

Tigers when you want, kittens when you need.

These things flex with soft snow like the hellbents, but have so much more backbone.

[Dantheman]

Getting ready to mount up my 118s and Sender 94. Just noticed that one set of pivots I got has a 6 mm riser. Would you recommend running the riser on either of these skis?

[bearcub69]

Getting ready to mount up my 118s and Sender 94. Just noticed that one set of pivots I got has a 6 mm riser. Would you recommend running the riser on either of these skis?

id say that's complete personal preference. if you don't know id ditch the riser but someone else might disagree

[noslow]

I personally like flatter delta bindings so I’d never add risers unless it was to get the toe higher/binding flatter on a touring binding maybe. Powder skis like a BO 118 with more centered mounts you’d usually want flatter.

[noslow]

Out on my BO 98 again the other day and impressed with their edge grip, carving ability and decent suspension for their weight. Swapped to the Sender Free 110 when we got some snow and a bit looser feel when flat but also very precise on when on edge.

[twat]

Out on my BO 98 again the other day and impressed with their edge grip, carving ability and decent suspension for their weight. Swapped to the Sender Free 110 when we got some snow and a bit looser feel when flat but also very precise on when on edge.

I am surprised nobody picking up super black ops with matching bindings.

[DarthMarkus]

Out on my BO 98 again the other day and impressed with their edge grip, carving ability and decent suspension for their weight. Swapped to the Sender Free 110 when we got some snow and a bit looser feel when flat but also very precise on when on edge.

I'm a huge fan of the 98. The longer turn radius and camber isn't in line with modern ski shapes, but I love the way it handles in moguls and trees on low tide days. Couple that with how well it handles speed and I think the ski has a big appeal to people who want a longer turn radius on their twin-tips. Hopefully Rossi never changes the shape.

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[noslow]

I'm a huge fan of the 98. The longer turn radius and camber isn't in line with modern ski shapes, but I love the way it handles in moguls and trees on low tide days. Couple that with how well it handles speed and I think the ski has a big appeal to people who want a longer turn radius on their twin-tips. Hopefully Rossi never changes the shape.

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Exactly what I got them for-trees and bumps when there’s not enough new snow for my BO118 when travelling out west. Definitely a very versatile ski for lots of users depending where you mount them. Super easy ski to recommended!

Might pick up a set of those Super Blackops 98 on Spring deals for backups. Noticed they seemed to weigh heavier than most when SkiEssentials weighed them in one of their videos vs most BO 98.

[GoldenBC]

I'm a huge fan of the 98. The longer turn radius and camber isn't in line with modern ski shapes, but I love the way it handles in moguls and trees on low tide days. Couple that with how well it handles speed and I think the ski has a big appeal to people who want a longer turn radius on their twin-tips. Hopefully Rossi never changes the shape.

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BO 98 is gone next year. Sender free version incoming.

[Wes Mantooth]

I am surprised nobody picking up super black ops with matching bindings.

I was tempted but couldn't justify paying more than double what I paid just for some cooler graphics

[noslow]

Hope the new Sender Free version of the BO 98 isn’t as light and have a tighter radius like the Sender Soul 102. Was disappointed when I saw how light production pairs were.

[Crystal Skier]

Exactly what I got them for-trees and bumps when there’s not enough new snow for my BO118 when travelling out west. Definitely a very versatile ski for lots of users depending where you mount them. Super easy ski to recommended!

Might pick up a set of those Super Blackops 98 on Spring deals for backups. Noticed they seemed to weigh heavier than most when SkiEssentials weighed them in one of their videos vs most BO 98.

I’ve decided after being in Bend and with the type of snow western spew 9-10 6 and 9-10 kind of days…never leave your Sender/BO 118’s at home … although trying other stuff on days that your 118’s are meant for may not suck completely does leave one wanting and wondering what it could have been.
Bittersweet advice always have em on a trip.


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