Rossignol Black Ops?

[Bandit Man]

I've only got a day on the older BCs (2013), so take this for what its worth. I found that it is a very capable ski; similar stability at speed when on softer snow, easier to slash and get sideways, similar pop for manualing and landing tail heavy. Biggest thing I noticed was hard snow performance was lacking when compared to the BO118. The BO118 has more camber under foot and a more traditional shape which Ive found carves on firm snow better. I've got a ton of days on the BO118, and I was surprised on how much I liked the slightly shorter BC.

The 2013 shares very little (other than the name) with follow on iterations. It was a great powder and dense snow ski, especially in the 192 length. Lots more backbone than follow on version. I should have never sold mine.

Did just pickup some 186 BO118’s so hoping to have something to add to this thread soon.

[uglymoney]

Just mounted some 163 Blackops 102's 21/22's for the wife. Non Ti version. These replace her 163 ON3P Viciks that were a hand me down from my stepson and working her in the steeper terrain she is venturing into these days.

Went about minus 6.5 which is about 1 behind recommended and 1 in front of their directional line. Looks about right for her. Way ahead of her Black Pearl mounts and a bit behind where her VJJ's are mounted for reference. Also maybe 1 forward from the Viciks.

Hopefully will be able to get enough feedback from her to post a follow up.




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[kid-kapow]

If you go through his and other mags posts on the Squads then the feedback is not overwhelmingly positive. I guess you could reach out to bry and others directly to get their 2c

I take this back, most of the more current mentions I've seen on the squad on here over the past year have been fairly glowing.

I have not read FriFlyt's test, but then again I do not rate the written portions of their tests, at all. The graphics are nice though.


I find the senders to be something I would love to try - both versions

Did just pickup some 186 BO118’s so hoping to have something to add to this thread soon.

I did too - a local shop sold them at a really, really good price - so my resolve not to get them crumbled. Time to see what all the hype is about eh. I am not a huge fan of BG98s though - I prefer the looser MF98s - so it will be fun how I like BO118s when ridden back to back with PR-OTOs and MF118s

[mr_pretzel]

Interesting to see the sidecut centers vs the mount on the squad and BO.

Makes sense why everyone likes both at -2cm from rec.

[bennettc14]

Looking at the Corbetts sale and can’t decide if I want some 187 Senders or 188 QST 106s. Want some decent float but not sucky on groomers with the fam.


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[skibrd]

I’ve gotten a few DMs about the Black Ops Sender Squad over the past few months. I sold it because I needed to spend a few years away from the mountains. It’s a great ski at both mount points, I’ll probably get another pair and mount them between the two recommended lines.

For me they will be the bit wider then mid-fat ski to pair with my 194 Kastle MX 98s. Those two would cover all conditions for me. If I was working towards a bloated quiver again, I’d like an Uber fat (like the Chipotle Banana) and a narrow twin (Rustler 9) just to have some more options, but I really wouldn’t need more then the Sender Squads.


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[uglymoney]

Can't give a full review but my wife loves, loves the 102 Black Ops Rallybird (non Ti and 21/22 version which afaik are unchanged for this year except they dropped the BO part of the name in favor of just Rallybird) mounted minus 1 from the recommended line. She looks great skiing them to my eye, similar to the way she looks skiing her Armada VJJ and Black Pearl 78's, two of her other favorites. She describes them as very intuitive and turny with a big sweet spot. We had a 2-inch dust on man made day. All on piste. She skied them all day and didn't find she wanted to switch out once the dust was all gone and back to grippy firmpack.

I referenced this purchase in the metal topsheet thread if anyone is interested in more background on why we put her on these skis.

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[Bandit Man]

Skied the 186 BO 118 today in 12-18” of soft but heavy PNW Pow. Mounted on the line with Look SPX 12’s. I totally get the hype on these. Damp but smeary and playful. Total steamrollers in the heavy snow, but quite loose. These are the closet thing to the ON3P Billy Goat feel I have experienced from another manufacturer. They are really heavy, though, and you feel the weight. I feel like these would fit my style better mounted behind the line, so may remount. I also now understand why people are so hyped on a BO 110 type ski.

[ma4b86]

Skied the 186 BO 118 today in 12-18” of soft but heavy PNW Pow. Mounted on the line with Look SPX 12’s. I totally get the hype on these. Damp but smeary and playful. Total steamrollers in the heavy snow, but quite loose. These are the closet thing to the ON3P Billy Goat feel I have experienced from another manufacturer. They are really heavy, though, and you feel the weight. I feel like these would fit my style better mounted behind the line, so may remount. I also now understand why people are so hyped on a BO 110 type ski.

Which length BG are you comparing them to? I have 184 BG asyms, and been wanting to try the BO 118, im just worried they will feel short and tip divy with the progressive mount.

Have you tried the Mfree 118 for comparison too?

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[Bandit Man]

Which length BG are you comparing them to? I have 184 BG asyms, and been wanting to try the BO 118, im just worried they will feel short and tip divy with the progressive mount.

Have you tried the Mfree 118 for comparison too?

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They feel a lot like the pre-Asym model in terms of looseness and specifically the 191 due to weight/mass.

My son has some Asym 184 BG’s (which I have skied) and they feel like a lot less ski than the 186 BO118. Much easier to manage and pivot/slash.

You aren’t wrong about the mount point. On the line, you have to ski the BO with a centered stance. Driving the tips will sink them. I totally agree with what the Blister guys were saying…mount 2-3-cm back to get the best results.

All that being said, I don’t think the BO118 will displace my BG’s, so I’ve got to decide if remounting is even worth it or if I should just pull a catch and release. Like I said previously, I think the BO110 is the one I look forward to.

Finally, I own some Menace Proto 118’s (189’s; supposed to be the same build as the MF 118) but haven’t skied them yet. I don’t expect the MF to handle heavy, dense snow the way that either the BG or BO118 do, but am intrigued by their “slashy” reputation. I plan to get those out in our next storm cycle.

[kid-kapow]

I had my first outing on the aforementioned BO118 today, riding them back to back with pre-asym BG116s.

My skiing is shit yet due to new liner voes and limited visibilty today, but so far so good. I do not see the BO118s replacing the BGs, the latter are a fair bit easier to ski in denser snow imho - though I kinda expect that delta to diminish as my skiing gets back up to speed. BO118s are noticably heavy, in spite of being fairly similar in weight to the BGs.

I also have BGasyms, to be skied back to back pre-asym BGs.

My quiver is a bit bloated in this segment, so i am running both MF118s and PR-OTOs, but have not ridden mf118s yet this season or the PR-OTO at all. My take thus far is that MF118s are looser than BO118s.

I also run Vision118s (these have surprised me - fun and incredibly easy to ski due to their soft flex and light weight, no comparison to the other skis in variable though - perfect early season ski imho) and Koala119s (fun and great shape, but sooooo stiff).

I mounted the BO118s -3 from recommended so -5.4cm from center, MF/ PR- OTO 189s are both at +1.5 from recommended, the rest are on the line.

My plan here was to:
- try MF118s and PR-OTOs back to back to get a feel for how the different layups feel
- try BGasym and the preceding model b2b to get a feel for what difference the asym makes
- see if the Koala119s can fill the shoes of both BGs and MF118s fulfill the 115mm ish quiver slot for both dense and lighter snow (the answer here is thus far no)
- BO118 and V118 - catch and release after getting a feel for how they and their shapes/constructions ski

time will tell how this little experiment pans out, but they are all great skis imho - if for different uses and riders.

and yes, I love BGs in denser snow, MF118s in lighter snow - both are freaking magical imho

[ma4b86]

They feel a lot like the pre-Asym model in terms of looseness and specifically the 191 due to weight/mass.

My son has some Asym 184 BG’s (which I have skied) and they feel like a lot less ski than the 186 BO118. Much easier to manage and pivot/slash.

You aren’t wrong about the mount point. On the line, you have to ski the BO with a centered stance. Driving the tips will sink them. I totally agree with what the Blister guys were saying…mount 2-3-cm back to get the best results.

All that being said, I don’t think the BO118 will displace my BG’s, so I’ve got to decide if remounting is even worth it or if I should just pull a catch and release. Like I said previously, I think the BO110 is the one I look forward to.

Finally, I own some Menace Proto 118’s (189’s; supposed to be the same build as the MF 118) but haven’t skied them yet. I don’t expect the MF to handle heavy, dense snow the way that either the BG or BO118 do, but am intrigued by their “slashy” reputation. I plan to get those out in our next storm cycle.

Thanks for the thorough writeup. I'm really debating which ski to bring together with the mfree 108 for Red Mountain/Revelstoke in February. BG, MF118, BO or maybe lighten kid-kapow of his cease & desist. Sorry for thread drift.

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[Bandit Man]

Thanks for the thorough writeup. I'm really debating which ski to bring together with the mfree 108 for Red Mountain/Revelstoke in February. BG, MF118, BO or maybe lighten kid-kapow of his cease & desist. Sorry for thread drift.

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I totally get it. As an MFree 108 fan and BG and C&D owner, I’m coming to the conclusion that I should just stop looking at other skis for soft snow conditions. I already have a few of the best around.

If I was headed to Revy/Red, I would go with BG’s and MFrees and not think about it again.

[ma4b86]

Thanks for letting me see clear, I'll try to never doubt my BG love again.

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[noslow]

Picked up a set of 23 186cm BO 118 that I got on a decent price this week and arrived today. Going to mount mine at -2.5cm from recommended(-5cm from Center) which should be good for 175lbs and a similar mount to my 21 CT skis.
Did notice they now have a +3cm Progressive(actually .5cm in front of true Center which makes no sense), 0 recommended(-2.5cm) and a -3cm(-5.5cm from Center) mark on them now. Quickly checked the tune and both skis base high so will get ground before mounting the bindings. Have a place that charges only $20 CAN for a stone grind and then I will hand tune/wax after so no biggie.

Liking the flex pattern and shape so I’m sure I’ll like them. Looking forward to getting on them and will update once I get on them!

And yes, the MFree 108(and 99) skis are incredibly popular skis at Revelstoke so a perfect fit.

[cocoapuff]

Got on my 21/22 186cm BO 118s the other day. Mounted -3cm back so about -5.5 from center. Was shocked how loose they were given their weight, generous camber, and lack of taper. I did give them a fairly aggressive detune. My pair weighed around 2360g/ski so on the lighter side which I'm quite stoked about. They do feel like BG's. I've skied 184 Asyms and now own the current 187 in 110 width stock layup. I like that the BO 118s have Billy Goat looseness and stability but are more versatile with the ability to ski freestyle and more engaging on groomers. I do think BG's will outperform in heavier funky snowpack however and feel less fatiguing in tight terrain. But the BO 118 is super pivoty as well.

[PeachesNCream]

Any tall/heavy folks been on the BO 118? I'm 6'3, 195lbs and wondering if the 118 will feel too short? Current skis are 190 - 192

[Bandit Man]

Any tall/heavy folks been on the BO 118? I'm 6'3, 195lbs and wondering if the 118 will feel too short? Current skis are 190 - 192

I'm 5' 8" but coming in at 200-lbs. Unless you like center-mounts, they will feel short. Blister guys like them at about -3-cm from recommended, but I'm worried they'll still feel short. Contemplating a remount for my pair.

[mr_pretzel]

Any tall/heavy folks been on the BO 118? I'm 6'3, 195lbs and wondering if the 118 will feel too short? Current skis are 190 - 192

They will feel short, wait until February 13th for the new 110 version coming in a 191

[Jongle]

They will feel short, wait until February 13th for the new 110 version coming in a 191

Is the new 110 confirmed to be a skinnier BO118 as opposed to a different width within the Sender line or something else? Any idea on the 18X length? Hoping for a 184-186…

[poleplant]

I’m 6ft 200# on 186 blops118, I’m used to progressive mounts and prefer 185-190cm skis. I’m at -2cm from recommended. These are slightly more prone to tip dive in light powder than my 188 rustler 11 with a more traditional mount point, but for my style they do not feel short. They have a large sweet spot and loose but supportive tails that are great for tail presses, over/under rotations, and for slashing sideways for face shots. I just have a few days on them but early impression is super fun, loose ski with great suspension for bombing variable conditions, they also ski very well switch and are surprisingly very fun at carving on soft groomers.


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[PeachesNCream]

Is the new 110 confirmed to be a skinnier BO118 as opposed to a different width within the Sender line or something else? Any idea on the 18X length? Hoping for a 184-186…

I don't remember where I read this but I thought the new 110 was supposed to be along the lines of the Sender series

[mr_pretzel]

Is the new 110 confirmed to be a skinnier BO118 as opposed to a different width within the Sender line or something else? Any idea on the 18X length? Hoping for a 184-186…

They have the sender name but are twinned and more center mounted. Saw MarcusG on them up on whis. I think the sizes were 184 and 191.

[noslow]

Saw on Newschoolers that the Sender Free 110 will come in 176cm, 184cm, 191cm with a 20m radius in the 184cm.

Curious to see the weight as it has a poplar core, rubber damping and a binding retention Ti sheet but also talks about an “Air Tip” and lightweight top sheet.

[bry]

I think all standard construction features as w the squad.

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