Sender Squad vs. M-Free 108

[Mustonen]

I don’t know about consensus, but middle recommended is where I ended up after starting with the rear (-2) line. I could talk myself into -0.5 or -1 if I really wanted to. I probably wouldn’t go forward of recommended (middle), but I don’t usually get on well with super progressive mounts.

[Sylvan]

...

Thanks! I haven't skied the LP105 as of yet, unfortunately.

Definitely glad I tried the Squad though, the OG XXX and B-Squad nostalgia runs deep. I actually didn't mind the -8 mount (the 193TL helped), and the rubber feel was growing on me, I just rely pretty heavily on a stiff flex under my corpulence, to initiate and hold a turn when I need to scrub speed (traditional ways as you said), and managed to wash out the shovel a few times running hot into lower Pakalolo bumps (top was butter!), but again, clearly no issue with the ski, thread's accurate IMO, just my old school ways and heft combined. Luckily for me B97s/K108s/Confessions/KVWs exist, haha.

Good times. Cheers Pretzel!

[skibrd]

Thanks! I haven't skied the LP105 as of yet, unfortunately.

Definitely glad I tried the Squad though, the OG XXX and B-Squad nostalgia runs deep. I actually didn't mind the -8 mount (the 193TL helped), and the rubber feel was growing on me, I just rely pretty heavily on a stiff flex under my corpulence, to initiate and hold a turn when I need to scrub speed (traditional ways as you said), and managed to wash out the shovel a few times running hot into lower Pakalolo bumps (top was butter!), but again, clearly no issue with the ski, thread's accurate IMO, just my old school ways and heft combined. Luckily for me B97s/K108s/Confessions/KVWs exist, haha.

Good times. Cheers Pretzel!

Let me know when you put them up for sale…


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[waxoff]

Thanks! I haven't skied the LP105 as of yet, unfortunately.

Do it!

[Skiwurrel]

Sender squad for Tele ski?

I've been skiing 190 faction royal and 187 volkl confessions, looking to replace for a freeride kinda ski. I find that flatish camber and traditional twintip shape works well for full carve engagement, i guess wondering how lively and quick these can feel too.

I fked my knee up before wrenching a parallel turn in tele on heavy boneshakers, pointing a chute at kicking horse and making emergency turn. So wondering if these feel haul-ass along for the ride or dialed. And maybe good tele mount to carve like -2/3 from recommended?

[Mustonen]

Softish compliant tip and tail. Makes nice round shapes without being a noodle. I know nothing about tele, but seems a big maybe?

[kid-kapow]

I am not sure if this is the squad or now bo110, but still pretty nice

[mr_pretzel]

Sender 106ti

Baker is a killer

[roQer]

Sender 106ti

Baker is a killer

Yes, potentially likes to be killed as well skiing this just with a hat. Someone has to introduce him to potential consequences. Can’t understand why Rossignol supports this kind of ignorance.

[ma4b86]

Yes, potentially likes to be killed as well skiing this just with a hat. Someone has to introduce him to potential consequences. Can’t understand why Rossignol supports this kind of ignorance.

Was also pretty uncomfortable watching that. High speed, tight space, lots of rocks and no helmet.

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[CouloirInTheLines]

I also know nothing about tele but “lively” and “quick” are not how I would describe the SS. More like stable and quiet.

As others have said they are surprisingly maneuverable for their length, weight, dampness, etc. But they are not what I’d call nimble, poppy, energetic, lively, or quick.

I liked mine for charging down the fall line in any conditions (e.g. surprisingly fun on ice if you just point it) and tolerated them in moguls and trees, but I ultimately traded them out for 190 Wildcat 108’s to optimize for maneuverability in tight spaces with a little more energy and playfulness. Early returns are positive but I only have a couple family days on them so far.

[chewski]

So i picked up a pair of sender squads from bry and got on them for two half days up at mammoth. we had a historical month getting nuked endlessly since before Christmas, but the last week saw some thawing and freezing and crazy winds that stripped off the snow and left 1-2' sastrugi at the top. Nobody was doing more than a lap or two off the groomed (except this idiot). Saturday was bluebird, whereas Sunday actually picked up a solid 3-4" but had zero visibility.... not the best days for these skis, but a good test of their limits.



Sooo... i was on the struggle bus with these. Bry said he liked them at -2 (the secondary recommended mount point) and I believe a few others have chimed in for -2 as well. But i would approximate 75% of the people who chimed in on mount point said on the line. A handful actually reported moving from -2 to on the recommended line and those that did always preferred the forward line more. I have not seen anyone go from the forward line to the rearward line... so i went on the forward line which is -6.25cm, and it was sooo awkward for me to have such a burly ski with such a short tip and miles of tail. I honestly don't know if I should remount at -2 or just cut my losses and sell with just one mount, but these will not work for me on the line.

What i can tell you in comparison to the 192cm m-free 108 is that these are at LEAST a solid two levels up in stability (and conversely, down in maneuverability). Whereas the mfree 108 left me wanting for stability and completely confident in my ability to throw them around in bumps and trees, the sender squad is either way too forward mounted for me or very possibly just too much ski for me in general. I know softer snow and better visibility are needed to do these justice, but from my limited experience they do have that endless stability and dampness people rave about, but i just can't access it without getting hung up or bucked as soon as i need to deal with any bumps tighter than the length of the ski. It definitely has a speed minimum that I can't maintain when things get rough. There are definitely skis (like my 186 bodacious and 189 pre-asymm BG's) that fall in the middle of the 192 mf108 and the sender squad as far as stability and maneuverability.

I want to like these, but it will definitely require a remount and I don't know if i want to chance it yet. They are the smoothest high speed crushers i have been on, but the only skis I have gotten along with this far forward mounted have been the OG devastators and those skis defy all logic (if only they were better built). May update after remount or post these for sale

[m7c6c3]

I've seen you ski on video. You seem like the perfect candidate for Black Ops Squad

[D(C)]

Thanks for the review/comparison, chewski. I agree, forward mounts can feel weird and unbalanced in variable snow. I felt a similar thing to what you’re describing with the Black Ops 98, even mounted at -1 from recommended.

In contrast, I find the 192 MF 108 is a variable snow killer and has quite a high speed limit for a ski that is so easy to throw sideways.

[Bandit Man]

Yes…softer snow and better visibility are big factors. Having grown up skiing Mammoth and having a few days on Sender Squads, there are Far better skis for those in-between storm conditions. I’m not surprised by your experience, given the conditions. The 2-3 days after a storm, especially when that tasty Mammoth wind blown is available, would be when I’d want to break out the Squads. If it gets too firm and bumped up, forget it.


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[chewski]

Yes…softer snow and better visibility are big factors. Having grown up skiing Mammoth and having a few days on Sender Squads, there are Far better skis for those in-between storm conditions. I’m not surprised by your experience, given the conditions. The 2-3 days after a storm, especially when that tasty Mammoth wind blown is available, would be when I’d want to break out the Squads. If it gets too firm and bumped up, forget it.


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Definitely agree. I am just trying to be realistic about how often mammoth pow/chop skiing doesn't involve wind stripped steeps or low visibility before i remount. Wanted to shoot you another pm about k108 and squad

[Mustonen]

I’ve said this before, and maybe it isn’t useful to people who aren’t me, but with these I find it useful to focus on the part of the ski directly in front of the toe rather than the shovel when I’m evaluating terrain. More traditional skis i point those tips to where they need to be and slither them through bumps, but these and similar skis in softish snow, I think about where I want that part of the ski right in front of the binding to be and the rest of the ski kind of takes care of itself.

🤷♂️

[chewski]

I’ve said this before, and maybe it isn’t useful to people who aren’t me, but with these I find it useful to focus on the part of the ski directly in front of the toe rather than the shovel when I’m evaluating terrain. More traditional skis i point those tips to where they need to be and slither them through bumps, but these and similar skis in softish snow, I think about where I want that part of the ski right in front of the binding to be and the rest of the ski kind of takes care of itself.

��♂️

I am down to try some mental floss 2.0. Will think on that one next time

[Judo Chop!]

so is this now a conversation about m-free vs sender free110?
or maybe squad vs free110?

where are we at?

[GoldenBC]

I’ve said this before, and maybe it isn’t useful to people who aren’t me, but with these I find it useful to focus on the part of the ski directly in front of the toe rather than the shovel when I’m evaluating terrain. More traditional skis i point those tips to where they need to be and slither them through bumps, but these and similar skis in softish snow, I think about where I want that part of the ski right in front of the binding to be and the rest of the ski kind of takes care of itself.

��♂️

As someone who would often ski with too much weight forward, I would be overly sensitive to tip chatter, tight radii / soft tips and aggressively shaped tips.

I find the best solution is to relax and find your balance. Don’t drive the tip (focus underfoot like you say). Stand more upright, feel your whole foot on the ground, feel everything with the sole of your foot. A good drill is to ski a groomer with one foot, changing feet early in the across fall line transition phase. This will force you to weight evenly.

Sorting this out has allowed me to jive with much more Centre mounted and softer tipped skis.

[D(C)]

As someone who would often ski with too much weight forward, I would be overly sensitive to tip chatter, tight radii / soft tips and aggressively shaped tips.

I find the best solution is to relax and find your balance. Don’t drive the tip (focus underfoot like you say). Stand more upright, feel your whole foot on the ground, feel everything with the sole of your foot. A good drill is to ski a groomer with one foot, changing feet early in the across fall line transition phase. This will force you to weight evenly.

Sorting this out has allowed me to jive with much more Centre mounted and softer tipped skis.

Discussing ski technique on the internet is a dangerous game, but this is solid advice. It’s all about the transition.

[phatty]

Really looking forward to hearing more about the Sender Free 110. It sounds like it could be my first Rossignol ski in a long time.

[Mustonen]

I don’t know about consensus, but middle recommended is where I ended up after starting with the rear (-2) line. I could talk myself into -0.5 or -1 if I really wanted to. I probably wouldn’t go forward of recommended (middle), but I don’t usually get on well with super progressive mounts.

Ended up going -1 on the mount point and that feels right, finally (295mm BSL, 160lbs and 5’9”). I really struggled with that on this ski. Once I adjusted to the mount point at either position it was fine, but -2 felt sluggish and at recommended felt like the sweet spot was too directly underfoot for my preference. At -1 they require some steering through the turn and respond (slightly) to tip pressure, while still providing a solid centered platform. Eventually I’ll maybe forget about the Swiss cheese I committed to these poor girls. If I didn’t have skis that I enjoy getting boots forward on so much, I probably would have left them at recommended. Hate the feeling of leaning back to find the sweet spot though when I’m used to being more forward.

This ski is super interesting, actually. I think I said it upthread or in another thread, but it compares more to my Renegades than anything else in my quiver. I did some A/B with Renegades in a mixed bag of 4” to 8” of decent snow with the occasional deeper pocket, dust on crust, chop, and crust yesterday and there was almost no adjustment in the transition. Less float and less flickable, but also more confident on edge. It really supports high edge angles and as long as I stay centered the ski disappears; most noticeable in mixed bag conditions or when there’s a hard icy layer underneath. The skis aren’t playful, but the platform is so solid that it inspires playfulness in a slightly different way, maybe? I found my hips getting closer to the snow in variable conditions than normal, tossing myself around into turns and turn shapes that I’m not sure I’d attempt on a less solid ski. Super fun feeling of being able to do whatever I wanted on sometimes questionable conditions.

[Judo Chop!]

I'm finally getting around to deciding on this.

can anyone post up some tail rocker pics from the Squads? (bonus for same compared to the Free110)

I think what I really want is like is what a Sender Free 110 promises, in like a 197cm. But that doesn't exist.
I want playful charger. I'm keen to try more playful. but the 'charger' part is mostly just to handle my size. and sometimes I like to just let the skis run. I'm coming off daily-driver'ing 194 Devastators that I love. But they have lost their life, and would like some camber for some of the dad-life terrain I now ski more often - groomers and popping off small hits.

[Crystal Skier]

You may have already seen this vertical view


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