Rossignol 2026-27
Rossignol is the newest of our brand relationships. We started working with them only two years ago, while we have fifteen years under our belts with Salomon and over twenty with both Fischer and Madshus. Amy was a Rossignol racer in college, and she has the embarrassingly garish jackets stashed away in our attic to prove it. So, there are nostalgic reasons to like the brand. But our style of work requires more than happy memories, and getting to know Rossignol from engineering to production is an ongoing process.
Last year we visited the Rossignol factory in Artes Spain, outside of Barcelona, to select skis. The map says Spain, but make no mistake - the Rossignol factory is in Catalonia, where they make disparaging jokes about Spaniards. The factory has been in operation for over 50 years, and when you visit you could easily be convinced that Rossignol is a Catalan company, first and foremost. These people have a pride of place rivaling that of Vermonters. The factory in Artes has evolved as a facility dedicated to the production of the high-end skis in the Rossignol line - historically many of the cheaper models have been outsourced. But in recent years the company has brought more production into Artes, and the Rossignol factory is the only facility we've visited in the last couple of years that is operating at full capacity, producing only Rossignol products.
Rossignol has always taken its own path in ski design, resulting in a product line with distinctly different characteristics from all other brands. The whole nordic race ski world seems to gradually converge around common design ideas, and Rossignol has come gradually closer to other brands in their design iterations. But their skis remain the most “different” on the market, with characteristics that loyal Rossignol skiers have consistently turned into advantages. Most notably, Rossignol’s design has produced the most directionally stable and edge-secure skate ski on the market.
Xium Premium+ skis - $850
Turnamic Premium+ - $150
Skate-X - $200
Classic
Rossignol classic skis have been something of an enigma in recent years. Some of the best skis we’ve tested in the last two years have been Rossis, and they frequently have among the very best performing classic skis on the World Cup. On the other hand, it’s common for people to struggle with their Rossi classic skis – especially to get secure and predictable kick.
I have explored this at length in the video above. In my mind, this boils down to several factors that combine to create a very small but potentially very potent sweet spot in the camber design. The material stiffness in the bridge is softer than anything else we’ve tested. To ensure good carrying capacity, the natural result is a shorter camber radius, resulting in a higher bridge camber. Like all modern classic skis Rossignol uses a forward-positioned camber. If the pocket is loaded too far forward, it tends to “invert”, or collapse. The solution has been to activate the pocket from quite far back, which results in a short lever-arm under foot. The exact position of the camber bridge under the foot becomes critical, and this is where the narrow window comes into play. If the pocket is a little too far forward, then the expression is very stiff because of that short lever arm, and the ski is hard to kick. If the pocket is a little too far back, then the bridge can collapse, resulting in an occlusion in the wax pocket that makes it slow and hard to kick. But if everything is just right… then it can be magic.
For next year Rossignol has introduced some material changes to their classic skis. A change in the sidewall material is a notable internal adjustment, but the more significant change is a new thickness profile which redistributes some additional material strength in front of the pocket. My read on this is that it has the potential to prevent the front of the pocket from collapsing, and my hope is that it allows more latitude in the bridge placement so that they have a bigger sweet spot and can produce more magic skis. The overall design and camber concept has not changed at all – they’re still trying to produce the best classic ski on the market. Success will depend entirely on production controls, and how well they aim production at this sweet spot. It will be good fun to see what we can find.
Skate
There are no big changes to the Rossi skate skis for the coming season. The Sx and S3 (clear base) models have the thinner and softer forebody material, which makes for a pretty nice “universal” ski feel with great stability and force transmission, but not too much feedback through the material. The S2 and S1 have the thicker and stiffer material configuration, and shine in hard and fast conditions, where they provide uniquely powerful force transmission through the edge.
Our favorite Rossignol to ski on has been the Sx, but it has to be acknowledged that the S2 is the model that most often delivers a performance advantage for Rossignol skiers. There is plenty of overlap between the models – they both work well in overall compact winter conditions.