The Experience 88 has been a fixture in the Rossignol line and an award-winning player in the All-Mountain East genre since it first materialized back in the days when I was a rank-and-file tester for SKI magazine. Up until last season there was no “Ti” in its name or in its guts. The E88 played perpetual second fiddle in a series headlined by the Experience 98 for the first few seasons and later by the Experience 100 and 100 HD.
Last year Rossi leveled the playing field, introducing Line Control Technology in both the Experience 94 Ti and 88 Ti. A vertical strip of Titanal runs down the 88’s midline helping to absorb vibration and maintain snow contact. The E88 Ti also had its sidecut trimmed by a substantial 7mm’s at both ends, essentially converting it from a Frontside orientation to a more off-trail disposition. The straighter shape allows the ski to ride at a more consistent level in track-riven crud, without diluting its ability to hold an edge on hard snow.
Even though the E88 Ti is the beneficiary of several generations of upgrades, it retains the ease of operation that made its ancestors the go-to ski for thousands of Finesse skiers looking for one ski to do it all. Its highest scores are for sustained edge grip and forgiveness, which fairly encapsulates its core competence. The E88 has always been good at making lower skill skiers feel comfortable, encouraging better technique without requiring it.
In keeping with the global trend to lighter gear, the E88 Ti is about 200g’s lighter than the E88 HD. Our testers also found the latest edition to have a little more pep in its step. “I could play all day on these,” enthuses Bob from Boot Doctors in Taos. “Great western bump ski – one of the best in that terrain.”
Over the years the E88 has made a lot of fans across the ability spectrum, but there’s one ski buyer who may not aware of its sustained popularity – and for whom it’s the perfect mate – the skiing dropout. For whatever reason, there’s a tidal wave of skiers who haven’t been active for over a decade returning to the sport.
They know they need new gear, they realize it won’t be like whatever they were used to way back when, but they don’t want to have to change how they ski as the price of re-enlistment in skiing’s ranks. The Experience 88 Ti is a smooth re-entry vehicle that will adapt to the returnee rather than the other way around.
For its capacity for kindness to skiing’s less-than-elite, we again award the Rossignol Experience 88 Ti a Silver Skier Selection.
