I’m not privy to Fischer’s sales numbers, but I’d bet dollars to donuts that the Ranger 102 FR was its most popular Ranger until it was discontinued last year to make way for the new Ranger 102 (sans suffix). The qualities that made the 102 FR the star product of the old Rangers were its smeary, playful baseline, its metal-free construction – making it lighter and torsionally softer – and the fact that it had the most distinctive snow feel compared to its competition in the Big Mountain genre. As Fischer made the transition to the new Ranger series that adds a dab of Titanal to every model, preserving the on-snow properties of its flagship Ranger was likely to be a high priority. Once you have an established fan club, you don’t want to disappoint it.
Devotees of the retired Ranger FR 102 can relax. If you loved the FR for its surfy attitude, you’ll be at least as enamored of the 2024 Ranger 102. This is still a decidedly soft snow ski, as several testers lamented who essayed the Ranger 102 in 2022’s skinny season. “In fresh snow, you’ll love this ski,” reassured Mark Rafferty from Peter Glenn. “Plenty wide and playful for first tracks. If no new fresh for a few weeks, the Ranger 102 will rip fast turns on the groomers. Strong for blasting through crud. A true marvel,” he raved.
Not everyone was smitten by the Ranger 102’s soft extremities, particularly when the powder it definitely prefers is in short supply. The race-bred Jim Schaffner over-powered the Ranger 102’s forebody, undermining its edging accuracy on hard snow. “The snow was perfect for testing this type of ski,” the Start Haus owner noted, “however I found that it was too loose for my style of skiing . I can see the benefit for a skier that only seeks out the softer untracked snow and who enjoys the art of drifting and skidding. Very uncertain when I encountered some harder snow and some frozen chunder.”
As Schaffner’s remarks suggest, whether the Ranger 102 is your cup of tea depends on style, not ability, although the Ranger 102’s soft flex is especially well suited to those making their first forays into sidecountry. The .5mm-thick Titanal plate in its midsection sits astride a substantial beech and poplar core, so security underfoot shouldn’t be an issue for skiers who aren’t as big and aggressive as erstwhile race coach Schaffner.
Our test data suggests that the current Ranger 102 is at least as potent a Power ski as its predecessor, while its calmer edge through the belly of a big turn helped move it up our Finesse ranks a whopping six positions. All things considered, the 2024 Ranger 102 amplifies its forebear’s best assets without changing its fundamental character.
Fischer draws no distinction between men’s and women’s models, so any man who fancies a teal-green topsheet can get the Ranger 102 WS in lengths as long as 190cm.
For its enduring appeal to Finesse skiers with a penchant for powder, we bestow upon the Ranger 102 a Silver Skier Selection.