When testers refer to a ski as “playful,” they’re referring to how the ski responds to pressure. A playful ski gives back what the skier puts in; if you apply a squirt of pressure at the bottom of a powder turn, a playful ski responds by recoiling and bringing the skier back to the surface on its own. In the pantheon of playful powder boards, nothing can top the Rossignol Super 7 HD.

Its behavior is perfectly in synch with how most advanced to expert skiers prefer to ski fresh snow: set a rhythm from the first turn-and-rise cycle and keep that beat going with the regularity of a pulse. The Super 7 HD is essentially a giant spring with soft ends. The tapered and rockered tip and tail act as buffers to ease turn entry and exit, setting the stage for the powerful midsection to generate the energy that propels the ski up and over the turn transition.

Bob Gleason finds that the latest edition of the Super 7 HD (it received a makeover just last season) “adds a friendlier ease of use in this hard-charging, big day ski. The lighter tip and tail give an added level of comfort without sacrificing the thrill and power of this ski,” observes the erstwhile proprietor of Boot Doctors.