By Brand

Rossignol Phantom 80 Skis

This is not another rebadge job on the old Rossi Bandit/B-series from years past. The width of the new SC80 falls right in between the old B2 and B3 models and it is a whole new build which features a new solid wood core. This is an entirely new ski and is a fantastic upgrade. While the Bandit series pleased a lot of skiers there were complaints from some skiers that the skis were not aggressive enough. The new SC80 has addressed this question mark perfectly by giving the better skiers a slightly stiffer ski with more stability and more energy. For all that, the new construction has not gone so far the other way that a skier needs to have an "S" on his chest in rider to ski it. We classify this as a 70/30 ski with an aggressiveness rating of 65-80. When I skied the ’80, I was instantly comfortable on the 180 length and got a chance to put it through everything from firm groomers to chalky winter crud all in the space of 15 minutes. This ski was good on the groomers but was really good in the junk. While Rossis have always been good in that type of condition (like the later gen. B3 for instance) they have always felt a little dead. The SC 80 handles rthat snow just as well as the old B3 did but with more "pop and pizzaz" For a slightly off trail biased 70/30 ski, it doesn’t get much better.