Featured Image: Courtesy of Rossignol
Throughout the 2010s, Rossignol had tremendous success with the Series 7 line. When they introduced the Sender Ti a couple of years ago they moved from the heavily rockered Series 7 to a more directional ski that could satisfy the needs of nearly every skier. The evolution will continue in ‘22/’23 with the Sender 106 Ti+—a do-everything, hard-charging ski that an expert skier can push to the limits in a variety of conditions.
“It is one of my favorite skis we’ve ever built,” Rossignol Alpine Category Manager Jake Stevens said. “I come from a race background, and on a groomer day it is one of the only 106 mm underfoot skis that I feel comfortable piping arcs on hard conditions. At the same time, it is one of my go-to skis for a powder day. You can shoot a gap and straight line out of it comfortably, and it is also nimble in the trees. It is a ski that I can grab any day of the week.”
Featuring a traditional sidecut, tip and tail rocker and camber underfoot, the Sender Ti+ has a 106-mm waist width and comes in 180, 187 and 194 cm lengths for those that like to push the gas pedal. The big differentiator from the current Sender Ti is the addition of more Carbon Alloy Matrix to the ski, which is a technology derived from Rossignol’s race heritage. This carbon weave has been extended—running longer into the tip and tail—in the Sender Ti+ and is the magic mix that takes this ski to the next level.
“It is weird to say but the additional CAM dampens the ski while simultaneously giving it more energy,” Stevens said. “It gets rid of the tip and body bounce but when the CAM fibers stretch, they want to rebound back into position so it gives you energy coming out of the turn.”
The construction features a poplar wood core and a titanal sheet that extends to the sides and covers 75-percent of the ski with varying thickness underfoot. The third component of the core is Rossignol’s Line Control Technology or LCT, which is an ABS vertical stringer that stretch from the tip to the tail. At 106 underfoot, the Sender Ti+ features two LCT stringers to stop energy from moving across the ski while changing torsional stiffness in the rebound.
By favoring a more traditional shape, the ski achieves a round and balanced feeling that doesn’t push you forward or backwards but keeps you centered in the middle of the ski.
“That roundness really comes into play at high speeds,” Stevens said. “It is great when you’re ripping arcs on a groomer but that balanced feeling also comes into play in variable terrain. With this ski, you know the tip and tail are going to do what you want them to in crud. It helps you to remain nimble and move foot to foot in uncertain conditions.”
Rossignol’s ‘Band of Testers,’ an international group of testers comprised of athletes, instructors and avid skiers, gave a ton of feedback that ended up helping the Sender Ti+ take shape. While that group comes from different zones with different terrain and represents wildly different age demographics, the one thing they have in common is they love to charge. This ski scratches that itch—for every one of the testers in the crew.
“While the 96 and 104 Ti speak to the masses, this ski is built for the strong skier that can really bend a ski, likes to go fast and push the boundaries,” Stevens said. “It is something we were missing in our line; it’s a do-it-all ski for that next-level skier.”