In more than a decade of reviewing skis, we’ve never had such an overwhelming favorite as the new Super 7, which we tested in its 188-centimeter length. But what makes the Super 7 stand apart can’t be found in the data. In soft snow, you simply ski with less effort—and a big powder-eating grin on your face. The Super 7 achieves liftoff with a spoon-shaped shovel (reverse-sidecut and rockered), a similarly rockered pintail, and traditional camber and sidecut under the bindings. None of these design features is new—they were all part of last year’s S7—but Rossi has refined ideas that were largely experimental in the past. It also added a layer of metal to reinforce the wood-laminate construction and improved the fore-aft balance so the skis don’t wash out or hinge. “You can butter everything if you want to. But it makes nice turns on hardpack,” wrote one 170-pound tester. “Anyone from a struggling intermediate to a hard-charging expert will love this ski,” wrote another. 146/115/123
Overall: 5
Stability: 4.5
Float: 4.5
