ARCADE 84 K + Binding SPX 12 25/26

The Arcade 84 is Rossignol's new all-mountain carving platform, and it's a genuine quiver-of-one contender for skiers who spend most of their time on prepared snow. Poplar core with a Titanal Beam underfoot and Line Control Technology (LCT) -- a vertical power rail running through the center of the core. That's race-derived construction in an 84mm waist. It's not a race ski, but it learned from one.

The 15m turn radius at 176 is short for an 84mm ski, which means it initiates turns quickly. The Extended Sidecut runs the curve deep into the tip, so at high speeds you get full-length edge contact. At lower speeds, the extra rocker in tip and tail makes rotation easy. That dual personality -- quick at low speed, stable at high speed -- is the Arcade 84's best trick.

The Air Tip hollows out the tip to reduce swing weight, and V-A-S damping absorbs vibration. Together with the titanal, you get a ski that feels composed at speed without being heavy to throw around. At 1.85 kg in the 176 (Rossignol's table is headed kg/Paar, but a per-pair reading gives an implausible 925 g per ski, so the unit is unresolved). Whether that is a per-ski or a per-pair figure is unresolved, so we draw no weight verdict from it.

Where it falls short is deep snow. At 84mm, you're going to sink once things get more than a few inches deep. And the tip-and-tail rocker helps in mixed conditions but isn't aggressive enough for true freeride terrain. This is a frontside ski that can handle some adventure, not a freeride ski that can carve.

If the Arcade 88 is the quiver-of-one for the PNW with its wider waist and full titanal layer, the Arcade 84 is the better choice for hardpack-dominant areas or skiers who prize carving precision above all else.