Rossignol Arcade W 80 XP10
By PTO Team, read off Rossignol's own published geometry, construction and binding data - no verified independent on-snow test of this ski exists, and no carryover claim is made · Spec analysis on this ski
The take
“Wood, glass, and rocker at both ends: it is very hard to catch an edge on, and it will not hold one when you push.”
Start with what we do not have. There is no verified independent on-snow test of this ski, so everything below is read off published geometry, construction and Rossignol's own binding data, rather than off a ride.
Weight is one of the few things the Arcade W 80 genuinely has going for it. Rossignol's own table will mislead you about it. The column header reads KG/PAIR. A line lower on the same page gives 1.4 kg at 158 cm for half a pair, and half a pair is one ski. The header is the mistake. Per ski, the figures are 1.2 kg on the 142, 1.3 on the 150, 1.4 on the 158. That is light. For a skier still learning to steer with her whole body, less ski to swing is less work by the last run. It is also why it will not settle down once the speed comes up. Light and calm are opposite properties, and there is no metal in this layup to buy the calm back.
On snow the shape does the talking. A radius this short, with both contact points lifted clear, means the ski starts a turn almost before it is asked and hands it back early. In a first or second season that is the most valuable thing a ski can do. An edge that catches is how beginners get hurt, and how they decide they hate skiing. Four of the names on the official technology list (LCT, Assist Flex, Premium Hardtop, Extended Sidecut) are printed by Rossignol and explained by Rossignol nowhere we can reach. V-A-S sits on that list too, and Rossignol says it absorbs shock. We are not letting a name in a feature list stand in for metal the ski does not have.
Edge grip is where it runs out. A cap chassis feeds less of the skier's input into the edge than a sidewall ski would, and both contact points sit rockered off the snow. Lean on it at speed on hard snow and it lets go. Rossignol shelves the ski under All Mountain on its own website; Rossignol's own sentence about this ski says on-piste, and says it twice. The geometry backs the sentence, and the sentence is the honest one.
For the skier already ducking off the side of the groomer, the Arcade is the wrong tool. Rossignol's Soul W 92 is a different ski, not a fancier version of this one: a titanal beam, full sidewall, 90-93 mm underfoot, a 12-17 m radius. All the things the Arcade structurally does without. One catch gets glossed over. The Soul is sold flat at $699.95, so a binding and a mount go on top, and the real gap is wider than the stickers suggest.
Get the base waxed. A sintered base is a genuinely good thing to find at this price, and a sintered base nobody waxes is just a slow base. Our three lengths are 142, 150 and 158.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Factory-mounted integrated system (Xpress W 10 GW B83). Our pick: Xpress W 10 GW B83, included in the price.
Rossignol includes the binding, so there is nothing to mount separately and nothing to shop for. Its release span is DIN 2.5-10. That is the range the hardware covers, not a setting: a skier's number comes out of five inputs - weight, height, age, boot sole length and skier type - and a certified technician sets it and tests it against the actual boot. PTO does not put a DIN number on a web page. On sole norms, from Rossignol's own compatibility table: adult alpine ISO 5355 'A' is a yes and adult GripWalk 'A' is a yes. So the boot has to be an adult sole in one of those two norms, and it has to measure inside the binding's 261-332 mm sole-length range. Junior soles are a no on both counts, and most junior boots fall under that 261 mm floor anyway. Tech inserts are a no - this is an alpine binding, and no touring boot belongs in it. Bring the boot to the shop. The sole gets checked before the size conversation, not after.
Common Questions
- Does this ski actually have carbon in it?
- Rossignol's marketing paragraph claims it does. Rossignol's own structured data does not: the reinforcement field reads fiberglass, the technology list has no carbon token in it, and the construction data in its dealer export agrees. We have not cut a ski open, so we are not calling Rossignol wrong. We are telling you what its spec sheet says, and the spec sheet is what our description is built on. If carbon is your reason for wanting this ski, the published data does not support that reason.
- Can my daughter ride this in her junior boots?
- No. The included Xpress W 10 GW is officially incompatible with children's and junior soles - Rossignol's own table prints a NO against both norms - and its sole-length adjustment does not go below 261 mm, which rules out most junior boots on length alone. Short skis invite this question, so here is the straight answer: an adult boot, or a different setup. Bring her boot in and we will check the norm stamped on it and measure the sole before anyone picks a length.
- What length, and what is the turn radius?
- Our rack has the 142, the 150 and the 158. Radius goes with length, not with the model: 9 m on the 142, 10 m on the 150, 11 m on the 158. Rossignol publishes a five-length run and keys the radius to that run, not to whatever a shop happens to stock - which is how a listing ends up printing these one column off. Length is a fitting conversation and it wants your boots in the room.
- Is it any good off the groomer or in powder?
- No, and Rossignol effectively says so itself - its own copy scopes this ski to on-piste snow, twice over. The All Mountain label on the website is the bucket the whole Arcade W family sits in, not a claim about this particular ski. At 80 mm with no metal and both ends rockered, soft snow is not what it was built for. If you are leaving the groomer, look at the Soul W 92 instead - and budget for a binding, because it is sold flat.
- Are the reviews on Rossignol's site for this ski?
- Probably not. Rossignol sells two skis called Arcade 80 at the same time: this women's model, which runs 134 to 166 and pairs with the Xpress W 10, and a unisex Arcade 80, which runs 142 to 182 and pairs with the non-W Xpress 10. The star rating on the Arcade 80 listing belongs to the unisex ski. We could not find a verified independent on-snow test of the women's ski at all, and we would rather tell you that than borrow somebody else's.
