Built for advanced and expert skiers who spend their time skiing on 60% untracked snow and 40% groomed snow, the Rossignol Phantom 80 Ski with Axial 120 Binding is the best choice for skiers who need a ski that can transport them from traditional ski resort settings to backcountry bliss.
Available at different sizes ranging from 155cm to 185cm, the Rossignol Phantom 80 Ski is more of an all-mountain ski than the previous Zenith line. Its dimensions are 122mm / 80mm / 109mm (tip / waist / tail), making it easier to control due to its wide waist. Its turn radius ranges from 11.3m (155cm) to 17.2m (185cm), allowing the skier to easily turn even on narrow paths.
Unlike Rossignol’s Zenith line, the Phantom line is intended for use by out-of-bounds skiers who needs a wider waist (80mm) and a sturdy design to give maximum control and keep their stability on powder and broken snow, giving them superb balance on those snow conditions. Built from lively wood core material, the board gives excellent feedback and power transmission from your boots to the ski edges. You’ll also find an aluminum insert on Rossignol’s distinct Shark Nose tip, which is added to provide torsional rigidity. It is also used to maintain the steadiness of the tip when traveling on high speeds, even when you’re carving through unfamiliar snow conditions.
The Rossignol Phantom 80 Ski is very durable as it has two layers of titanium inside the modern sandwich construction, to absorb vibration from hard falls and landings. Surprisingly, it is still lighter than other boards even with all that material inside the board, making the journey back to the mountain much, much easier. It also has the freeride-specific TPI2 (Twin Pulsion Integral 2) that connects the Phantom 80 with the included Axial 120 Binding system. It also has individual toe and heel control beams incorporated with the VAS (Vibration Absorbing System) technology that gives the skier comfort and added stability. Both binding systems can be interchanged tool-free, meaning you can change them with ease and does not require any tools, very convenient if you need to change your bindings according to the snow conditions present.
When compared with other boards, it somehow lacks on the carving department, but offsets it by offering greater stability even on extreme speeds. Its wide-waist design gives the skier excellent control, which is a must for an out-of-bounds skier. Also, as said earlier, this is unusually lightweight for a board of this size, making it easier to carry around. However, it’s only disadvantage is that it can only handle groomed and untracked snow conditions, and cannot traverse through other snow conditions like hard snow. Although it can still handle other conditions, its performance is not the same as you would use it on those given snow conditions. If you need a board that can handle all snow conditions, you might want to check other boards on the Phantom collection or the earlier Zenith collection, both from Rossignol.