After more than half a decade, Rossignol has cleaned up its nomenclature — and this ski writer couldn’t be happier. There’s now a simple cleavage down the middle of the French giant’s ski line. On one side, there’s the Sender — the twinned, center-mounted ski line that dominates from the cliffs of the Freeride World Tour to the rails of Hyland Hills. And on the right, there’s now Soul 7.
So… the Soul 7 is back?
Not exactly. For those looking for the grand return of the Soul 7, you can turn down the volume of your Phish album — because this new model isn’t a mellow, slow-grooving cruiser anymore. A friend of mine, and a great skier who at 27 years old held the world record for “Youngest Skier to Own a Pair of Soul 7s,” told me that that venerable ski “was perfect for everything but going fast.” The Soul 102 is not that ski.
After being away for five seasons (Rossi discontinued the legendary 7-series after the 2019/2020 winter), I was excited to test this reimagined ski launching for the 2026-2027 season.
In short: The reinvented Rossignol Soul 102 ($800) is a directional-yet-avuncular ski that is equally comfortable cruising mellow blues as it is crushing steep chalk. Launching with a new construction that blends torsional rigidity with a lower weight, the build is a solid match for advanced or intermediate skiers alike, riders who like to go fast, and overall progression. It hits snow for the 2026-2027 season.
See how the reinvented Soul 102 sits beside our other favorite sticks in the Best All-Mountain Skis buyer’s guide.
Lengths (cm)
156, 164, 172, 180, 188
Core
Poplar, with a Titanal beam and rubber stringers
Pros
- Predictable shape, solid on edge
- Enough shovel to float off piste
- Unisex sizing down to 156cm
Cons
- Lighter weight can be a liability in manky snow
- Not the loosest shape for drifty skiing
Field Testing Conditions
As a former professional bootfitter based in California, I’m a full-time journalist and very experienced on-snow tester for skis and boots.
In an early look, I tested the Soul 7 in a side-by-side comparison with the Sender Free 100, across 4 days at Sierra-at-Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain, and Kirkwood Mountain Resort. The temps ranged from 25 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (yes, the historically warm season of 2025-2026).
Total Redesign: Ripping the New 2026 Rossignol Soul 102
While it does carry over some design nods from the original Soul 7, like the Air Tip technology, you’ll immediately notice a difference in shape. That iconic ski was famous for its wild amount of tip and tail taper. Trendy in the mid 2010s, that five-point sidecut helped reduce hookiness in soft snow and was useful for initiating breezy slarved turns.
The new Soul 102, meanwhile, has much higher contact points — especially in the tail — making for a ski that wants to grip and rail turns much quicker at the expense of some maneuverability in the soft stuff. That noticeable lack of taper, along with lower rocker lines (again, especially in the tail), produces a more planted feel on snow. This ski wants to be driven instead of swiveled around. Skiers who like speed and feeling secure and locked into their turns should rejoice, as the Soul 102 is good at going fast.
Shape is one part of that speed equation, but the other is construction. Rossignol added the metal and rubber laminate from its Sender Pro series into the soul, creating lots of torsional rigidity to quiet nervousness when skiing fast or through rough snow conditions. This additional beef makes for a plush ride, especially off piste, that belies the Soul 102’s average-to-low fighting weight. And here’s where things get interesting.
All of the above might lead a reader to assume that this is a bruising charger, made only for experts. But that lower weight, and especially the low swing weight produced by the Air Tip, makes the Soul 102 perfectly amenable to lower-speed skiing for intermediates.
Versatility Is the Name of the Game
In fact, the high ceiling and speed limit, combined with the surprisingly low floor in terms of accessibility, make this one of the best skis I’ve come across for progression. Intermediates can get on this ski, build their skills, and not worry about outgrowing it. That’s a huge win when dropping money on a big-ticket item like a pair of skis.
I’ve skied variants of this ski in years past. But in the interim, Rossignol has quietly tinkered with it, improving this all-mountain savant into an undeniably great pair of planks. I skied it throughout the winter and spring in the Tahoe basin. At Sierra-at-Tahoe this short, dry winter, I pushed it through the challenging snow of the Grandview Chair to see how it could handle crud.
While not the loosest ski to throw sideways in tricky snow, when tipped on edge, the Soul 102 was able to slice through steep chalk at the top and muscle through refrozen mank at the bottom. Though perfectly happy to noodle around, the Soul 102 comes alive when tipped on edge and pushed.
This combination of borrowed construction from the previous Sender and Soul lines makes for extremely fun groomer skiing. At Kirkwood this spring, I was able to rail turns on piste with supreme precision and stability. That power manifested in both confidence-inspiring edge hold, even on ultra-firm spring morning groomers, and incredible pop that shot me across the fall line toward my next turn.
When the temperatures started to warm up, the Soul 102 became a fun, springy platform to hop and slither between bumps and into the wiggle. Though it’s not the surfiest ski, it didn’t hold me back when the snow was soft.
Bottom Line
Rossignol’s reimagined 2026-2027 Soul 102 is a ski that excels in one of my all-time favorite snow conditions: steep chalk. Its light swing weight and dependable edge hold make it perfect for hop turning in tight chutes and blasting big turns out the apron.
Don’t let the Soul moniker fool you into believing this ski can’t hang. But don’t let my big talk of GS turns and steeps dissuade you from choosing a versatile platform on which you can progress your skills, either.
In a market dominated by jacks of all trades, masters of none, the Soul 102 is about as well-rounded as you can get. It’s not a deep snow specialist, or an ice machine, but it can take you from the top to the bottom of any mountain on Earth and leave you smiling. Rossignol went into the wilderness for a few years with endlessly confusing nomenclature, but they’ve come out on the other side with a simplified line and a ski of which they can be proud.
