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Cage Match Comparison 2021 Nordica Enforcer 104 Free vs 2021 Rossignol Black Ops Sender Ti

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The Enforcer 104 free is my favorite ski of the last 6 or 7 years in the 100ish genre. I had the Bonafides, the original Enforcer 100s and now the 104s. They are just so darn good in such a range of conditions and that is what I prize. I do have a wider ski for truly deep days but this is just the ski I grab for just about anything and I'm never disappointed. Its very stable in cut up snow and holds an edge quite well for its size. There are tons of great skis out there and maybe there is one I'd like more in this class...but its just so much damn fun that I just don't have wandering eyes right now. I was absolutely looking for the tweak that made the original enforcer just a week bit more playful without losing its powerful and commanding personality. Home run!
 

The Retired Skier

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I'm not a big guy, and not as charging as I once was, but I agree about the Enforcer 88, good as it is. I buy skis that for me have a "wow" factor - that do at least something for me that is better than any other ski I've owned or know of. So I wouldn't buy it, and wasn't tempted. (And the 93 just didn't click for me in how it carved.)

But I was and am tempted with the Enforcer 100: in soft snow only, for the old one - and now the new, if there weren't so many super skis in this width. (I have a holdover Bonafide and pairs of K2 Mindbender 184/99s and 186/108s I'd almost keep beside my bed at night.) The 100 is still amazing in powder/crud for such a narrow ski, at least at my profile. One of the best at crud. (Although a bit wider skis - e.g. 105 or 108 - usually cover soft snow with more versatility, for me.)

Similarly, the Sender ti isn't even on my radar, though I got an extended demo of it early on last season. (Black Ops 118 (Gamer), Black Ops HolyShred[der], Black Ops Sender Squad are instead.) I have a pair of the mystery Black Ops 118/190(?) from last year I never got around to, because of the Covid shutdown.
What didn't you like about Sender Ti?
 

ski otter 2

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What didn't you like about Sender Ti?
It's more a matter of what did I like about it. There was nothing it did that was "best of" its category, for my profile. Disappointing. Especially since it carried the name of Black Ops, a name with three very good skis under it, as I said in that post. I have two of the Black Ops 118, and everything about them is outstanding. It's so good that it's better than the Sender Ti in any soft snow; and with a good edge on it, it carves better too on packed powder. Especially if I'd put a 1/3 bevel on it. It just has a more fun. It's better in crud. it's got better float. It's more dialed in with how it turns, both in variable and on groomers. Same with Sender Squad. And the Black Ops 98 is better at pivoting and in bumps. Each of these three skis has a "wow" factor: doing something better than other skis. Not the Sender TI, for me. "Meh."
 

markojp

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It's more a matter of what did I like about it. There was nothing it did that was "best of" its category, for my profile. Disappointing. Especially since it carried the name of Black Ops, a name with three very good skis under it, as I said in that post. I have two of the Black Ops 118, and everything about them is outstanding. It's so good that it's better than the Sender Ti in any soft snow; and with a good edge on it, it carves better too on packed powder. Especially if I'd put a 1/3 bevel on it. It just has a more fun. It's better in crud. it's got better float. It's more dialed in with how it turns, both in variable and on groomers. Same with Sender Squad. And the Black Ops 98 is better at pivoting and in bumps. Each of these three skis has a "wow" factor: doing something better than other skis. Not the Sender TI, for me. "Meh."

Could you play with the mount point? It's a game changer for the Sender Ti.
 

markojp

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The recommended '0' is still pretty far forward on the 186. I moved it back almost immediately to -2, then to -3 and the front of the ski came alive. At 0, I sort of just had to stand on the skis and really couldn't milk them fore and aft. Boot used was a Head WCR 3.
 

The Retired Skier

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The recommended '0' is still pretty far forward on the 186. I moved it back almost immediately to -2, then to -3 and the front of the ski came alive. At 0, I sort of just had to stand on the skis and really couldn't milk them fore and aft. Boot used was a Head WCR 3.
Thanks.

Have you skied the newer Sender 94 Ti? Does Rossignol maintain the same "spirit" with its mounting point?
 

markojp

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I haven't, but in general, Rossi and Dynastar mounts are farther forward than most of the 'Austrian' based companies. Moving bindings is a pretty personal choice though. FWIW, I've moved some Head ski products forward to good effect, but generally, manufacturers get the mount point right for a particular ski's intended audience.
 
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ski otter 2

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I haven't, but in general, Rossi and Dynastar mounts are farther forward than most of the 'Austrian' based companies. Moving bindings is a pretty personal choice though. FWIW, I've moved some Head ski products forward to good effect, but generally, manufacturers get the mount point right for particular skis intended audience.
Thanks for what you said about the Sender Ti. What you described mounted at zero was part of what was "meh" about that ski for me, so you have changed the way I look at this ski. Will demo it again, move back, to see.

Also, great insight about Rossi/Dynastar in general being mounted more forward, Austrian skis farther back. To me, moving bindings relates to ski length and size of skier, even before other differences in skier profile.

On the Austrian Heads, I just got a pair of Head Kore 189/117s, because for me these respond well to moving them back a bit, - 1 or - 2. They made a change to this ski by slightly increasing the rocker length, and moving the mount point +4 (forward). (For me, they bust chop/crud well, and float more than any pow ski I currently use, at the resulting mount point.)
 

markojp

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Thanks for what you said about the Sender Ti. What you described mounted at zero was part of what was "meh" about that ski for me, so you have changed the way I look at this ski. Will demo it again, move back, to see.

Also, great insight about Rossi/Dynastar in general being mounted more forward, Austrian skis farther back. To me, moving bindings relates to ski length and size of skier, even before other differences in skier profile.

On the Austrian Heads, I just got a pair of Head Kore 189/117s, because for me these respond well to moving them back a bit, - 1 or - 2. They made a change to this ski by slightly increasing the rocker length, and moving the mount point +4 (forward). (For me, they bust chop/crud well, and float more than any pow ski I currently use, at the resulting mount point.)

Just got some 191 111's and will probably do similar. The Kores are a different creature than the rest of the line mount wise.
 

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