2023 Fischer Ranger 108

[SkiTalk Test Team]

Philpug:
Size tested: 185
Location tested: Loveland, Co
Conditions tested in: Freshie fresh fresh

Yes, I had no love lost when Fischer decided to replace their older Ranger collection with these newer ones. I will say, I didn’t dislike the outgoing 102 and 108 as much as some of the narrower Rangers because they worked well in three dimensional snow, but moving forward to this new collection, oh boy.

Like the new 108’s narrower siblings, these have a whole new shape without the cost of deep, 3D and/or off piste performance. The new Ranger 108 is now one of the more versatile bigger one oh somethings as compared to the older one which felt much more one dimensional.

• Insider tip: It’s a wide ski, go as low as you can for binding stack height.
• One thing I would change: More color in the graphics; these new Rangers won’t win any beauty contests.

Winks:
Size tested: 178 & 185
Location tested: Winter Park, Co, Deer Valley, Ut, Mammoth Mountain, CA
Conditions tested in: Ice hard groomers, hero snow, lightly broiled snow and a few inches of fresh

The new Fischer Ranger 108 is the ski I have waited many years for, having previously owned the 98ti and the 108ti. Before this redesign, I was eagerly waiting for them to make a 108ish ski with the FR design. This new version sits perfectly between the 102 and the 116; a real powder, touring, crud, and tree ski for the west coast. As much as I love the 116 we just don't get those types of conditions in most of the U.S. to warrant pulling it out. Instead we get just enough fresh to use the 108 more often. It smears, it surfs, it charges, it really does do a lot of things well. The downside to the new 108 really comes down to the fact that all of the new skis in the Ranger Series are heavier, thus it is not the ideal touring ski or the one ski quiver that many hope for. Personally I do not mind the extra weight at all, because most of my touring is single day multi hour stuff rather than multi day tours, so having the extra weight on the downhill is worth the sacrifice.

The short of it really comes down to the fact that Fischer has made a great product once again. All of the new Rangers perform really well in all the conditions they were meant for, it just comes down to choosing which width is right for you. Want a playful and surfy experience? Choose 102,108 or 116. Want a more traditional ski that is less playful? Choose the 90 or the 96. Whichever you choose know that they all have that specific Fischer feel and DNA.

• Insider tip: Remember how much people loved the Sir Francis Bacon? Yeah, Fischer just one upped it!
• One thing I would change: The graphics are a bit boring, the ski could be a bit stiffer to reduce some tip chatter, but its more visual than performance.

 

[Tony Storaro]

these new Rangers won’t win any beauty contests

Except for the 102 Celeste of course.

 

[Winks]

Long Term Review: Now that I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time on my size of choice (171), I am happy to say that this is one of my favorite skis in my fleet. When I was originally given the updated Ranger 102, it became a top-rated ski of mine. While it still is, things have slightly changed. Some ski models clearly have a winner in their lineup;, examples of this include the Rustler 11 from Blizzard, the QST 106 from Salomon and the Stormrider 95 from Stöckli. Now I believe that the Ranger 108 is truly the one ski quiver, It can handle everything thrown at it without comprising much in other areas. The 108 feels poppy, quick, and has quite a bit of snap coming out of the tail. It is wide enough to ski trees and handle most powder days, it skis bumps and crud with ease and carves groomers well enough to get you by.

While a lot of people disagree with skiing wider skis as a daily ski, I find myself going wider and wider and enjoying it more and more. Yes you sacrifice groomer zooming performance but who cares? And is anyone actually counting? Some will say their CARV scores matter but I did that plenty already and the 22/23 season out west has been way too good to worry about what happens on groomed snow.

I had a day at Deer Valley with these skis the day after it snowed and straight-lined down under Red Cloud chair laughing all the way to the bottom while barely noticing how chopped the snow was. Like most of the new Rangers, you do see a bit of tip chatter, but nothing that deters me from pushing harder on them. I feel like more people could probably get along better with the 108 than the 102 as their playful tree ski. When it comes to powder skiing, they are perfectly balanced and require little effort to float and slash snow around.

The last thing I will touch on is the mount point. I have spoken to many users, casual and professional, and some say to go ahead and move the mount forward, even up to 5cm forward. I don't see a need or reason to. While they say getting ahead of the flex cut in the metal makes no difference, I am still a bit weary. I recommend getting a pair and putting it on the line and having some fun, especially going into the spring/second season!

Now, if only Fischer would make the Ranger 116 in a 173cm!

@Wendy

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Philpug:

Yes, I had no love lost when Fischer decided to replace their older Ranger collection with these newer ones. I will say, I didn’t dislike the outgoing 102 and 108 as much as some of the narrower Rangers because they worked well in three dimensional snow, but moving forward to this new collection, oh boy.

Not sure I understand this first paragraph, you did not like the old 102? Or you did?

I wish I could try this ski, probably would have been amazing today but the reps aren't even bringing it to demos with the winters we've been having. Looks like it would be way more versatile than the missile that the Ranger 107 was. My 188s are great, but also, kinda scary if you aren't on them.

Oh, and also it is the only one of the new Rangers where I really like the color. I feel ike all the other colors would look better shiny but this one is nice with the matte surface.