Fischer Ranger 102 - Women's Review

The Ranger 102 is a strong ski capable of charging at higher speeds, as long as you like making larger radius turns. Within these parameters, it works just as well on hardpack as it does in powder.

Performance Comparison

Stability at Speed

Underfoot, the meat of the Ranger 102 feels relatively stiff and very sturdy when pushed to higher speeds. Unfortunately, the tips tend to get a little squirrelly when you push on the throttle. This is likely a function of the rocker and the tapering of the titanium inlay to lighten the swing weight of the tips. And yet, some of our testers were quite impressed – some were even a bit surprised – with how stable the Ranger felt at speed in spite of the wider waist and rockered tips. Fischer's Shape TI 0.5 (the titanium inlay) seems to have added just the right amount of stiffness to give the Ranger 102 a powerful and confidence-inspiring feel at high speeds on hardpack snow.

Carving Ability

The Ranger 102 offers decent edge hold to grip through a carved turn. But our testers had to be very patient while waiting for the edge to engage. The 102-millimeter waist and heavier build require perseverance – moving from one set of edges to the other takes longer than other, similar skis we tested. Once rolled over, it still takes a moment (and some speed) for the edge to latch onto the snow in a carved arc. As a result, it feels as though the 18-meter turn radius is an underestimate. A number of our testers commented that the Ranger 102 carves more like a ski with a 20-meter turn radius. Whatever the case, the outside ski tends to run away at the start of the turn, which makes for tricky turn initiation.

Powder Performance

The prominent shovel tip on the Ranger 102 might bounce around on hardpack, but it is definitely a boon in powder. Its flotation is on par with many of the better-ranking skis in this metric, and our testers enjoyed bouncing and soaring through deep powder fields on this turquoise dream. The length of the turn radius makes the Ranger 102 a great option for big, open bowls in deep snow. But when things get a bit tighter in trees or steep chutes, this ski is less nimble and more difficult to force into a tighter turn.

Crud Performance

The Ranger 102 is a beefy ski, and most of the time, it can throw its heft around to blast through chunky snow conditions. Sometimes, though, our testers felt that the shape of the rockered shovel in the tip created a large deflection area. Depending on the hardness of the snow, you might instead find yourself getting knocked around in the chop.

Terrain Playfulness

This ski isn't very playful, at least not in the traditional sense. While one of our testers claims that the self-assurance derived from a very reliable ski makes skiing “fun,” that still doesn't mean that the Ranger 102 has the pop and spring of a conventionally playful ski.

Bumps

The design of the Ranger 102 – heavy, stiff, with a longer turn radius – means that it is a bit dismal in bumps. It doesn't offer much rebound at the end of a turn, so it hardly ever feels very agile. Unweidly and lumbering in this terrain, we would never pick this as a bumps ski. Rather, the Ranger is notable for its strength and is a bit more capable of eating up bumps than dancing through them.

Should You Buy the Fischer Ranger 102 WS?

The Ranger 102 is a solid choice if you're a capable skier who prioritizes stiffness and backbone over agility. If you prefer to make large turns in wide open spaces – in powder or on groomers – you will love the Ranger's capacity to charge. But if you have only just started skiing black runs or have only recently begun dabbling in off-piste terrain, this ski will likely be too much for you to handle.

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