Rossignol B78 or Fischer Watea 78?

A snowHead

I'm going to Chamonix next weekend and am hoping to buy my first set of skis.
I've had about 5 weeks on the snow mostly on piste but more recently have started to venture off in to the powder a bit, the last time i used Rossi Bandit B2 i tried in both 156 and 168 and found that i prefered the feel of the shorter ski. Since then i've been keen to get a set of the Bandits but never had the cash.

I popped in to the ellis brigham store in bristol this evening and was recomended the Fischer Watea 78 as a good intermediate all mountain ski although they only had a 167 in stock.
From what i can tell both the Rossi B78 and the Watea 78 are quite similar in spec so i expect i would get on quite well with either ski, but i'd like some advice on which would be a better choice.

also i'm not sure if i am better buying in the UK or in Chamonix? I've heard Chamonix isnt the cheapest of places.

A snowHead

Hi there,

It might be a bit late when you read this, but I just got back from the Three Valleys and skied a few of the Bandits and settled on Fischer Watea 78s.

I spent a couple of days on B2 womens, but found them a bit feeble and unstable. I also got a few runs on a pair of men's B3's which felt a bit more solid and a few runs on some B78s. The B78's were the best of all the Bandits - capable off piste and also able to do some gentle carving on-piste, but I really enjoyed the Watea. I found they were quicker from edge-to-edge than the B78s and were just no-nonsense do-the-job off-piste. I found the Bandits in general feel different to other skis on account of the almost elliptical shape near the tip - it's the kind of thing some people probably grow to love, but does feel weird at first.

If I was purchasing myself, I'd probably like to try the B78s a little longer to see if they grew on me, but the Watea's were an instant win - I was raving about them within the first half hour or so.

Don't know about the cost of buyng in Chamonix specifically, but it's certainly a lot harder than previous years because of the exchange rate. I've been recommended a 2nd hand shop in Chambery called Troc Shop - mostly 2nd hand but apparently there's quite a lot of good stuff around the 50 EUR mark.

Hope you have a great ski & look forward to hearing yur opinion if you get to try a few out!

Abby

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks Abby, well i decided to bite the bullet and get the Watea and i'm glad i did, Having skiied most of the week on them i have now really started to bond with them, My friend hired a set of Rossi SC80's which i did a couple of runs on, they didnt feel as natural to me compared with the watea so i am happy that i have bought a good ski.

Chamonix is reasonably priced for buying Rossignol ski's but i didnt find anywhere selling fischer ski's and not another person on the mountain skiing on the Wateas.

Help!!

Rossignol B78 or Fischer Watea 78?

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Equipment Reviews/Questions