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Differences In the Rossignol Bandits?

#1
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11/1/09 at 8:41am
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I was on GearDirect looking at skis and saw that the B74 skis are more expensive than the B78 skis. Is this becuase they are higher quality than the B78's or have better technology? The B78's have more surface area and I thought therefore more expensive. I am looking to buy one of the two and any other information would be nice. (What diffuculty level are each, performance, and I would really like to know how these skis perform on groomed runs cuz alot of the reviews say they are unstable at high speeds.)

Thanks for the help!

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#2
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11/1/09 at 3:25pm
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I'm pretty sure the 74 stands for the waist width (74mm) thats why they are more expensive (more material) and have more surface area. I can't tell you much about the ski on groomers cause I rarely ski groomers. for some more info you would need to answer these questions:
Where do you ski? (east coast, west coast, etc.)
What level are you? (intermidiate, advanced, etc.)
and anything else you think we need to know

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#3
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11/1/09 at 3:42pm
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For older skis like that I think the price mostly reflects how many surplus copies there are floating around, rather than anything about the skis.
The B74 / B78 / B83 / B93 / B100 were the same skis as the previous names B1 / B2 / B3 / B4 / B-squad
[May be off a millimeter or two there, and I'm not sure of the Squad correspondance -- but you get the trend]
Since they used that name for more years, there may be some B1 / B2 around as well, even though they were from longer ago.

I believe there was also a rental ski that looked a lot like the B1 but wasn't as good.

The B83 and wider seem to show up on e-bay quite a bit, and still sell for quite a bit for such an old ski.  They must still have fans. (Hey, I have a B3).  I don't know much about the narrower end of the line.
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#4
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11/1/09 at 3:53pm
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The number refers to the waist width in mm. As mdf wrote, prices reflect supply.  I skied last season on new, well tuned B78's and found them to be excellent skis. They have a foam core so they are light, but with sharp edges they carve quite well. The 78's are a freeride ski so they are somewhat soft, great in moguls, great in up to 15" of powder.

I found them very stable at uber-high speeds. Again, my skis were tuned with base edge bevel 1 degree and side edges 3 degrees and were waxed a dozen times before the season and nearly every day I skied.

Great skis.  For what its worth, the 78's still sell for around 350-399 and up. I sold mine on ebay, with 15 days on them in excellent condition for 220.
"For me skiing has always been about what I feel as opposed to what I think..." Hilary Lindh

"A setback is just a setup for a comeback" Errol Kerr
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#5
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11/1/09 at 4:56pm
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Thank you, that helps alot. I am an advanced skiier (on a level of beginner to expert) and I ski about 15 times a year in the midwest and get two or three week long trips out to the west where I ski the powder just about every chance I get. I am 5'4" and 90lbs. (yes i am very light!) and am going to get my skis a little big because i am tired of getting new skis every season. I am just wondering if the B74's are better on-piste than the B74's becuase they are thinner. Does that mean anything or are the B74's just as good? If so, I think I i am going to go with the B74's.

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#6
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11/1/09 at 5:14pm
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In my experience, the benefit of going narrower on groomers is pretty subtle below the mid 80 widths.  Of course, I weigh twice what you do, so that may make a difference.
So either will probably be pretty good, but I would tend to go with the 78's.  (Assuming both are similar lengths.)
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#7
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11/1/09 at 5:59pm
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I think that I am going to go with the 78's. Is the 74 substantially better at carving or the 78's substantially better at powder? Sorry for all of the questions!
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#8
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11/1/09 at 7:43pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoondiggi95 View Post

I think that I am going to go with the 78's. Is the 74 substantially better at carving or the 78's substantially better at powder? Sorry for all of the questions!
No, the 74 is not substantially better at carving than the 78. The width difference is .15 inch. Totally insignificant. Its got a 15m radius and the 78's are 17+-. The binding is also different on the 74's vs 78's. The din goes to 11 on the 74's and 12 on the 78's. I don't know where else the bindings differ.

They probably ski similarly but the 78 has a better binding and a bit more surface area which always helps in soft snow.

The prices I see are WAY TOO HIGH for the 74's on ebay and other suppliers. Like over 500.

If I were you I would check out some of the sellers here at Epic. dawgcatching has a great sale going on now, as does Starthaus and SierraJim.

These skis are 2 years old now...prices will plummet at the end of this coming season.

Have you skied the 74's and 78's?....Demo several brands/types and then find a deal on a ski you like, thats the best way. IMO.

At 5'4" and 90, these are probably a good choice, but it sure is better to try before you buy.

"For me skiing has always been about what I feel as opposed to what I think..." Hilary Lindh

"A setback is just a setup for a comeback" Errol Kerr
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