The trouble with Ski Canada tests is that everything is great.
From yellowgentian.com:
Enduro XT800
Salomon has made a front and back rockered all-mountain ski, the Enduro XT 800. When I tested this ski in perfect conditions (5cm of fresh snow on a smooth slope, good visibility) my expectations were high. The name Enduro brought to me hopes of a tough and challenging ski. Instead I found it inert and uninspiring.
To me a good all-mountain ski has to have a bit of everything, this ski has a bit of nothing. It doesn't carve well, there's not much stability at high speeds, it has no playfulness at all. The only thing you can do with this ski is making big turns at moderate speed.
Rating: 1 stars
Relaxed or disappointing?
It is however relaxed, in fact so relaxed that you easily get bored with skiing. Maybe Salomon should rename this ski the Enduring Boredom. The looks of this ski fit perfectly, because they are evenly dull. I honestly can't think of any type of skier who would be attracted to the Salomon Enduro XT 800. The Salomon Enduro XT 850 is a little bit better.
Rossignol Pursuit 16:
The Pursuit 16 is a piste ski which is easy enough for about everyone. Especially intermediate skiers who don't want to push themselves and have an easy round on the resorts pistes will like it. Sorry to say that I think anyone else will be bored on it fairly quick. Although, as they are so easy to handle, you will be able to deal with any piste condition.
Personally I want more challenge in a ski. It may push me, it may demand effort and energy. That is not what I experienced with the Pursuit 16. It feels like you can put 'easy' in front of every aspect and you have your description of the ski. I have to admit that the Pursuit 16, like the Pursuit 14, is very maneuverable on piste. Makes your day easy. So intermediate skiers who's thing is comfort, relax and piste, it might be nice. For me too easy, that's why I only give it one star.
More and more I'm getting the idea that the new 80mm and up skis are worse hard snow skis than the old narrow carvers, but better in softer and choppier conditions and thus a better compromise for 'one ski on the bus to the mountains' kind of situation. Rocker and extra width are do not appear to be magic bullets.
I dug out my old $50 Rossi 9S Oversizes last night and they did fine on the hard snow of the local hill, so maybe there's no big rush. If I get into Masters racing next year on the local hill I might have to get a new carver with nice sharp edges, but it sounds like it's still going be be fairly narrow.