Both great skis in my opinion. There is a pretty big difference in how they feel. In general terms, the
88 tracks straighter, and has more spring in the kick for kick and glide. The 98 is a turner and my "go to" ski with leathers for XCD on moderate terrain in good snow conditions. For rolling terrain, the
88 or 78 would be a better choice. I ski the 78 for rolling terrain and Julie prefers the
88. Here are a few photos and some measurements you might find useful.
This photo shows the camber difference between the
88 (top) and 98 (bottom). The tips and tails are touching in this photo.
For a camber measurement, I've placed the skis together, one on top of the other, supporting the skis at the tips and tails, letting gravity hold them together. The gap for the
88's is 45 mm, for the 98's is 30 mm.
Lastly, I set up a simple test to compare the "stiffness" of the camber between the two skis. I wanted give you something more quantitative than the squeeze test, so I placed one ski on a flat beam, placed a 3.1 mm spacer between the ski and the beam, placed a strap around the ski at the balance point, then pulled the strap downward to measure the force required to compress the camber to the point where the bottom of the ski just touches the 3.1 mm spacer. The 2019
88's required 17.1 lbs of force and my 2015 98's required 11 lbs. Just for kicks, my Voile Objectives required 3 lbs of force.
In this last photo you can see the differences in the side cut between the 98 left and
88 right. The 98's are 179 cm long and the
88's are 169 cm long
Those with sharp eyes might notice the new 2021/2022 98's in this photo. I plan to set them up with the new Xplore binding for a comparison. Stay tuned later this winter for a review.