The new Nordica Enforcer 99 isn’t up to the standard of last year’s Enforcer 100; it exceeds it.

I hesitate to call it a completely different ski, for it still rewards a strong, technical skier, but there’s a newfound smoothness through every phase of the turn, whether on groomers or in a foot of fresh.  I had the idyllic opportunity to catch my first runs on the Enforcer 99 early in the morning on the first day of the Mammoth Trade Fair in early February.  The main runs were already riven with tracks, but the Enforcer 99 made the ride feel satin smooth. Crud is a dish best served with speed, which made the Enforcer 99 even more responsive.  The longer, shallower tip rocker did a masterful job of clobbering crud with a minimum of deflection, and the more turned-up tail – a design feature borrowed from the Enforcer 104 – let go of each turn like it was releasing a fledgling bird.

Changes to the Enforcer 100 baseline are partly responsible for the Enforcer 99’s improved ease of operation, but there’s more to a ski than the length and height of the cambered zone underfoot. Nordica completely rebuilt this ski with a new Double Core design purloined from its technical skis, the powerful Dobermanns and Spitfires. Two sheets of end-to-end Titanal are sandwiched around both a wood core and a Pulse core, made from a shock-sucking elastomer. The is the foundation of the strong edge grip and unruffled ride the Enforcer 99 displays in all conditions.

Note to tech-heads: the Titanal sheets on the new Enforcer 99’s run end-to-end but not wall-to-wall. Two mm’s are trimmed off the sides, which keeps these wider skis from steering too much like a barge, and helps in top-sheet preservation.

The second time I forayed out on the Enforcer 99 I wasn’t alone. With me was Jim Schaffner, probably the world’s foremost authority on Alpine ski boots who doesn’t work for a ski supplier, and a top-notch coach. He’s also as strong physically as he is technically, so he’s an excellent ski analyst. He doesn’t hurt that his enthusiasm for the sport is bottomless.

Schaffner’s capsule report on how the Enforcer 99 handled a boot-top snowfall at Palisades Tahoe suggests a ski with a broad performance envelope. “Perfect sweet spot!!!  So well balanced in fore/aft position. [High praise from Coach Schaffner.] Adaptable to all of my  inputs, all speeds, all conditions. An excellent execution of an all-mountain tool. Intuitive, with energy when tested.” In other words, the ski will do anything from a centered stance that’s easy to find and hold. If you want a burst of energy, apply a jab of extra force and you’ll be across the hill in a heartbeat.

When considered as a group, the new Enforcers pose quite a quandary. They’re all exceptional skis, each with a slightly different flavor.  No question the 89 is the quickest on and off the edge, and the latest 104 is pure bliss in powder; if you were picking a pair, they would be unbeatable.

But if you had to choose one ski for all day, every day, it’s a toss-up between the 94 and the 99.  Last year, I tended to steer subscribers to the 94, a jack-of-all-trades model that was so responsive, it felt like you could steer it with your thoughts. The new Enforcer 99 has that same sense of a ski that practically runs on auto-pilot, that makes everything it does feel easy and unforced.  For the All-Mountain West skier, if it’s not the best of all possible crud skis, it’s certainly in the running.