by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
The Experience W 86 Basalt from Rossignol is part of a tiny minority of Women’s All-Mountain East models that headlines a mostly Frontside collection. Rossi has completely re-imagined its Experience series, long the mainstay of its core recreational models, to fit what it perceives as a new skier type, the “All-Resort” skier. Skiing is still an important part of the overall resort experience, but it’s not the whole ball of wax for this resort visitor. While this person is an avid skier, she’s not going to go wandering out of bounds intentionally and whatever powder she essays will be on the side of the trail. She’ll find something else to do when the weather is lousy, and she’s not going to push too hard on the performance envelope.
In commercial terms, the EXP W 86 Basalt is a “step-up” model, most likely a first-time purchase for a skier who has survived until now on rentals and second-hand fare. Its “all-trail sidecut” will engage at the top of the turn and hold firm through the finish, encouraging skills development without insisting on it.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
The Kenja is the grand dame of the women’s market, and over the years she’s had more facelifts than Joan Rivers to keep her current. But none of her previous makeovers were quite as extensive – or as successful – at reinvigorating the old gal with the energy of youth as the current Kenja 88. In a word, wow.
The application of Titanal Frame technology is the game changer. By breaking the top sheet of Titanal into 3 pieces, the metal is distributed where it can do the most good, and the fiberglass beneath it can breathe. The engagement of the glass layer during the turn is what creates the rebound energy that differentiates this Kenja from all who came before.
But the Kenja 88 didn’t bring just one gift to this party; its sidecut has been modified into triple-radius affair – Völkl calls it 3D Radius Sidecut – that mimics a geometry more commonly found in Technical skis. If you lay it over until the center radius is engaged, you’ll get a tidy short turn, but ride it close to the fall line and the long-radius tip and tail sections take control over trajectory. An extra patch of shock-damping carbon in the shovel helps reduce shimmy in sketchy snow.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
As predicted in this space last year, Völkl has applied the same two transformative technologies to the 2023 Kendo 88 that it had debuted in the M6 Mantra a season ago. Bear in mind that the 2022 Kendo 88 was already the highest rated Power ski in the ski world’s most competitive genre, yet the 2023 version raised the bar still higher for both its Power and, most notably, Finesse scores.
How do these lofty numbers translate to the ski experience? Here’s how veteran ski tester and renowned boot expert Jim Schaffner summed up his experience on the new Kendo 88: “This ski has an amazing range of performance. Today the snow was a combination of old, compacted snow, new wind-blown snow, and solid ice where the fresh snow was blown off. The Kendo did it all with ease. Very good grip on the hard stuff, with a silky feel on the duff.”
Dallas Goldsmith of Goldsmith’s Ski & Board – in several ways Schaffner’s physiological antipode – also attested to the new model’s new-and-improved status: “This ski has always been great, but this year’s upgrades are noticeable. The 88 category has many great skis and this is in the top three for sure.” Mark Rafferty from Peter Glenn confirmed that, “The 2023 Kendo is noticeably better [than the current version]. The 3D radius deal is real. The Kendo 88 makes fast GS turns as happily as it rips short-radius trenches. A joy to ski the entire mountain.”
The Kendo 88’s built-in ability to instantly adapt to its master’s commands is a marvel. All you need to switch from a long-radius cruiser to a snappy-quick cobra is a change in edge angle and a dollop of pressure. You don’t even have to rock forward to generate a short-radius turn; you can operate all the controls from a centered stance. The skier doesn’t have to do anything special other than stay in balance, for the Kendo 88’s energy output can shift gears on the fly. If you want to make short turns, go get ‘em, they’re there for the asking. Otherwise, put it in cruise and I’ll see you at the lift.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
Two years ago, Nordica’s 5-model Santa Ana collection was finally unified under a single design concept, Terrain Specific Metal, that closes the gap between the top edge and a single, sculpted, Titanal topsheet as the waist width shrinks. On the Santa Ana 93, TSM moves the metal fairly close to the edge, to improve edging power on the groomed conditions it’s fated to experience.
“Being light and fairly flexible makes them fun all around,” notes Stacy Kellner from Squaw Valley Ski School, who felt the Santa Ana 93 handled better on-trail. “They’re a bit beefier ski that carves great and is easy to get on edge. Groomers were lots of fun,” she notes. Becca Pierce from Bobo’s encountered the Santa Ana 93 on a spring day when the snow evolved into porridge off-trail. “A great ski for these sloppy, slushy, sticky conditions,” she says, evidence that it’s meant for more than mere groomers. Jolee from Footloose agrees with Becca, citing the Santa Ana 93 as “Great for a one ski quiver. It can charge on hard pack and off-piste. Doesn’t have a speed limit,” she adds admiringly.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2022
One of the reasons the Women’s All-Mountain East category is so popular is that it represents the first step away from prepared slopes, the featureless terrain to which the uninitiated are tethered. Perhaps it’s the peculiar nature of the frontier-America mentality, but in the U.S., where no one likes to be told what they can and cannot do, the off-piste represents freedom, escapism and breaking the bonds of convention and formality.
Sorry for the rhetorical flourishes, but for some reason Americans can’t wait to go off-trail, ready or not, so they might as well be ready. This is where the Nordica Santa Ana 88 can be of greatest service to humankind. While an expert can ski it and appreciate its merits, experts have a lot of other choices, while those who need the most help adapting to the strangeness of skiing off-trail do not.
The Santa Ana 88 will also work wonders for one of the sport’s fastest-growing niches, the in-resort/backcountry ski that will work with a hybrid Alpine/AT binding to create the ultimate all-terrain set-up.
