A worthy contender for the title of most powerful ski in the Powder posse, the Enforcer Pro shares with the Bodacious an almost biological need for speed. As the “Pro” in its name implies, this Enforcer all business. It can be smeared, of course, but if you want to smudge every arc, the Enforcer Pro is probably not for you. It’s idea of a Sunday stroll is to rip through a couloir, launch a clean air and land arcing. It’s not a “learn-to” ski and should be kept out of the hands of all children, inner children excepted.
Last year Nordica changed the construction of the Santa Ana 100, and while it didn’t fiddle with its shape or baseline, the components of its laminated lay-up were altered in every respect. Its 2017 balsa core was beefed up with poplar and beech and sandwiched between two .4mm Titanal laminates. The Santa Ana metamorphosed from the original, mellowed-out surfer girl into hard-edged gal that won’t take any crap from crud. The great advantage of metal in what’s intended primarily as an off-trail ski is how it behaves in the heavy, harbor-chop crud that can deflect models without Titanal.
The Nordica Astral 88 and Santa Ana 93 both belong in the All-Mountain East genre by dint of their waist width, but they do not spring from the same soil. The Santa Ana is the slenderest of a family of off-trail skis; the Astral 88 is the fattest member of a clan of what you might call on-trail skis with off-trail benefits. The Astral 88 purloined its snub-nosed shape from the Santa Ana series, giving the Astral 88 off-trail adaptability without disconnecting the shovel from the rest of the ski. The squared-off tail traces back to the on-piste Sentra series, with a focus on sustained edge grip. The same Titanium Hex Bridge that makes the men’s Navigator series one of the best values in skiing powers the Astral 88’s crisp, accurate turns.
The Nordica Santa Ana 93 is an exquisitely balanced ski in several senses. Its overall behavioral profile is split almost exactly between Power and Finesse properties. Last season we tagged it with the Finesse label and this year it barely tipped into Power country, indicating that it’s really neither, but a perfect union of both. Its flex is nicely balanced and its weight is modest considering the Santa Ana 93 contains two 4mm sheets of Titanal around a mostly wood, multi-material core. Perhaps most importantly, the Santa Ana 93 is a terrain agnostic, happy to spend its day on groomers if that’s your pleasure, just as thrilled to toddle off-piste and take on the crud field of your choice.
