Enforcer Pro
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.
Santa Ana 100
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.
GT 84 Ti
It only takes 100 yards to realize the Nordica GT 84 is going to be very easy to like. Great skis are like that; they let you know right away you’re in the presence of a faithful friend and ally. Fast technical skiing is similar to those falling-backward trust exercises done at team-building seminars, only performed over and over in rapid succession. On GT 84’s, you know they’re going to catch you every time. Nordica’s GT 84 Ti imparts this sense of all-encompassing security because it doesn’t take every ounce of the skier’s energy to bend it. Its clever core construction depends on prepreg sheets of carbon instead of glass, a weight eliminator on a par with liposuction. Its twin sheets of Titanal are also run through a weight loss regimen, producing a crisscross diamond pattern in the forebody that softens longitudinal flex while retaining a rigid beam when set on edge.
GT 80 Ti
If you like your turns short, accurate and effortless, the Nordica GT 80 Ti is your kind of ski. The way it amplifies the skier’s efforts makes a less skilled carver feel like a world-beater and great skier feel like he’s doing nothing at all. Its point guard quicks come in handy in bumps, where it can fit through fall line fissures no wider than a keyhole. The GT 80 Ti’s idea of Nirvana is an endless, undulating white carpet where it can double-rail its relatively short carved turns all day long. The faster it goes, the better it skis, but it doesn’t require high speed to shine.