Enforcer 88
The Nordica Enforcer 88 belongs on any list of the Ultimate 88’s. It looks like a shrunken Enforcer 100, but the truth is closer to the other way around: the current Enforcer 100 is based on the Energy 2 Ti construction of the Enforcer 88. Neither characterization is entirely accurate, as Nordica knew when it created the 88 that it would spend more of its life on groomers, so it tailored the Enforcer 88’s design accordingly. One could make a strong case that, when all factors, such as a skier’s skill, sex, preferred terrain and turn shape are considered, the Enforcer 88 is probably the most versatile Enforcer of them all.
For anyone who loves a short-radius carve or whose heart beats a little faster at the prospect of moguls, tight trees or the two in tandem, there’s no question the 88 is the pick of the Enforcer litter. Its oddly abrupt front rocker might make you suspicious it’ll be a floaty, disconnected smear stick. But it isn’t the 88’s Persian slipper shovel that controls its performance, whether on piste or off, but the pronounced camber zone that lies right behind it. Once you’re rolling on hard pack, you don’t notice the tip, but as soon as you’re off-trail, you’ll be glad you have it out in front, softening the blows delivered by choppy conditions.
One of the traits one expects an All-Mountain East model to exhibit is an agnostic approach to snow conditions and turn shape. In the sidecountry, you can’t insist on a single turn radius to get you down the hill. Ideally, your ride will be able to switch from a carver to a drifter at any given moment. The Enforcer 88 acts like it’s trained all its life for these circumstances. It’s never out of balance, which is about the highest praise an all-terrain ski can receive.
Enforcer 94
The essential skill of Alpine skiing is balance. So it stands to reason that the primordial virtue of any ski is likewise balance, both in its blend of personality traits and its ability to impart the sensation of balance to its pilot. I mention these maxims because if there’s a single trait that encapsulates the brilliance of the Nordica Enforcer 94, it’s balance.
The key to balance lies in the ski’s flex pattern, or how it distributes force when pressured. Even though the Enforcer 94 sports a high front rocker, it’s mercifully short, returning to a camber pocket that’s the source of its power. When loaded, all the skier notices is the tranquility emanating from the mid-section; the disconnected tip and tail never call attention to themselves.
I’m not sure if the Enforcer 94 can actually confer expert status on anyone who steps into a pair, but it sure won’t hold anyone back. It’s able to maintain its balancing act in part because a lateral drift or trench-cutting carve is immediately accessible at all times. I vividly recall riding up the steep banks of Gremlin’s Gulch at Mammoth, playing with edge angle to elicit exactly the degree of engagement I wanted. Every movement felt intuitive, unforced and integrated with the flow of the mountain.
A balanced terrain diet is the calling card of the entire AME genre, so naturally the Enforcer 94 can segue from frontside groomers to backside bowls without missing a beat. The camber in its baseline continues to exert control, while the sharply rockered tip and tail shorten its effective length so it’s easier to swivel on command. Of course, it lacks the buoyancy of a true Powder ski (there’s an Enforcer 110 Free for that), but its springy flex is perfect for porpoising through a foot of fresh.
It’s hard to pigeonhole the Enforcer 94 as a specialist at any one thing, for it has the chameleonesque ability to be whatever its pilot wants it to be. The key to its mutability is how mindlessly simple it is to transition from a crisp edge to a friction-free drift. This facility is what makes the Enforcer 94 masterful in any terrain, from brittle hardpack to fluffy powder and every crud-junk-chowder consistency in between.
Enforcer 100
While there are no statistics I can point to substantiate my argument, I would contend that the Enforcer 100 is the most powerful model in the All-Mountain West pantheon. It earns this distinction due to an extra-high camber line that begins to load with stored energy from the moment you stand on it. Nordica alleges that the Enforcer 100 surrenders half of its baseline to rocker: 30% in the front and 20% of the rear running surface are pulled off the snow at one of the most aggressive angles in the genre. Yet despite this inherent loss of snow contact, the Enforcer 100 doesn’t ski “loose,” not at all.
One reason the early vintage Enforcer 100’s were so stout is that, due to molding limitations, all sizes used the same baseline. This was one of the major changes introduced just two years ago: each size of the current Enforcer 100 has a unique baseline, sidecut and core profile. This modification is significant as each size will ski a little differently, so think twice before sizing up.
Because the Enforcer 100 was the first member of the now extensive Enforcer family, until two years ago it was passed over for product improvements that in the meantime became staples for the rest of the series. The two most significant of these both aimed at weight reduction. True Tip extends the wood core deep into the shovel, reducing the amount of heavy ABS needed to stabilize this area. Adding carbon stringers to its top glass laminate reduced the amount of (heavy) fiberglass required by 35%.
Bear in mind, the Energy 2 Titanium Construction continues to use two end-to-end, wall-to-wall sheets of .4mm Titanal around an all-wood core, along with the glass and carbon, so it’s not like its lost any of its athleticism. This is still a very powerful, very live ski.
The biggest change in on-snow comportment between the ancestral Enforcer and the current copy is in the forgiveness and ease of use departments. Not that the old boy has been gutted – far from it. But the new kid seems to transition to its camber zone more smoothly and while it’s still lively off the edge, it’s easier to decamber in its longer lengths. It’s unusually easy to feather the edge or switch from carving to drifting to match the terrain.
Santa Ana 98
It’s not entirely coincidental that the Santa Ana 98 debuted three years ago along with Terrain Specific Metal, Nordica’s way of doling out just the right amount of metal for each of its five Santa Ana models. The Santa Ana 98 was needed because its predecessor, the Santa Ana 100, used wall-to-wall, end-to-end sheets of Titanal, so they skied like supercharged rockets. Skiers who just wanted a ski to make powder easier were over-served.
So, unlike its sister Santa Anas, the 98 was born on a Ti diet, but just because the Santa Ana 98 doesn’t ski like an Enforcer 100, don’t think for a second that it’s been gutted. Within the Santa Ana clan, the 98 falls on the side of the threesome that are intended to live at least part of their lives on hard snow. It wasn’t created to ski powder at the expense of competence when carving up groomers; it’s meant to live comfortably on the border of both worlds.
Every ski in this genre alleges that it’s like the mythical Super Mom who can manage the boardroom, the boudoir and the household books while learning Mandarin. They can do it all and never break a sweat. But Women’s All-Mountain West skis almost never live right on the 50/50, hard snow/soft snow border.