When Nordica was first trying to find its feet as a ski company, it found a toehold among the firmament of A-list brands in the Frontside genre. A case could be made that, for a few years running, Nordica was making the best carving skis in the world.

Among the major brands, Head probably holds that distinction now, but Nordica’s new GT series serves notice that it would like to reclaim its crown. The new construction of the GT series is a major departure from Nordica’s more recent Frontside family, yet it’s already familiar to Nordica fans. Essentially, it doubles down on the Titanal Torsion Bridge used in the All-Mountain NRGY collection, adding a sheet of the cut-out titanium to the base and replacing the foam core channel with poplar and beech.

The result is a smooth operator that is light on the foot yet rock solid on groomed snow. Its sidecut measurements are uniformly narrower than those of its fatter bro, the GT 84 Ti EVO, so it creates exactly the same turn shape, only quicker. Edge-to-edge agility is its defining trait, making it, “A great groomer ski at all speeds, easy to change directions, even at low speeds,” as Bobo’s major domo, Steve Sheehan, attests, adding, “It takes no effort to change edges.”

As quick and quiet as a cat on the hunt, the 80 GT Ti EVO has one foible: it looks forward to chunky, beat-up, off-piste terrain with the same enthusiasm children display for chores. It’s a purebred carver, and there’s nothing wrong with that.