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.
Rolling downhill at 35mph feels like returning to a happy childhood home; there’s an instant sense of belonging, as if everything’s all right with the world. 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.
Imagine a GS race ski that will make a tight turn under 30mph and still have the fortitude to handle competition speeds with the throttle buried. In the middle ground in between, the GT 84 Ti settles into a medium-radius rhythm that feels as natural as walking. Of course it wouldn’t mind eating up groomers for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it can handle its business off trail when summoned to such duty. “Wow,” writes Bobo’s big kahuna. “Felt right at home on this baby. It skied, I just followed along.”
The alert reader of this long-form review may well wonder why the GT 84 Ti is listed at the top of the Finesse Favorites when it actually has a higher Power score. Reason one is that 8.40 is a very high Finesse score and skilled Finesse skiers should be directed to the best of what suits them, not the dregs. Two, it skis easily at a low edge angle with minimal skier exertion. Three, it’s a carver that know how to slarve. Four, it has a supple forebody that cushions the ride off-trail far better than the category average. And five, we called the GT 84 Ti a Finesse ski last year despite being the fourth most highly ranked Power model and we’re doing it again because it seems like the right thing to do.