Nordica has a commendable history in women’s Frontside skis, a history that will most likely be eclipsed by the new Astral series. What little feedback we were able to glean provided tantalizingly positive comments accompanied by indifferent scores. Barb from California Ski Company confides she finds the Astral 84 to be “a solid ski that holds an edge. It should make a lot of folks happy [smiley face].” Her cohort Katrina coos, “Awesome ski! Good carve but also good off-piste.”

The Astral 84 gets its versatility from a design that combines a balsa core with a Hex Bridge Titanal top sheet like that used on Nordica’s Navigators. Add prepreg fiberglass laminates for durability and responsive flex and you have a ski that can handle its business both on trail and off. Its baseline is rockered, but the contact points are fairly close to the extremities and it uses a square tail, features favoring Frontside performance.

All the new Astrals (the others are 88 and 78) share the same construction, with progressively softer flexes as the skis get narrower. As a Frontside ski with a moderate flex, the Astral 84 delivers the best combination of the series’ traits, at a price that embarrasses the competition.