The Nordica Astral 84 is a brand new ski for 2018 and sits right in the middle of the Astral line of all mountain skis. These skis are aligned with the men’s Navigator series and share a lot of technology. Specific for women, however, is a super lightweight balsa wood core. This keeps the overall weight of the ski impressively low despite it also using Nordica’s metal Torsion Bridge laminate. This is the same metal laminate we see in the Navigator series that was inspired by the previous NRGY collection. Instead of a full sheet of metal Nordica strategically removes geometric shapes leaving a web or bridge of metal running across the ski. The shape of the Astral skis is a combination of a tip shape from their Santa Ana skis and the tail of a carving ski, resulting in versatile performance rooted in strong carving.
Kristi Brown was very impressed by the Astral 84. She gave it 5 out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, and versatility. Kristi had a profound statement that “the Astral 84 has transcending qualities that make you feel like a hero skier.” We think that’s an awesome way to describe a ski, Kristi! We think part of it comes from the gorgeous light blue color, but the Astral 84 is more ski than meets the eye. Kristi thought it was “a perfect blend of ease and stability with a bonus of being a lightweight ski.” That’s really what a lot of us look for in an all mountain ski: relatively light, relatively easy to ski, but solid stability.
Karly Acker described the Astral 84 as “consistent. It’s a fun ski that can make short to long radius turns. It’s not super easy, but not extremely difficult to change radius.” Karly found the Astral 84 performed best for her on groomed slopes. The flatter tail (when compared to their Santa Ana skis) gives it a snappier, more responsive feel when linking carving turns on firm snow. Kristi would “recommend (the ski) for a woman who enjoys groomers.”
Carly Monahan skied the 165 cm length and had a similar reaction to Kristi in terms of the ski surprising her with a stronger, more stable feel than she expected. “It felt surprisingly stable given the width and lightness. I was hesitant to trust it at first and let it rip, but the ski was there and plenty solid.” Carly’s experience on the Astral 84 aligns pretty perfectly to how Nordica describes the ski. Carly found it to have a “versatile turn shape” and thought it can “carve, smear, and cut through crud.” That sounds pretty good to us! After all, what more can you ask for out of an 84 mm all mountain ski?
Caroline Kessler also had a good time on the Astral 84, calling it a “fun all mountain ski.” She thought it had a “fairly small turning radius (she’s right – it’s 14 m at 158 cm length), but could hold an edge at higher speeds. Best on groomers. Not very floaty, but a very confident, stable ski.” While we agree that the Astral 84 is “best on groomers,” we don’t want to take away from the fact that it does have strong performance around the rest of the mountain as well. Caroline was also on the 165 cm ski.
The Astral 84 is a great addition to Nordica’s lineup. It offers another all mountain option that has very strong ability on groomers. It provides the skier with snappy, responsive performance on firm snow in a relatively lightweight package, while the 84 mm waist width and tip rocker allows you to venture into more variable snow conditions without feeling too held back. It’s a fun one, for sure!
