The Nordica Astral 88 is the widest ski in their All Mountain Trail collection. It’s designed to be a versatile all mountain ski that carves exceptionally well. Turn initiation is nice and easy thanks to the rockered, slightly tapered tip. The flatter, squared off tail allows you to finish a carving turn with power and finesse. Instead of a full sheet of metal, which can be quite heavy, the Astral 88 uses Nordica’s Torsion Bridge, a grid of metal under the topsheet of the ski. This delivers the stability and vibration damping of metal, but at a lighter weight. At the core of the ski is bamboo, which is a super-light, very energetic material. A lighter alternative to the Santa Ana collection, the Astral 88 has proven to be a fun all mountain ski and we were excited to get the feedback from our testers this year.
Mar Kuhnel tested the 165 cm length and thought the Astral 88 was a “pleasant surprise!” That was somewhat of a theme with the Astral collection in general. It’s easy to look at them as “less” ski than the Santa Anas, but they really are high performing all mountain skis and as the flagship model the Astral 88 is a perfect example. “No nonsense, easy turning ski with a great all mountain shape. Overall very confident feeling. Snappy, but not to the point of needing lots of skier input, especially coming out of turns.” Mar didn’t give the Astral 88 a single score under 4 out of 5, which is always really impressive to see. She thought it would be a “great ski for advancing intermediate and advanced carvers who want a laid back, versatile ski.” That’s a good recommendation. The Astral 88 isn’t overly demanding, but still performs at a high level and is, overall, very satisfying to ski.
Another tester who was somewhat surprised by the performance of the Astral 88 was Ariel Aidala, who also tested the 165 cm length. “I enjoyed this ski way more than I thought I would.” See what we mean about it being a theme? Ariel admitted that she normally skis wider skis on a daily basis, but “with only 88 underfoot it provided a lot of stability while still being quick to turn.” Ariel found that they “performed well on hard and soft snow.” That’s thanks to the construction and blend of shapes in the tip and tail. The tip helps in soft snow, the tail delivers precision on firm snow. Ariel also thought it would be a nice introduction to metal. “The Titanium Torsion Bridge is a great transition to having some metal, while not having the downsides (weight, stiffness).”
Ann MacDonald also tested the 165 cm length and thought it was a “fun, quick turning, playful all mountain chick ski!” She also noted that it’s “very pink,” which we imagine will result in varying opinions among women. In our experience, some like pink graphics, while others despise it. We will say Nordica did a great job with the overall design and the pink is definitely not obnoxious. Ann was another tester who didn’t give it a single score under 4 out of 5. She described it as having a “soft tip that’s easy to initiate, but a stiff tail so it has good pop out of a turn.” That’s basically what it’s all about in the Astral. It’s user-friendly, helps with turn initiation, but still rips! Ann ended her feedback by saying that it was “fun all around,” then drew a big smiley face.
The Astral 88 should be on the list of potential skis for any women that are looking for a fun, versatile all mountain ski. Those that value carving performance, but want something more versatile than a traditional carving ski, will absolutely love the performance and feel of the Astral 88. It’s a fantastic all mountain ski and is approachable for a nice big range of ability levels and skiing styles.
