The Nordica Navigator 85 is an awesome all mountain ski. For one, it hits a very reasonable price to performance ratio. Regardless of how much it costs, however, it’s just a pleasure to ski. The Navigator series is designed with a versatile tip inspired by the Enforcer collection, but uses a flatter, squared-off tail from the Doberman Race Ski. Hex Titanium Bridge, a single layer of gridded metal, provides some power and damping properties, but at a reduced weight compared to skis with full sheets of metal. A relatively short turn radius combined with that flat tail profile gives it a very responsive feel and the Navigator 85 loves to link short to medium radius carving turns. It offers slightly more groomer-bias performance compared to the Enforcer collection, which rounds out Nordica’s all mountain ski options nicely.
Mike Thomas has a lifetime of experience recommending skis to all sorts of different skiers and he thinks the Nordica Navigator 85 “should be WAY more popular!” That’s seriously high praise from Mike. For him to just make a blanket statement that more people should be skiing it really says a lot. He described it as “just a fantastic all around ski for anyone who isn’t looking to charge all of the time. Easy to relax on or to improve on.” Yup, we agree, Mike. For experts it can be a fun, relatively-relaxed all mountain ski, while intermediates will find it has the perfect tier of performance to help them improve. Mike thought it would be “perfect for an advanced intermediate, lighter expert, or an expert who wants an all mountain ski that isn’t too wide and isn’t a pure carving ski.” He also noted that it’s a fantastic bump ski. Mike’s highest scores for the Navigator 85 after his test runs on the 186 cm length were for playfulness, versatility, and overall impression, all of which earned 5 out of 5.
David Wolfgang tested the 179 cm Navigator 85 and thought it was a relatively “easy, playful ski.” That being said he did mention that even though it doesn’t use full sheets of metal, it still has those performance benefits, “with 1 layer of metal it gives away nothing.” The level or performance Nordica achieves with their Hex Titanium Bridge construction is definitely impressive! David had a fun pun to describe it and who it would be best for: “A ski for the person looking to navigate with the kids or through the bumps.” While that’s relatively vague, we like it. It’s a precise ski and the title of Navigator is very fitting. Cruise around with the family, hop in a mogul field, or lay down some snappy carves!
David Raybould picked up on one of our favorite analogies for the Navigator 85 after he tested the 172 cm length. It’s kind of a “reverse mullet” design. Yes, the 80’s hair style, but reversed. “Party in the front, business in the rear!” David is referring to the differing shapes in the tip and tail of the ski. “Tail of the ski really locks you into the turn, but it’s a nice feeling. Pivots and skids nicely, but not easily.” David is a full time ski instructor in the winter season and has a lot of experience analyzing skier ability and what skis would work best. He thought it would be “best for intermediate-advanced skiers,” and noted that it “likes to make slalom-type turns.” It’s not quite as small as a slalom ski in terms of turn radius, but it is a smaller turn shape than a lot of competitors’ skis.
We feel strongly that the Navigators, and the 85 that we’re talking about here, are really nice all mountain skis with a level of performance that’s appropriate for a lot of skiers. Seriously, like Mike Thomas said, there are a ton of skiers out there who would love this ski. If you spend most of your time on groomers, don’t go straight to buying an Enforcer without considering the Navigators. Anyone who finds themselves on firm snow a fair amount and values carving performance and versatility will really enjoy themselves on a Navigator 85.
