2021 Nordica Enforcer 88

This ski makes me thing about the Fast and the Furious films. Full disclosure: I got one of these for my personal skis this past year and totally loved it. If you're sensing any bias in the writing of this test page, you're not wrong. For skiing at Stowe and for my style of skiing, it just matches perfectly. Returning for 2021 unchanged except for graphics, the narrowest Enforcer is also the stiffest. With the addition of carbon to the fiberglass laminate, Nordica has stiffened the ski and made it better suited to our eastern hard-pack conditions. This does make it a bit stiff for the bumps and softer snow in the woods, but it's a minimal sacrifice. Overall, having the traditional Enforcer freeride shape and profile to go along with the narrower body style makes for an extremely fun and versatile setup. Fun and freeride in the front with a race-like waist and a responsive tail that's not too abusive is a good recipe for success. Our testers and contributors all loved the narrowest Enforcer, and all made note that for the ultimate in east-coast versatility, it's hard to beat the Enforcer 88.

Jeff Neagle had a pretty nice time on the Enforcer, and even though he's more of a park/freeride skier, he sees the ski for what it is. On the 179, Jeff exclaims: "Oh boy oh boy oh boy! The Enforcer 88 is so much fun to ski. I love ripping turns on this thing. It probably makes me feel like a better skier than just about anything else I've been on. It's impossible for me to overpower it, which gives me a ton of confidence to ski it hard and aggressively. Stiffness and turn radius feel perfect to me. It's not so stiff that it feels like a plank, but stiff enough that it's supportive and so you can really drive turns from the forebody of the ski. The turn radius is kinda short for a ski with this much metal, but in my opinion that's why they're so good. It's easy to get them to come across the fall line in a carving turn. In fact, I feel like I have an easier time managing speed on these compared to most skis in this category with this much metal because of that. Endless torsional stiffness and edge grip too. Some of my favorite pictures of myself skiing are on the Enforcer 88. I just feel super comfortable on it and it lets me get my hip right next to the snow surface in a turn. Super fun, very rewarding, expert level ski, although it doesn't beat you up as much as some expert-level all-mountain skis." They do like to turn, that's for sure!

Josh Wolfgang also skied the 179, but he could also use the 186. He scored the ski a 5 out of 5 for versatility and 4's for overall impression, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, and forgiveness. These consistently high scores are indicative of a consistent ski with high-performance tendencies. "This is my favorite Enforcer and actually the only Enforcer I would ever take out. Super-versatile both on-piste and in the woods. I feel like Enforcers do everything well and this is no exception. It does everything really well." It is that well-rounded nature that attracts a lot of strong skiers to the Enforcer line, and for the more on-trail skiers of the groups, the 88 is a fantastic choice. Kelby Furrer skied the 172 but would have preferred the 179. He had nearly all 4's for scores, again displaying that well-rounded nature of the highest caliber. "Despite the shorter size, I still had so much fun on these. Fantastic all-mountain ski, felt comfy and stable on everything." In terms of a target audience, Kelby notes the Enforcer 88 is "for sure an advanced ski. Not for beginners or intermediates." Yes, that dual-metal laminate does require a high entry point for a lot of skiers.

All told, the Nordica Enforcer 88 will continue its reign amongst the top of its group. When faced with competitors such as Volkl Kendo and Blizzard Brahma 88, you have to do something right, and Nordica has really got a winner on their hands here.