New for 2021, the Nordica Santa Ana 93 boasts a new build that will appeal to a broader range of skiers, and has a more tailored and individual construction that's better suited to specific skier types. For each width in the new Santa Ana collection, you're going to see a differently shaped metal laminate. Whereas the previous builds had light balsa wood and two full sheets of metal, the 2021 version has a denser wood core, more similar to the Enforcer line, and one sheet of metal, that is width-dependent. Nordica calls it "terrain specific metal," which should indicate that the wider the ski, and the more powder-specific, the narrower the metal. Conversely, the narrower the ski, the wider the metal. As a result, the 93 sits somewhere in the middle, with enough metal extending out to the edges to provide fantastic grip and energy. On the other hand, it's not quite to the edges, so it still allows the ski to remain playful in the softer snow. If you're looking for that one-ski quiver style of performance and versatility, the 93 is a fantastic place to start. Not too wide, though, that it subverts carving prowess. Skiers looking to get the most out of one pair of skis and are of the advanced to expert levels of skill will love the overall well-roundedness of the Santa Ana 93. The new upgrades make a big difference, and are better for tailoring the ski to the individual's needs and terrain choices.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber / Rocker
CORE MATERIALS
PREFERRED TERRAIN
All Mountain, Groomers
Allison Kozar was the lucky tester that got to ski the Santa Ana 93 this year, and she got it on a pretty good day. She skied the 165 which was a good length for her. Pretty much all 4's down the scorecard for Allison, and this is indicative of a high-end, well-rounded ski. We'd expect to see these types of scores out of the Santa Ana 93, and Allison did not let us down. She did score the ski 3's out of 5 for flotation and forgiveness, and this makes sense for a "narrower" freeride ski, while the stiffness level should be all there due to the denser wood and the metal laminate.
Allison notes that she "got to test the Santa Ana 93 on a six-inch powder day. Most of the mountain was filled with moguls, powder covered groomers, and packed powder. It rocked all the conditions, it floated well, was very responsive through the moguls, and transferred great energy from one turn to the next. This is an amazing ski for the advanced skier, but I think a higher-level intermediate skier can also grow with this ski and perfect their front side and back side skills. It may be a little hard on the legs for a full day at the resort if the skier is lightweight, or not overly skilled. This would be an ideal one quiver ski for the person who likes spending half to most of their time in the glades, although for serious powder days or out west the wider options would be better. The ski was great at powering through heavier snow and crud that may launch other skis out there. Overall, very impressed!" The part in there about the ski being hard on the legs does harken back to her lower score for forgiveness to be sure.
Most of our testers are loving these new Santa Ana skis, as that single metal laminate adds to the versatility and overall performance of the ski. It matches up better with the terrain and conditions for a larger number of skiers. While there's certainly a smaller group of skiers who preferred the burlier, dual-metal versions of yesteryear, Nordica is hitting a bigger swath of the ski population with these new builds.
