2022 Nordica Santa Ana 84

The 2022 Nordica Santa Ana 84 is a wonderful addition to the Santa Ana lineup, offering a more on-trail and front-side oriented ski that'll make some sweet carved turns on the groomers with equal ability and desire to venture off-trail and find the more adventurous zones on the mountain. Thanks to the shape, profile, and construction of these skis, intermediate through expert skiers will find all they need for true all-mountain performance. Built with Nordica's Performance wood core, the skis get their Terrain-Specific metal laminate to dampen and stiffen the ski. Additionally, they get the Carbon Chassis, which adds even more stiffness and performance without adding weight. As a result, skiers are getting a smooth and damp ride on the corduroy, and some extra power and strength in any off-piste formats.

At 84 mm underfoot, and generating a 14-meter turn radius in the 158 cm length, these skis can and will turn on a dime. With a strong tail to help finish the turn, the Santa Ana 84 absolutely crushes the groomers. Fans of shorter turns and quicker edge to edge performance will totally love these skis, and if you're of the more advanced skill levels, you'll be able to access all of the performance, making quick work of the corduroy and leaving clean and round arcs in your wake. The metal laminate is wider in these skis, more so because the skis are narrower, but at any rate, the metal extends out to the edges providing that precision and power that a lot of skiers need and like for those clean carves. Since it's only one sheet, though, it does free the ski up to be lighter and more maneuverable in more adventurous skiing, so these do make great bump and tree skis for a wide range of skiers. With more tip than tail rocker, the skis do have a nice blend of on-trail kick at the end of the turn and off-trail flotation and easy initiation. The blend is what makes these skis truly great, as they accurately skirt the line between front side and all-mountain.

Danielle Nichols found herself on the 165 and noted that it is true to size. She gave a top score of 5 out of 5 for forgiveness, with 4's for overall impression, versatility, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. These are some nice and high scores for the ski, making it clear that they have a pretty nice top end. Danielle notes that the Santa Ana 84 is a "super fun and playful ski. Easy to ski. Would be a great one-ski quiver for an intermediate or advanced skier who likes to turn." With that shorter radius, it may prove slightly difficult to ride flat, straight, and fast, so Danielle is astute to pick up on this, noting that the Santa Ana 84 is more at home in a carved turn, and that's a good thing for the intended audience.

Now the narrowest of the Santa Ana line, the 84 is a strong on-trail carving machine with some off-trail chops to be had as well. It's a great blend of front side carving and all-mountain versatility. There's not a whole lot of skiers out there who need more than 84 mm underfoot, and ski companies are coming back around to that fact, reinforcing our belief that you should be shopping for and buying skis for the conditions and terrain that you actually ski versus those that you want to ski. This is where the Santa Ana 84 is a very strong performer.