2022 Nordica Santa Ana 88

The 2022 Nordica Santa Ana 88 is a fabulous example of an all-mountain ski with a top-end feel and performance level. There are some stiffer 88's out there in the world, but the Nordicas have a wonderful blend of power and precision that is pretty difficult to come by in today's market. Built with Nordica's performance wood core, the skis have a strong start. Add to that their Terrain-Specific metal laminate to boost the power and dampness, and you're getting a pretty smooth ride in any and all conditions and terrain. We talk a lot about the 88's and their ability to do everything really well, and it makes a lot of sense that these will get top-billing when it comes to versatility and power. If it were just the metal and wood for the strength, we'd likely be all set, but Nordica adds their Carbon Chassis to the mix, further boosting the longitudinal stiffness of the ski, and making it very responsive and precise--just how a strong all-mountain ski should be.

Ann Macdonald skied the 165, and noted that it was true to size, but she'd like to try the bigger size just for fun. Ann had all 4's and 5's on her scorecard, with the top marks going for playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. 4's lined the rest of the card, and for an 88, or any width ski for that matter, that's a really nice top-end to go by. "Super playful easy turning forgiving all mountain ski! Great all around east coast ski for most conditions. Not super stable at high speeds but I was on a ski that was too short. Good for most ladies beginner to advanced!" I think with the bump up to the next size, Ann would have found the stability she was looking for at speed.

Alix Klein also noted the shortness of the 165, not that it was untrue, but rather that she'd prefer the 172, and we've got no issues with that. She scored the ski 4's out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. She notes that "this ski was very quick from edge to edge. Poppy and nimble. This is a great ski for intermediates and above with stability at high speeds and the ability to easily release from a turn." At least Lexi Hildreth liked her 165, giving the ski all 4's right down the scorecard. Lexi "really enjoyed the Santa Ana 88! It was great in the spring snow and I know it would do really well on icier terrain as well. It had a lot of stability and is a great all-mountain ski for advanced-intermediate to expert skiers." Lexi is putting a bit higher of a skier level on this ski, and my guess is that it had something to do with the length being proper for her as well.

It's a pretty crowded field of the 88's, and companies have to do something to stand out from the crowd. Nordica uses their terrain-specific metal to do their bidding, and since they have a very strong pedigree from the Enforcer and Santa Ana lines to fall back on and learn from, the Santa Ana 88's benefit a great deal.