The 2022 Nordica Santa Ana 98 is a wonderful example of a wider all-mountain ski that has a whole lot to offer advanced and expert skiers looking for versatility and performance in an upper 90's underfoot width. Nordica has some strong pedigree to fall back on, mostly thanks to the Enforcer series, but then with the evolution of the Santa Ana line, these 98's have strongly positioned themselves as the flagship model. As the widest ski not in the "Free" line, the 98 has more of a directional and all-mountain profile to it, while sharing a similar construction as all other Santa Ana skis. Built with a performance wood core and a single sheet of terrain-specific metal, these skis also get the Carbon Chassis treatment that stiffens the overall flex of the ski while not adding much in the weight department. The end result of this build is a strong, stable, and yet incredibly agile ski that can handle quite literally anything and everything you can find out there on the hill. The most impressive part of the Santa Ana 98 is the quickness and agility for the stability and weight. This gives the skier a big leg up on being able to handle adverse and interesting terrain and conditions at any time of day or night.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber / Rocker
CORE MATERIALS
Carbon Chassis, True Tip
PREFERRED TERRAIN
All Mountain, Powder, Groomers
Alli Ruschp skied the 172 and noted that it was a little long for her, but skied true to size. With the shape and profile, combined with the build, these skis can be a handful in the longer lengths, but you do get great stability as a result! She gave a lot of high scores, with 5's out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, playfulness, and stability. 4's covered the rest of the card for versatility, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and flotation. Overall, it's impressive to see these high scores, and given a cursory look at the rest of our tester's scores, there's nothing below a 4 for any category at all. Pretty darn impressive stuff from Nordica here. Alli notes that "The Santa Ana series never disappoints, with a little less metal but more width this is a powerful ski meant for ladies that like to charge down the mountain. You can feel the power as your start to ski, and it wants to drive you down the hill. The shovel nose and slight tail rise allow for more fun in the tree, bumps and crud, and even some powder. Really wants to make larger arcing turns (especially with the larger size for me). Not as forgiving as the smaller waist width versions, would be a great ski for those days that you get a couple inches but want to be able to ski all day once the snow is pushed around." That all sounds pretty good to us!
On the shorter 165, Louise Lintilhac notes that it skis true to size, but she'd likely move up to the 172 if given a choice. Again, all 4's and 5's from Louise, with the 5's given for overall impression, versatility, and flotation. 4's the rest of the way show the high-end and well-rounded nature of the skis. Louise states that "At 98 underfoot, this Santa Ana installment is a great mid-fat choice for days when conditions are a grab bag. Has enough flotation for moderate pow and easily floats on top of crud and corn. It’s not as fast edge to edge, but for skiers looking to slarve turns and move quickly through chop and trees, there would be a great choice. An awesome pick for an intermediate to advanced skier who wants to get after it on-piste and off." Nifer Hoehn also was on the 165, and like Louise, she'd opt for the longer. Regardless, Nifer was all 4's right across the board, emphasizing the well-rounded and high-performance nature of these skis. "Nordica has the all mountain ski dialed. Being 98 underfoot, but carve-able, makes these a really strong contender for someone looking to buy one ski to do it all. They are light AND powerful, nimble AND stable, forgiving AND precise. They will take you in sickness and in health, in trees and groomers, off piste and on, and they will perform for you whether it's an off day or not. These are a great option for someone used to a high performance ski and craving the ability to still arc, but also wanting something fun in deep snow that will be nimble in the trees. Love these and highly recommend them!!!"
It's not too often in our test that we see this number of testers and nothing below a 4 out of 5 on the card, and that's just a testament to the quality and precision with which Nordica builds their skis. By relying on, but not depending on, the Enforcer series as a blueprint, the Santa Ana line, and specifically the 98, create a personality and performance level of their own, separating themselves from a very competitive field of all-mountain skis.
