The Stockli Nela 96 for 2024 represents the pinnacle of ladies ski construction and design. These things rip but they also have a middle-ground that helps them be more accessible to progressing skiers. While on the stiffer side, they are also pretty light for a ski with this much metal, so what you’re getting feels a lot different and stronger without being cumbersome. Stockli is known for making some of the most high-quality skis in the world, and this Nela 96 is no exception. The mid-90's is a great place to be for true all-mountain versatility. Skis like this are narrow enough to have good torsional stiffness on the groomers and they also have enough taper and rocker to go along with the lighter build for flotation and playfulness. While this one falls more to the sturdy side of the spectrum, it’s still approachable enough to warrant a progressing intermediate skier’s skills.

Constructed with a light core consisting of balsa and fuma woods, this ski is pretty poppy from the start. They add a fiberglass laminate to the mix and two sheets of metal. The upper laminate comes in the form of the topsheet, so one of their weight saving techniques is to avoid an additional graphic laminate and simply incorporate it into the build of the ski. Makes sense, and allows for a nice, brushed look to the top of the ski. With a softer flexing shovel, the ski’s sidecut is accessible with less work, and that helps contribute to the broad audience of lady skiers on the Nela 96. In terms of weight, the 164 ends up hitting 1650 grams per ski on the scale. This makes it nimble and light while the rest of the build leans to more stability and power. As such, this ski is a well-rounded option for a large range of skiers going from intermediates all the way through the expert range.

Again, the mid-90's is a lot of fun for mixing attributes, attitudes, terrain, and snow conditions. Nela 96 has a great mix of width and rocker to make it amenable to a multitude of applications. While the tail is flatter and squarer, the tip is rounder and more rockered. This makes the ski float in the front and carve in the back. Like any good all-mountain ski, the Nela 96 mixes performance attributes, and the shape/profile combo is where it’s highlighted the most. It’s pretty turny, as well, with a 15.8-meter arc in the 164. It carves clean turns across the fall line as the business-like tail holds tight to the end of the turn. The initiation phase feels easy and then you hit the middle and end of the ski in order to give the ski a well-rounded nature and high-performance ceiling. 

We’ve loved the Nela series of skis for a while now, and this 96 takes those emotions to the next level. With a blend of top-shelf construction and pure all-mountain shaping, this ski checks a lot of boxes for advanced and expert skiers. The precision and quality are also off the charts, and while that does equate to a higher price tag, it’s not like the prices of everything haven’t gone up. In fact, this ski has not been as affected by inflation as much as many other everyday items, so there’s that!