In the world of wider-bodied race skis, the all-new Nordica Spitfire 80 DC Pro is one of the coolest skis out there. For racing purists, it’s tough to convince them that an 80 mm underfoot ski is even remotely race-worthy, and based on width alone, that’s a sound argument. But for most advanced, expert, and former racer skiers out there, this shape is highly useful for a number of reasons. Mainly, having a nice and stable platform is super helpful when it comes to carving on anything softer than total ice. This 80 mm underfoot shape has been a staple of Nordica’s line for a few years now, and we’ve loved every minute of it. By taking it to the next level with a new construction, the smoothness, stability, energy, and power have all been increased, so we’d call this a successful rebuild for sure. In the Spitfire line, they did away with the narrower 72 and 76, meeting in the middle with the 74. This 80 remains similar in terms of footprint, but a new construction technique takes the character of the ski to the next level.

Double Core is the big story here—using multiple horizontal laminates to create this smooth and silent effect without losing any performance. They sandwich two wood core layers in with two titanal laminates as well as a pulse core. This blend of wood, metal, and elastomer in a horizontal format combines to make an incredibly stable ski with tons of power and energy. While many ski companies have used vertical stringers of wood smooshed together with horizontal titanal laminates on top and bottom, this innovative way of building the DC version of the ski is a lot more predictable and powerful, and quite a bit more silent. If you can duplicate the performance but lower the chatter and noise, that’s a successful rebuild. It’s on the hefty side, like any good front side ski should be, and all that does is lead to an insane amount of stability on firmer snow.

The shape is where this ski brings out the more spirited conversation. There are plenty of skis out there that are at or around 80 mm underfoot that are considered all-mountain skis. Is it fair then, to lump the Spitfire 80 in with that crowd? We’re not so sure. The overall footprint of the ski is decidedly more race-oriented, with minimal to zero taper and rocker, and squared-off tails that grip tight to the end of the turn. The shovel is pretty wide, but it’s also got no taper, so the effective edge and running length of the ski are both on the long and smooth side. In the 174, this ski produces a 16-meter turn radius, so that takes it further away from an all-mountain application as well, placing this ski squarely on the front side of the spectrum. That said, it’s nice to have a wider platform underfoot for balance purposes. This does open things up for progressing advanced skiers who are looking for a little bit of versatility, while keeping the torsional stiffness of the ski pretty much fully intact.

We’ve loved this 80 for a while now and are even more enthralled with the Double Core construction of the new ski. It works amazingly well in the other skis in Nordica’s line that use this technology, and it makes perfect sense to use it in the wider-bodied skis as well. Horizontal laminates of wood are perhaps a thing of the future, and if they keep improving skis the way that they have been, we’re looking forward to it. Finally, it is worth noting that these skis come with the XCell 12 binding on an FDT plate, giving you a race-worthy setup for fast, firm, and challenging conditions and terrain.