2025 Nordica Enforcer 89

As the narrowest Enforcer, the 89 usually gets slightly lost in the mix. With the new build, shape, and style for 2025, this improved ski should climb the ladder with confidence. The previous version of this ski was always known for rock-solid edge grip while having a narrower freeride shape. The new ski carries that forward but delivers even rounder and more energetic characteristics. We get an increased tail rocker profile and a more progressive mount point that changes the overall personality of this ski. In general, it seems that this is a good thing and an improvement over the previous Enforcer 88. While the 1 mm of waist width increase isn’t going to change skiers’ perception of this as a firm snow specialist, it does give it a slight addition of at least mental versatility.

Nordica uses a different wood supplier for 2025, and it seems to make a big difference. They still use a blend of poplar and beech in their multi-layer wood core, but this new one feels peppier and more energetic. The Enforcer series has always been known to use two full sheets of metal, and the 2025’s still do, but these new skis use a 4 mm narrower layup, putting more emphasis on the central spine while leaving the sides to be quicker and with a lighter swing weight. Underfoot, Nordica dampens the vibes with a pulse core laminate. This is used in other Nordica skis like the Spitfire and Steadfast to curtail noise, and it seems to work here as well. Tester Greg Petrics feels that this makes the ski feel very sharp and precise and puts more emphasis on front side performance: “My first impression was that this ski really holds an edge, and that it is very stable and grabby compared to other Enforcers that I've been on. The grip was so much it was almost to a fault, and I found myself struggling a bit in some soft bumps and trees to keep this ski from catching an edge.” With a weight at around 2000 grams and with a stiff tail, it’s not terribly surprising to hear this feedback.

While the tail rocker is slightly increased and the waist width mildly widened, this is generally a very similar shape and style to the outgoing 88. Nordica did move the mount point forward 1 cm to align with the new height of camber, and this does seem to make a big difference. The ski hooks in easier than before and holds a round turn through the arc. With a 17.5-meter turn radius in the 179, this ski turns on a dime. Since it shares a similar overall footprint with the wider and more freeride-inspired skis in the Enforcer line, the 89 still has the capacity to operate in softer snow, but the preference falls more to the carving and on-piste realm. Jeff Neagle notes that the new 89 is “Mostly for folks who stay on groomed terrain, in my opinion. The 94, 99, and especially 104 really boost the soft snow performance, but the 89 is a blast on-trail. If you're spending 80% or more of your time on groomers, but prefer being on an all-mountain ski, you'll love it. If you like powerful, strong skis, that is.”

This ski falls in the advanced and expert category due to shape, construction, and power. This ski is pretty darn sturdy and holds up to some seriously aggressive skiing. We do think there’s opportunity for progressing and improving skiers here, especially if they understand that there’s some effort to put into the process. You can always size down slightly to access the shorter and crisper turning nature of the ski if you wish, but it’s still going to be quite stiff and precise.