2026 Nordica Unleashed 98 CA

The 2026 Nordica Unleashed 98 CA is a wonderful addition to the Unleashed lineup, offering a slightly more energetic and budget-friendly version of the Unleashed 98, just without the metal. In many ways, and for many skiers, this actually works better than the Ti version. We’ve found it to be snappy, energetic, and a bit lighter overall. It retains a solid cambered feel throughout and is fun and zippy in the bumps and trees. While it’s not enormously lighter than the Ti version, there’s something there when it comes to on-snow feel, allowing skiers an easier time off-trail with just a bit of a dip in damping for groomers and hard pack.

There’s a lot of benefits to a relatively simple wood core ski. You get a nice and natural feel and lovely energy. The Unleashed 98 uses a blend of poplar and beech to create a smooth and supple feel. That’s about it. They use a full sidewall in the ski and it creates a very sturdy feel overall. In the 186, we have it on the scale at just over 2000 grams per ski which is on the hefty side for a ski without metal, but it just works well at this weight. Tester Danny Satterthwaite agrees, calling it “Awesome! Good everywhere and very easy to ski while still being strong. The slightly softer tail makes it much more forgiving in bumps.”

If you’re familiar with the shape and profile of the Unleashed 98 Ti, you will not be surprised by a whole lot here. The ski uses the same mold, measurements, and footprint as the Ti version, so there is a lot of consistency between these two models. Landel Cochran states that “The Unleashed 98CA is an absolute blast. The shape of the ski is incredibly intuitive. It locks into stable turns with little effort. A long effective edge is easily accessible but with enough tip and tail rocker to prevent any unwanted grab. The CA bends a more easily than the Unleashed 98 with Titanal, but it makes it more fun. The rebound is delightful, it feels light and easy to swing. Frequently when we get a version of as ski with the metal removed, it can feel a bit lacking. This ski does not. It rips, and not just on hard snow. The tips do well in deeper, heavy snow with minimal deflection. I can imagine this ski would also excel in some deeper, soft snow.” With a turn radius of 18.1 meters in the 180 cm length, these skis are well-balanced and capable of making a variety of turn shapes and styles with minimal effort. While the camber is long, the flex allows for easy manipulation of the tips and tails in all sorts of snow types.

This ski is poised to compete with other value-oriented twin tips at this range. The Unleashed 98 has some interesting tricks up its sleeve when it comes to making clean and round turns with a predictable and high-end feel. Due to the shape sharing with the Unleashed 98 Ti, there’s a known quantity here, and it certainly helps get skiers comfortable with the premise of all-mountain and freestyle skiing.