2023 Nordica Doberman Spitfire 76

The mid-70's groomer crusher category is very outlooked in our minds. The 2023 Nordica Dobermann Spitfire 76 has so much to offer advanced and expert skiers looking to lay down some crazy arcs on the corduroy. Whether you use these in a beer-league race or just for general on-trail activities, you’re sure to be impressed with the quality, craftsmanship, and high-end performance of these amazing skis. Built with Nordica’s Performance Wood Core, these skis also get two sheets of metal, a GR 400 carbon laminate, and racing phenol sidewalls. This is a burly build that creates a ton of torsional stiffness, and that is only improved given the shape of the ski. At 76 mm underfoot, we’re still dealing with a fantastic amount of edge grip on these skis, but they also give the ski more of a balanced platform over the narrower 72 mm version. While this still isn’t in the realm of being versatile enough for off-piste activities, it doesn’t rule it out either. The 174 creates a 16-meter turn radius, which is right in the middle range for this middle width carver.

Andrew McNeil skied the 174 and noted that it was just right for him. Flotation and versatility, unsurprisingly, got lower scores of 2’s out of 5, and that makes sense when you consider the one-trick nature of these skis. On the other end, we see 4’s for stability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression. Andrew also notes that the skis aren’t terribly demanding when they’re not at higher edge angles, giving them a higher score for playfulness as well. Andrew notes that the Spitfire 75 is “Forgiving when not on hard edge. Confident edge control.” That concept of confidence certainly rings true for skis in this category, and it’s nice to see that it follows form with the Spitfire 76 in Andrew’s experience.

Greg Petrics, also on the 174, would choose that length for himself. Bringing his considerable racing and carving experience to the table, it’s great to get someone like Greg’s feedback on these skis. With a low score of 2 out of 5 for flotation, and an expected 3 for versatility, the higher 4’s come in for the rest of the categories. We mainly see greater spans of scores in more specific-use skis like this, so it’s not crazy to see 2’s coming alongside 4’s. Greg notes that “This is a great ski looking to find a space in between SL and GS skis. The natural radius turn of this ski was a bit longer than I was expecting, but once I found that radius, I didn't want to give it back. It let me down a little bit at high speeds, but that was because I was on the 174. Step up a size if you're looking to put the pedal to the metal.”

Whether you’re a former racer like Greg or a front side cruiser like Andrew, the Nordica Dobermann Spitfire 76 is a highly useful ski for advanced and expert skiers who love to carve clean and round turns. They’re not too heavy or demanding, but you can certainly get a whole lot of performance out of them. The mid-70's is a great place to be on the front side, and since most skiers spend most of their time on groomed terrain, it makes a whole lot of sense to have a ski like this at the front of your list.