2023 Nordica Santa Ana 88

The 2023 Nordica Santa Ana 88 is a fabulous example of an all-mountain ski with a top-end feel and performance level. There are some stiffer 88's out there in the world, but the Nordica's have a wonderful blend of power and precision that is pretty difficult to come by in today's market. Built with Nordica's performance wood core, the skis have a strong start. Add to that their Terrain-Specific metal laminate to boost the power and dampness, and you're getting a pretty smooth ride in any and all conditions and terrain. We talk a lot about the 88's and their ability to do everything really well, and it makes a lot of sense that these will get top-billing when it comes to versatility and power. If it were just the metal and wood for the strength, we'd likely be all set, but Nordica adds their Carbon Chassis to the mix, further boosting the longitudinal stiffness of the ski, and making it very responsive and precise--just how a strong all-mountain ski should be.

Kristi Brown was on the 172, noting that it was a perfect size for her. She’s normally a fan of the Volkl Kenja 88, so this is a very nice comparison ski for her to be on. Other than a score of 3 for flotation and 4’s for torsional stiffness and edge hold, all other scores on Kristi’s card were 5’s, showing that these skis have that high-end well-roundedness that true all-mountain skis should certainly have. She notes that it was “Love at first sight! Big Bonus when the ski matches your kit and skis even better! Lighter weight feel feathering the hill dancing across the surface keeping in step with your tempo as you set the tune! It’s a great toss-up between BP & SA…. See what’s next!” While not the lightest skis in the range, they have that maneuverability that makes a lot of sense for a lot of skiers in the advanced and expert level.

Kerry Douglas-Pearce was also on the 172, and noted that it was a good size, and she’d choose it for herself. She scored the ski very high scores of 5’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. The rest of her scores were 4’s, echoing Kristi’s upper-end baseline on the scorecard. We expect these types of marks on a ski like this, but it’s always nice to see it come through in an empirical manner. Kerry also states about the graphics of the ski: “True beauty from the inside out. Not only are the Santa Anas nice to look at with their beautiful pink/blue mountainscape graphics; their intuitive nature makes turning practically effortless. These are an ideal option for the intermediate to advanced skier looking to enjoy everything from groomers to fresh powder and all the in between. They're also incredibly smooth initiating turns, while maintaining just enough playfulness; making them a fantastic all mountain/all-terrain ski.”

The 2023 Nordica Santa Ana 88 works great for advanced and expert skiers who are looking for a one-ski all-mountain choice in lower-snow zones, or if you ski where it snows more, this would serve well as a narrower option to complement a wider ski. That’s the very nice thing about the Santa Ana lineup, is that they offer something, or some things, for every skier.