2023 Nordica Unleashed 98 W

While the Soul Rider skis could certainly have been called unisex, the 2023 Unleashed series makes it official. The Nordica Unleashed 98 W is a fun-loving twin tip with metal in it that makes for both a fantastic park and pipe ski as well as an all-mountain freeride stick. The versatility and usefulness of these skis are off-the-charts awesome, and there are so many advanced and expert lady skiers out there who should at least try a ski like this, even if they never set foot in the terrain park. With a construction that more closely mirrors that of the Santa Ana lineup than anything else, the Unleashed 98 W definitely has more playfulness and freestyle in the shape. Built with a wood core, carbon fiberglass laminate, and a sheet of terrain specific metal that dampens vibrations but doesn’t make the ski sluggish, the Unleashed 98 W came to play—this is a pretty strong ski that loves to be used at a variety of speeds, and has a ton of versatility in terms of uses and skier type.

Alli Ruschp skied the 168 and notes that it’s true to size. Nothing below a 4 out of 5 for Alli on this ski, with the 4’s given for forgiveness and flotation while the 5’s ran the rest of the board. This is about as high of a spread as you can get for a ski, so it’s fairly evident that Alli’s a fan of this ski. She calls it a “Soft snow lover. This was a great ski to test on a soft day. Super responsive, easy to maneuver, and overall very fun to ski. I was very impressed with the feel of this ski, not fatiguing and felt the energy from the ski in my turns. The terrain specific metal (think that's what it's called) helped when I hit an icy patch, great edge hold and stability without chatter. This might be my new favorite wider option for east coast powder days. I cannot wait to try again!” Kristi Brown was on the 174, and while not technically an endorsement of length one way or another, she notes that it felt “zoom a zoom zoom.” Like Alli, Kristi had all 5’s on her card with a lone 4 for flotation. She notes: “Ok ~ did all the top brands just have all their skis made by the same factory during covid as they are skiing more & more align in this category than ever. This new Unleashed goes a little further lightening the weight of the ski without losing performance. Push prod & poke this unleashed ambit no joke 🤪 (getting a little punchy!)” Testing a lot of skis does kind of get silly at the end of the day.

Louise Lintilhac felt the 174 was on the long side, giving her top marks of 5 out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. 3’s went for playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility, with 4’s for flotation quickness, maneuverability, and overall impression. “This ski wants to charge and is suited for someone who can really pressure the fronts of their boots. When you activate them properly, they set an edge and carve with ease. A more forward mount point is probably the right call. Extremely stable at high speed through chop and made skiing crazy bumpy corn snow at the end of the day a breeze. This ski is for advanced skiers who like to go fast.” On the 168, Carly Monahan notes that she “Would love to give this ski another try in softer conditions. Definitely can handle crud and chop and hold an edge in marginal conditions, but expected a more responsive snappier feel. Kinda like that reliable friend who’s always there for ya, always up for anything, but never the one to start the party.”

The versatility of the ski, combined with the fun-loving nature of the twin tip puts the Unleashed 98 W in rare air when it comes to women’s skis. There just isn’t a whole lot out there like this, and for a lot of skiers looking for one ski to do it all, the shape combined with the build just makes sense.