2025 Nordica Enforcer 89 Ski Review

It’s not easy to revamp an entire line, especially when that group of skis has made your brand totally famous and successful over the past ten years. The Enforcer line from Nordica has undergone slight changes in its lifetime, but none bigger than those for the four models moving into 2025. The Enforcer 89 is the narrowest of the set and is clearly and certainly the most carving-oriented. That capacity takes another step in 2025, moving the needle even further into the realm of wider carving skis that have all-mountain and freeride DNA deeply embedded in their soul. It’s not that these skis can’t go off-trail or that they’re bad at off-piste skiing, it’s more that they’re so incredibly good at carving turns on groomers. We can get in all sorts of fights about what consists of a good frontside ski, and you’re not going to get an argument from us that these are meant to be frontside carvers—there are obviously way better options out there for purely arced turns. The point we’re trying to make is that we simply like these better on groomers than a lot of skis that are narrower and race based. It’s all about having fun out there and doing what makes you happy as a skier. Having a wider platform but the same rugged construction makes a lot of sense for a lot of skiers, from being able to achieve higher edge angles with increased leverage to performing well on softer groomers and more adverse conditions. Even here in Vermont, home to icy trails, we get softer conditions a whole lot. If you’re on something like a Dobermann Multigara at 70 mm underfoot, the usefulness levels drop a whole lot once the ski starts smushing through the snow surface. Surely, on that purely firm snow, the 70 will outperform the 89, it just may not outweigh the benefits overall of having that wider platform and more versatile shape. This past year, we spent a bunch of time on the new Nordica Enforcer 89, and it presents some awesome comparisons to other skis in the range as well as providing some unique benefits of its own that have little to no equals.

We’re getting a new build for 2025, and that makes the new 89 feel quite a bit different from the outgoing 88. While we’re still dealing with a blend of poplar and beech in the performance wood core, Nordica has sourced a new wood dealer, so the product is going to be different. We can’t tell whether that makes a difference or not, but the new skis feel different than before, so we think there’s something to it. It’s really the sum of the parts that marks the biggest changes rather than one specific thing. On top and bottom of that core are two sheets of titanal. While the previous version had full-width metal, these new 89’s have it taken in 2 mm on each side, so 4 mm narrower overall. This lightens the swing weight ever so slightly while keeping the smoothness and power totally intact. It still feels very robust, resulting in additional performance and energy by subtracting a bit of metal. Other Nordica skis, specifically the Spitfire and Dobermann series, use a Pulse Core laminate in between their horizontal layers. While that technology was originally intended for the front side skis in Nordica’s division, it has now filtered into the all-mountain and freeride realm. This elastomer is found only underfoot in the Enforcer 89, reducing vibrations and keeping the ski smooth and quiet, especially in the central portion. They still use True Tip in the Enforcer series, extending the lighter wood all the way to the end and keeping the ABS mainly out of that zone. As it has always done, True Tip lightens swing weight and increases agility without losing carving power or performance. All told, the new Enforcer 89 sits on the scale at about 2100 grams per ski in the 185. This is a drop of about 100 grams from the previous Enforcer 88 in the 186, so not a wholesale change—both of these skis are still relatively hefty for the ~88 mm range. The 89 is a bit stiffer as well, leading to an extra amount of strength and power both in and out of the turn.

At a Glance:

2025 Nordica Enforcer 89 Skis

There’s not a massive change in shape or profile, but again, the ski just feels different as all the small changes add up to a very different character. One of the major ones is the forward movement of the mount point. We’re 1cm ahead of last year, and that makes a nice difference in how the ski acts on both firm and soft snow. We’re now at 89 mm underfoot, which isn’t a huge change from the 88—it's just about an edge width, so not a ton. What we’ve noticed though, is that the width starts in the waist and continues through the tail in a more dramatic fashion. That is, the ski is considerably wider from waist to tail than it is from waist to tip meaning that there’s just more ski in the back half. This contributes to the stronger finish of the turn that we, and all of our testers, noticed as a primary performance difference on groomers. While the outgoing 88 has measurements of 122/88/110 in the 186, the new one runs 124/89/112 in the 185. While the 2 mm width gain in the tips and tails may indicate that the ski is simply more hourglassed shaped, that isn’t quite the case, or at least in simple terms. The added 1 mm of waist makes a difference, too, but again, the rear portion of the ski features more width change overall than the front half. That extra 2 mm in the tip is more pronounced in the tip only, while the extra 2 mm in the tail is more widespread. As a result, we’re gaining .5 meters in the turn radius, up from 17.5 to 18. Again, many factors are at play here—the wider waist, the taper shape, and the rocker profile all help in producing a slightly longer arc based on the measured radius. That said, this ski still manages to feel turnier and carvier than the outgoing 88. There is reduced length of tip rocker in the 89, and that leads to a longer effective edge—this is one of the components that leads to that slightly longer arc. The ski hooks up more readily as a result, creating that engagement and ripping feeling into the turn. The rocker in the shovel, combined with the shorter taper length, reduces the soft snow character only slightly, but again, we were never really looking at this ski as a soft-snow performer, emphasizing the ski’s uncanny capabilities in a carving and on-trail format. The tail shape follows suit more with the new 104—that ski took a turn to the more directional side of the spectrum with a flatter tail shape than the 104 Free. The , looks almost the same, flattening out the splay with less of a curve. There’s still tail rocker, but it’s more of a bend than a curve, giving the ski more kick at the end rather than a smoother and rounder exit. While the 88/89 were never playful skis, the new version keeps that general theory moving forward with the combination of long camber and stiff flex.

As an all-mountain ski, the Enforcer 89 blends characteristics of off-trail versatility with on-trail precision. The standout performance value in the Enforcers has always been their turning abilities, and that’s a great place to start. Simply put, these skis rail carved turns on groomers with power and stability. In fact, they do it with so much strength that it’s hard to keep up with. We found that on especially firm snow, they are almost too powerful to maintain a pure carve. Skilled skiers, former racers, and experts will be able to tame these skis, especially in the appropriate lengths, but advanced skiers without formal training will have better success in shorter sizes. Once the snow gets slightly softer and more broken, then the ski opens and is more amenable to changing shapes and styles. But on rock-hard surfaces, it’s a tough ski, especially if you’re on the lazier side of the spectrum. Given that this is not intended for laziness, the initiation is crisp and quick, the mid-section is firm and true, and the tail is strong and powerful. From end to end, you can feel every millimeter of this ski as it interacts with the snow. You must hold on tight, activate all your muscles in your body, and drive the skis hard. When you accomplish these things at once, you will be rewarded with a ridiculous amount of performance. If you slouch in any of these areas, trouble will brew. If the edges aren’t totally engaged, the ski will balk and keep trying to hook in. This can lead to a chattery feel if you’re not 100% in a carved and locked turn, but it really only happens when the snow is super hard. Again, anything softer than rock solid and these issues quickly retreat. On broken snow, spring mix, or softer corduroy, the Enforcer 89 is totally engaging and a whole lot more fun. You can use the rocker profile and the width to your advantage in these situations, unlocking the 89’s potential as a wider-bodied carver. This is where the fun discussion comes in regarding a ski like the Enforcer 89 meeting or exceeding a front side ski’s dedicated carving prowess. Other than those few times when the snow is totally bulletproof, the Enforcer 89 is just a more fun carver than something like a Dobermann Multigara or a Spitfire 74. Most skiers like having a wider platform and less racy character. Certainly, there are others who will carve on nothing less than 72 mm underfoot, and that’s fine too. It just seems that if a ski can carve as well as the Enforcer 89, then what’s the problem with it being “wide?”

And then there’s off-trail performance to talk about. This Enforcer 89 does way better than the front side skis in off-piste situations. The performance gap is closer in terms of carving than it is regarding all-mountain versatility. To get the most out of the Enforcer 89 in softer snow, you do have to be an active participant in the process. You can just sit back and let the rocker or the flex of the ski do the work—you must stay on top of the ski. One of the nice changes with the Enforcer 89 is the forward movement of the mount point. The closer you get to the middle, the more swively the ski will be. In tighter spaces like our trees here in Vermont, the slightly more central stance helps to get the tips of the skis around easier and quicker. This isn’t a top choice in this width range for bumps and trees, but it does just fine, especially given the on-trail ability. The best part about this ski from a non-groomer standpoint is the crud, chop, and other adverse condition performance. Enforcer 89 absolutely crushes this zone. With power and strength to spare, the Enforcer is a worthy ski for mixed and challenging snow. Even in fresh snow, the ski stays true to your directives without getting thrown off one iota. It’s about as confident of a ski as you’ll find when it comes to busting and charging through potential hardships. The ski takes a junky situation and totally cleans it up. If you really want a ski that excels in a more playful capacity, that’s what Unleashed 98 is for within Nordica—there are better skis for fun-loving soft snow performance.

Nordica did a great job by adding small changes all over the place to create a totally new ski experience. There’s not one aspect that you can easily point to as the direct change over the previous ski, or why that alteration makes this ski so wonderful—it’s a combination of things that add up to the new Enforcer 89. We often feel the need to label and point to a specific thing rather than enjoy the total sum—we highly encourage the latter when it comes to skiing the new 89. While carving and on-trail performance are highlights, the off-trail capacity is there for the willing. If you like a wider-bodied carver that excels in a turn, this is the place to be.