fgor
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
About me: 5'3, 115lb cautious intermediate skier in New Zealand (ski blues and reds). Demoed at Mt Hutt ski field.
Current daily drivers - 2020 Black Pearl 88 @159cm.
These demos will come to an end pretty shortly, don't worry, I'm running out of companies who have skis I'm interested in! Lately though the brands have been up at my local ski area in full force, and it's fun to try skis I've always heard of but never been on.
In this case I had heard of - but not ever demoed - the 2020 (and the years prior) Nordica Santa Ana 93. Last season I wasn't vastly interested in it anyway so I didn't mind that I never got on it - it sounded like a heavy advanced ski, not really what I was after. After hearing so many positive things about it, I became really interested in trying it out, especially to see how different it might feel to my current ski (2020 Black Pearl 88) - but they went and changed it! Among other changes, Nordica removed one of the two sheets of metal. Obviously I can't demo that ski anymore now, it's gone! - but - I figured I'd have a crack on the ski it was replaced with.
It was a beautiful day -
- as long as you stayed on the groomers ;)
Nordica/Blizzard/Head were at the ski area. I've already demoed a couple of Head skis (great skis, too) and wasn't particularly interested in trying the more updated version of the BP88, just in case I liked it more than my current one and felt bad!! That left Nordica as the obvious choice, so I went and asked for some Santa Anas. I was given them in a 158cm size which seems pretty much perfect given I ski the BP88 in 159.
I did a total of four runs on this ski - two in the morning, then two in the afternoon. I was interested to see if the ski felt very damp and stable compared to my BP88, considering that's kinda what I'd heard about the previous version, with the two sheets of metal.
I found that honestly, it didn't feel super damp compared to the BP88. I've been on damper skis (though some of those were pretty boring skis too). Turn initiation felt quite similar to the ol' BP so I think the skis might have quite similar shapes and profiles. I find them both fairly quick edge-to-edge, and they both feel similarly pivoty/light (which is interesting because I know that the SA93 is a heavier ski). In that sense it felt quite familiar so there wasn't really a getting-to-know-the-ski period. However, the Santa Ana has noticeably more energy coming out of turns. Each time I turned, I felt that the ski was springing me into the next turn. It was FUN! I jumped back onto the BP88 directly after I demoed the SA93, just to check I wasn't making it up, and no - the SA93 really feels very springy to me in comparison. It makes you want to turn more, and put more energy into your skiing because it's so rewarding.
Keep in mind that I am comparing a 2020 BP88 to a 2021 SA93 here - the 2021 BP88 was changed and I can't say anything about it, having not been on it!
The demo tech said that the extra springiness was due to the sheet of metal in the Santa Anas. I jumped back on my own skis for the middle of the day, then in the afternoon when it started to get quieter, wandered back over to see if I could have another go on the SAs, to see if they were still fun when the conditions had deteriorated and I didn't have as much energy as I did in the morning. The answer - yes. These skis really feel to me like a much springier, more energetic version of my ski. I just love how they almost seem to be pushing/helping you into the next turn. I didn't get a chance to take them off the groomers due to the conditions, unfortunately.
In conclusion - maybe Nordica messed up by making their Santa Ana 93 into a slightly softer ski and removing some of the metal in it - and maybe the 2021 ski will appeal to a different range of skiers because of it - but in my opinion, the ski they have made is a bloody fantastic ski, at least for the segment of the market that includes me . If I didn't already own the BP88 I'd be sorely tempted to rush out and buy this ski right now. I could see a lot of people enjoying the 2021 SA93.
Current daily drivers - 2020 Black Pearl 88 @159cm.
These demos will come to an end pretty shortly, don't worry, I'm running out of companies who have skis I'm interested in! Lately though the brands have been up at my local ski area in full force, and it's fun to try skis I've always heard of but never been on.
In this case I had heard of - but not ever demoed - the 2020 (and the years prior) Nordica Santa Ana 93. Last season I wasn't vastly interested in it anyway so I didn't mind that I never got on it - it sounded like a heavy advanced ski, not really what I was after. After hearing so many positive things about it, I became really interested in trying it out, especially to see how different it might feel to my current ski (2020 Black Pearl 88) - but they went and changed it! Among other changes, Nordica removed one of the two sheets of metal. Obviously I can't demo that ski anymore now, it's gone! - but - I figured I'd have a crack on the ski it was replaced with.
It was a beautiful day -
- as long as you stayed on the groomers ;)
Nordica/Blizzard/Head were at the ski area. I've already demoed a couple of Head skis (great skis, too) and wasn't particularly interested in trying the more updated version of the BP88, just in case I liked it more than my current one and felt bad!! That left Nordica as the obvious choice, so I went and asked for some Santa Anas. I was given them in a 158cm size which seems pretty much perfect given I ski the BP88 in 159.
I did a total of four runs on this ski - two in the morning, then two in the afternoon. I was interested to see if the ski felt very damp and stable compared to my BP88, considering that's kinda what I'd heard about the previous version, with the two sheets of metal.
I found that honestly, it didn't feel super damp compared to the BP88. I've been on damper skis (though some of those were pretty boring skis too). Turn initiation felt quite similar to the ol' BP so I think the skis might have quite similar shapes and profiles. I find them both fairly quick edge-to-edge, and they both feel similarly pivoty/light (which is interesting because I know that the SA93 is a heavier ski). In that sense it felt quite familiar so there wasn't really a getting-to-know-the-ski period. However, the Santa Ana has noticeably more energy coming out of turns. Each time I turned, I felt that the ski was springing me into the next turn. It was FUN! I jumped back onto the BP88 directly after I demoed the SA93, just to check I wasn't making it up, and no - the SA93 really feels very springy to me in comparison. It makes you want to turn more, and put more energy into your skiing because it's so rewarding.
Keep in mind that I am comparing a 2020 BP88 to a 2021 SA93 here - the 2021 BP88 was changed and I can't say anything about it, having not been on it!
The demo tech said that the extra springiness was due to the sheet of metal in the Santa Anas. I jumped back on my own skis for the middle of the day, then in the afternoon when it started to get quieter, wandered back over to see if I could have another go on the SAs, to see if they were still fun when the conditions had deteriorated and I didn't have as much energy as I did in the morning. The answer - yes. These skis really feel to me like a much springier, more energetic version of my ski. I just love how they almost seem to be pushing/helping you into the next turn. I didn't get a chance to take them off the groomers due to the conditions, unfortunately.
In conclusion - maybe Nordica messed up by making their Santa Ana 93 into a slightly softer ski and removing some of the metal in it - and maybe the 2021 ski will appeal to a different range of skiers because of it - but in my opinion, the ski they have made is a bloody fantastic ski, at least for the segment of the market that includes me . If I didn't already own the BP88 I'd be sorely tempted to rush out and buy this ski right now. I could see a lot of people enjoying the 2021 SA93.