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Nordica Santa Ana

SnowHot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Nordica's new Enforcer has received accolades aplenty here on Ski Diva and many other sites, and the Santa Ana is just as good for the women. Built off the La Niña platform in the resort powder category, the Santa Ana could belong to the same class as other all-mountain skis; however, its construction and shape make it a great choice for a lightweight skier looking for a powder option. The term “one-ski quiver” tends to be overused, but you really can pack this ski for a trip and know you’ll be fine no matter the conditions, except maybe absolute boilerplate.

Nordica is killing it with this ski.

Who is it for? Skiers who want a strong yet playful one-ski quiver.

Who is it not for? Anyone looking for the NASTAR course.

Insider tip: If you’re thinking about getting these this season, hop to it: they are selling out.
 
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COchick

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I got my La Ninas at Powder 7 last year... great guys, awesome deals. They were in excellent condition - looked almost brand new. (and I'm in LOVE with them... the skis, not the guys...)
 
Next year I will allow myself to buy another pair of skis, something wider. Currently have the Atomic Elysian and love it. One of the contenders is certainly the Santa Ana.
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
I like the idea it's a great choice for a lightweight skier...... thanks for the review. Another one to demo for fun... Think it'll be a good winter in Tahoe.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Will they supplant the Samba in your quiver, @SnowHot? My Sambas are going on their last season this year, I think. I also plan to get my butt into more powder this year since it's the one place I have yet to spend a lot of time. I know the Sambas will be decent there, and of course they pretty much kill it every where else. Is it possible to have two 98-100m skis in a quiver?? Hmmmm...I guess my Sambas won't officially be dead, just ready to go into semi-retirement.

I need to demo the Santa Anas on a powder day, me thinks :becky:
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@SnowHot what are your thoughts on the new Enforcer vs. the Santa Ana? I liked the SAs but am wondering if the Enforcer is a tad bit stiffer and might be a little better suited to my style of skiing. I'm thinking of hunting down a pair to demo.
 
I would be curious about the Enforcer also. I am not necessarily an aggressive skier but I do have it in me and I am NOT a lightweight gal so given both of these factors I typically tend to migrate towards a beefier ski.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I would also be curious, although I'm perfectly happy with the Santa Anas and I think they are plenty stiff for me. I just wonder how much the reviews of the Enforcer will match up to the reviews of the Santa Ana.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
I've arranged to demo both the enforcer and Santa Ana in January as well as the Samba's and bonafides, and added the RMU apostle to the hit list. It is time to relegate the aura's to rock skis so I need to buy new skis.
 
I've arranged to demo both the enforcer and Santa Ana in January as well as the Samba's and bonafides, and added the RMU apostle to the hit list. It is time to relegate the aura's to rock skis so I need to buy new skis.

Please report back in January as you demo them :smile:

I haven't been skiing that long so none of my skis are in the category of rock skis yet. How does one know when its time to relegate a ski to rock ski status?
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've arranged to demo both the enforcer and Santa Ana in January as well as the Samba's and bonafides, and added the RMU apostle to the hit list. It is time to relegate the aura's to rock skis so I need to buy new skis.

Please post your thoughts after your demo!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Please report back in January as you demo them :smile:

I haven't been skiing that long so none of my skis are in the category of rock skis yet. How does one know when its time to relegate a ski to rock ski status?
Have heard people say that all skis are "rock skis" or they aren't being used. :becky: A matter of how you would feel if you go out on a pair of skis and come back with something that needs P-tex to fix.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
Please report back in January as you demo them :smile:

I haven't been skiing that long so none of my skis are in the category of rock skis yet. How does one know when its time to relegate a ski to rock ski status?

In this case, they have had over 100 days on them, and four obvious patches in the same general area of the skis

Please post your thoughts after your demo!

I will
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I haven't been skiing that long so none of my skis are in the category of rock skis yet. How does one know when its time to relegate a ski to rock ski status?

Some people try to keep their skis nice and pristine as long as possible, and so they avoid interesting terrain early season and late season to protect their skis.

To me, this is backwards. I'm out there to ski interesting terrain, not to have pristine skis. And in any case, some of my favorite places can still have bare spots mid season. I just ski the ski I want for the conditions, and cross fingers that any damage can be fixed by a competent ski tech. So far I've given my skis a few core shots, but they're all pretty tiny.
 

RuthB

Angel Diva
Some people try to keep their skis nice and pristine as long as possible, and so they avoid interesting terrain early season and late season to protect their skis.

To me, this is backwards. I'm out there to ski interesting terrain, not to have pristine skis. And in any case, some of my favorite places can still have bare spots mid season. I just ski the ski I want for the conditions, and cross fingers that any damage can be fixed by a competent ski tech. So far I've given my skis a few core shots, but they're all pretty tiny.

This pretty much sums up my attitude - I'm all about interesting terrain, and even mid season there is often some great terrain that have entrances, exits or bits in the middle that for whatever reason don't hold snow well. I don't go out of my way to trash my skis, but I like trees, ungroomed, bumps and other interesting features. Also I'm guessing that skiing style has a bit to do with it - when speed, flex, edging and power meet rock or even smallish sharp stone it's easy to get damage. And sometimes in those situations I'd rather wear the damage to the ski that try and take corrective action that may result in worse damage to me. At other times you go over things with flat bases, no pressure, flew or edging and nothing happens - luck of the draw really.

Some skis I have had have never had any significant base damage - this pair just seems to be a magnet for damage (all of it occurred in low snow years - but when I've paid to fly half way around the world to ski I'm not going to stick to the easy to avoid damage stuff).

To me skis are tools rather than decoration (although I don't think I could ski on a ski that I truly hated the look of - thank goodness for being in the zone where I can ski women's or unisex skis).

So here is what a pair of rock skis looks like!

20151121_131825.jpg

20151121_131914.jpg
 
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mustski

Angel Diva
Will they supplant the Samba in your quiver, @SnowHot? My Sambas are going on their last season this year, I think. I also plan to get my butt into more powder this year since it's the one place I have yet to spend a lot of time. I know the Sambas will be decent there, and of course they pretty much kill it every where else. Is it possible to have two 98-100m skis in a quiver?? Hmmmm...I guess my Sambas won't officially be dead, just ready to go into semi-retirement.

I need to demo the Santa Anas on a powder day, me thinks :becky:

Your Sambas must still be in excellent condition, so if I was you - and living in Utah (:jealous:) - I would look at adding a fatter, more powder dedicated ski to the quiver. You love the Sambas so why retire them? My Auras have many more days than your Sambas and have suffered two base grinds. I still expect to get one more season out of them for sure.
 
I don't think I will have "rock skis either" since they all have that potential depending on what kind of conditions in which I take them out. I mean right now my carver is 80 underfoot so in the event I get another pair of carver skis I'll likely relegate the 80 underfoot ones to be the "rock skis" since they'll be older but other than that I'll just use all my skis whenever I want. I think I am more of a bring x ski out depending on the y conditions or which ever one matches my mood kinda person.
 

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