Individual Review Long-Term Review: 2016 Nordica Enforcer 100

[Ron]

Nordica Enforcer 100
Dimensions: 133-100-121
Radius: [email protected]
Size tested: 185
Design: All New

Summary: Hype-worthy soft-snow ski. Ski it to believe it. Now give me a 90mm version please ....

Pros: Stable, quick and smooth, versatile, skis like a low 90s ski, FUN, energetic, damp but with great skier feedback, compliant. No detected tip flap. Point and shoot.

Cons: Every ski has to have a con so I will say I wish the topsheets were different...

Preamble: Warning, my review may seem like déjà vu all over again. Is this just viral marketing gone wild? If it is, the joke’s on Nordica because this ski truly is an instant classic, one that doesn’t need any extra hype. I owned the much-lauded Patron and loved it in Steamboat trees but always wished for less rocker and less width underfoot. Nordica took that lower-rise blunt-nose tip profile, reduced the tail rocker substantially, and created the Enforcer. The Enforcer has two sheets of metal and a full wood core.

Ski impressions: The Enforcer is very smooth and balanced with a lot of energy; it’s a fun ski with a serious side when needed. It has a light but solid feel. Overall, I would call it medium stiff. It is very consistent and flexes proportionally: no portion of the ski is substantially softer or stiffer than another. The tips absorb energy very well when slicing through piles or skiing bumps (see photo). Underfoot it is torsionally stiff, and the tail neither folds in a high-speed turn nor kicks your ass if you get a little behind; it’s fairly forgiving. The Enforcer engages easily and smoothly; some skis' tips hook up quickly but abruptly, but not these. It’s not as precise as a Fischer Motive 95, for instance, but the Fischer has more race DNA in it. The Enforcer is more "pivoty" than the Fischer and others in the class, but it's not trying to be a ski like those. In some ways it has created its own class. In soft snow, the tapered tips and tails allow any turn shape at any speed. The Enforcer is plenty stable; when skiing at a pretty good clip through broken snow, I had a lot of confidence in the ski. I’m sure some bigger, stronger skiers might find a speed limit on groomed snow, but I doubt I will.

Ski performance: These are mounted with Tyrolia Attack demos on the suggested line.

• Soft groomers: Wow! FUN! I wasn't expecting the ski to be as quick. The ski does have a fair amount of low rise rocker and tapered tips and tails so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it hooked up, held a carved turn and I could not detect any tip flap. For 100mm underfoot, the Enforcer was quick and smooth. It was quite happy changing turn shape at will. I had a blast with short & medium radius turns along the edges in the softer pushed stuff. The 18.5m TR responds so well to subtle pressuring of the edges and has great energy when arced and released. On long GS turns, the ski was super stable with a large sweet spot. I am not advocating a 100mm ski for groomers but this worked just fine.
• Powder: In 8 to 11 in. of mostly untracked powder, it handled just fine. I will use this ski for anything fresh between 4 and 10 in.
• Crud: Here’s where the Enforcer really started to show its true mettle. Skiing from the center, the Enforcer just blasted through piles; it was a hoot! Damp but not dead at all, just smooth. I was actually working far less through this challenging but fun snow.
• Bumps: The Enforcer was right at home in big soft piles with harder scraped-off troughs. It was very easy to “point and shoot” with this ski. The 18.5m radius is quick and responsive; coupled with the dialed flex, again, I was really expending less effort skiing.
• Trees: I didn’t ski the Enforcer in trees but I ski a lot of Steamboat trees so I have a pretty good idea about what works in the woods. After skiing the bumps, I am confident that the Enforcer will be fantastic in the trees.

Summary: The Enforcer is a ski that will please almost any level of skier from intermediate up to expert, although advanced intermediates and up will probably get the biggest bang out of it. To me, it is right at home on anything soft. Pair it with an 85-90mm ski, and you have a damn fine two-ski quiver.

 

[Philpug]

Thanks Ron for a great review. I will be adding more soon as will many other members.

 

[SBrown]

I skied the 185 this morning for a couple runs. Mostly on groomers, but also on a few sections of soft cruddy bumps.

Truly this ski deserves all its praise. I think I could ski the 193, and the 169. The only criticism I have, and it's kind of a big one, is those red tips. I could not stop noticing them, and I felt like

 

[Ron]

Lol. See that's my only real criticism. I already put Grass Sticks And Steamboat stickers on mine (and Pugski will go on when they arrive ).

I agree abo tthe length too. I recommended the 193 on another thread for someone who was north of 200# and 6'. I really don't the 193 would ski that long.

 

[Monique]

Could someone (@SBrown ) comment on the experienced (as opposed to on paper) difference between the Santa Anas and the Enforcers? I'm pretty confident that the Santa Ana was the right choice for me, and I love the thing to bits, but would you say the Enforcer is better for someone with stronger, more aggressive technique? Would the same person like both, or is it pretty clearly an either/or? Situational?

 

[Ron]

Speaking only about the enforcer however I have to believe the same would be for the Santa Anna, the ski does not require agressive input. I am not an aggressive skier. I think it's pretty ameniable to the finesse skier as well as a skier with a more aggressive style. It's a ski that responds well to input.

 

[SBrown]

Could someone (@SBrown ) comment on the experienced (as opposed to on paper) difference between the Santa Anas and the Enforcers? I'm pretty confident that the Santa Ana was the right choice for me, and I love the thing to bits, but would you say the Enforcer is better for someone with stronger, more aggressive technique? Would the same person like both, or is it pretty clearly an either/or? Situational?

Well, I definitely liked both. They are very similar, mostly the SA is lighter. I haven't skied them in the same conditions yet, so I'm going to waffle here a bit. Personally speaking, the SA blew me away when I skied it because it felt so wimpy but did whatever I wanted, at a pretty good clip. I didn't ski the Enforcer until a few months later, and both times it has been mostly on firmer snow, where its metal was helpful, I'm sure. So yeah, stating the obvious, if you are bigger and faster, the Enforcer is most likely better than the SA. But I wasn't on the SA long enough (or on firm groomers) to really make a judgment.

As soon as my daughter skis hers, I will borrow them and try to give a better answer. But I'll let her ski her new skis first.

 

[markojp]

I have a pair (185) ready for mounting... will do a Attack 13. Will do a longer term review after spending some more time on them.

 

[Ron]

Looking forward to your thoughts

 

[Downtown]

Curious of your comparisons to the Blizzard Bonafide. Thanks for the review!

 

[Ron]

Very different skis. The bone is much more serious, less float but more precise In the turn initiation. As I said, the enforcer is really a fun, energetic ski that is really at home in softer snow although can handle firmer snow just fine. It's just that the enforcer is built for soft snow. The Bonafide is fine in soft snow but imho is not as much fun or as good. The bone is a much better firm to harder snow.

 

[Downtown]

Ron,

Thank you for the response. I currently have ski a Patron for big pow days, and a Dynastar Speed Course for mostly hardpack. The Patron is great in the deep, but quickly wears me out when the Pow is skied out. I used to switch to a 2013 Mantra which was just right (hate the new Mantras), anyway...skied the 14/15 Bones in mixed snow...some Pow (under 8") and just loved them. This was the model prior to the new Carbon tips. I felt I needed a ski for those soft snow days when the untracked is gone, but still want to have fun (this sounds like the Enforcer)...is this what I'm reading correctly?

I find myself going to the groomers or chutes (Great Scott) on my Dynastar when the Pow's chewed up...but maybe it's because I've had the wrong ski...and maybe the Enforcer is the missing tool...but I was thinking the Bonafide would give me this.

It sounds like the Enforcer leans to the soft snow and the Bones to the hard, but both will do vice versa.

Let me ask you this....which ski in your opinion is better at their weaker area (for Enforcer...the hard snow, and for the Bonafide...the soft snow)?

Thanks again, and dig the site!

DT

 

[Ron]

I'm going to call in @Philpug on this as he has a good amount of time on both.

 

[Drahtguy Kevin]

I'll throw in my $.02. I have the new Bones (carbon tip) and old Bones and have had time on the Enforcer, albeit on one size too short. I would want a 193 Enforcer. I also own the Patron.

If you like the tip shape and the way it engages on the Patron, you'll like the Enforcer's as well. They are very similar in feel and action. I liked the Enforcer everywhere I took it -- including groomers. The Bones definitely handles hard snow and heavy crud better than the Enforcer, IMHO. I ski much more aggressively than Ron does which is why I favor the stiffer Bone (can I type that here?). The Enforcer is more than capable, however. I've found I need to carry more speed in powder with the Bone than I did with the Enforcer to stay afloat. The Enforcer pivots slightly better too when flattened while, to me, the Bones does better on edge. Basically it comes down to what you want out of the ski. My more aggressive, charging style pointed toward the Bones. I did a lot of pondering on the matter though.

 

[Ron]

Good input. The design of the enforcer clearly makes it more soft snow centric. I also own the patron and it has a similar feel More serious bone , more soft snow more fun enforcer. Agree on pivoty and easy as well.

 

[Downtown]

Thanks Ron and Kev...yes...I approve the humor

I'm definitely more of a charger style skier, but maybe I'd back off and enjoy the tracked soft stuff more if I had the weapon

 

[Ron]

You can charge on the enforcer. It's just as stiff longitudinally.

 

[Philpug]

Yesterday was the first powdery we had here in Tahoe in what seems like years. While Northstar did a good job pf making down the 16" of snow that just hit there were still some fresh pockets of snow on the sides of the trails and a couple of trails they opened which were left un groomed. Now I do have about 30 days on these from last season but it was nice to get these out this year in their proper environment.

The Enforcer just does not disappoint. Getting it into the new snow allowed the Enforcer to show it's true colors and how much fun it is! This ski has such a laid back personality and is so easy going that it will do whatever you ask of it. Nordica just nailed the profile of the ski, the Enforcer has just the right amount of rise with it's hammerhead tip and what they did to the tail was just money. The Enforcers tail will hold or release and to anything you ask of it in any condition. Yes, the ski skis short, I would be more comfortable on the 185 but the 177 is just a blast to ski, especially on low angle terrain. I am thinking my next pair will be a 185 but in the meantime I am enjoying these and have no regrets.

The Pugski sticker looks good on the black, I can't wait to see how the red/bue sticker looks on the red/blue skis.

 

[Blue Streak]

How does it compare to the Rossignol E100?

 

[Philpug]

How does it compare to the Rossignol E100?

So different they could coexist in the same quiver.