Individual Review Nordica Proto Project Santa Ana 88

[SSSdave]

Indeed I was wrong, your boot is smaller and mine isn't the 300mm I had for some reason recorded into an info file. I just eyeball measured the boot length with a steel rule as 305mm and the boot shell plastic imprinting shows 306 26.5 so I have a men's size 8.5. The first thing I did after buying the RS110 SC in 2012 was remove the stock footbeds and put my old 1980s resin impregnated cork custom footbeds into the liners. Other than that, have not customized anything and simply adapted my stance as it may that seems to work well though I would not be surprised if a pro boot fitter might surprise me with an improvement. Of all the boots I've owned, these current Lange's are the best fit ever. I tend to crank the 4 buckles down tightly as well as the power strap.

 

[Swede]

Indeed I was wrong, your boot is smaller and mine isn't the 300mm I had for some reason recorded into an info file. I just eyeball measured the boot length with a steel rule as 305mm and the boot shell plastic imprinting shows 306 26.5 so I have a men's size 8.5. The first thing I did after buying the RS110 SC in 2012 was remove the stock footbeds and put my old 1980s resin impregnated cork custom footbeds into the liners. Other than that, have not customized anything and simply adapted my stance as it may that seems to work well though I would not be surprised if a pro boot fitter might surprise me with an improvement. Of all the boots I've owned, these current Lange's are the best fit ever. I tend to crank the 4 buckles down tightly as well as the power strap.

The imprint shows your BSL, Boot Sole Length, in millimeters. 306 mm.

 

[SSSdave]

Received today. Aesthetically impressive finely textured top sheet, a modern masterpiece of materials technology. Now during this pass black out week, in a local Sports Basement shop to mount NX11's I bought from them, I'll be picking up on New Year's Eve. Also that same day going to the big GD show at the new Chase Center Arena so won't be of a mind to ski until at least a couple days later haha and yes am extremely interested in the unknown of how that will go.

New performance skis can be expensive when all is added up. Total cost of skis, bindings, shipping, tax, binding mounting, binding test is $695 (510+135+12+35+3) discounted from otherwise $893 lowest Amazon pricing (600+54+150+13+70+6).

 

[Philpug]

As for binding advice, thanks again Tricia, I value your experienced knowledgeable inputs. Outside of safety, I've never been aware of reasons for more expensive bindings for the kind of rec skiing I do, and don't have experience on what benefits such might offer. Amazingly, apparently the shop has already shipped the skis overnight and are on some upgraded expedited UPS shipping mode. So may get them before next year and if so, will be wise to have the bindings mounted during the upcoming value pass black out period.

I was thinking of the Look NX 11's or Tyrolia RX12 either about $130. Over decades I've usually bought such low end model bindings for my skis and never had issues of not releasing when they needed to or pre-release. Part of that is due to lower forces as I'm light weight, don't tend to ski fast with strong forces, don't do more than small airs, and rarely fall, much less enough to pop out of bindings. When I do fall so, it seems to be on deep fresh snow days where skis end up buried some where at the end of my powder cords.

When you are buying a better binding (in most cases) you are not so much buying a bigger spring but a better housing and a better built binding. There are many times two binding price points, an 11 and 12 (NX11 and NX12) or 12 and 14 (Pivot 12 and 14) in the same family might use the same housings and you ARE just buying a a bigger spring, but in most cases you are not compromising the safety, but more the performance on the binding, Tyrolia Attack 11 and 12/12 ARE different in build and delta. A better built binding will actually make the ski perform better, especially a wider ski (yes 88 is still wide by design) because it is more structually rigid.

Remember too, even though they might offer wider brake options many of these less expensive bindings were never desgined to be on wider skis, so there are forces put into them that they were not designed to take.

 

[SSSdave]

Little me at 5'6" 132# got on these new skis at 165cm today at Kirkwood. A sunny calm upper 30F's day with few visitors. Same frozen snow conditions as others have been reporting this week and accordingly saw almost no one off groomed surfaces. I know little about testing skis, don't ski different skis, so am not one familiar with how different types of skis ski, nor proper terms to describe such. And had never skied a ski similar in flex to these SA's so this was a new experience. Note I did not nor plan to get the new skis waxed or tuned. And note on my 2011 Twisters, I normally just hand touch up stone/file the edges and never wax.

Tricia >>>"With two sheets of metal and rocker-camber-rocker design, this ski absolutely crushes everything in its path"

That sums up what my edges did today from this similar weight person thus with like forces. First ride was up Chair 5 Solitude and down ignored groomed Mokelumne with rills across its moderate gradient surfaces. Immediately began dynamically rebounding confident left and rights off the metal flex that in reverse camber provides a wonderful smooth feel as edges cut through snow. Yeah just the one run down and I knew I was going to have fun on this new tool. The edges had their way cutting smoothly through and across any type of mixed firm groomed surfaces. With my Twisters, after my legs gravity push down into a turn, I need to use a kind of center seated peddle motion pushing down with my arching over back to finish tail edging on a turn. With these SA's I just launch out so my momentum projects gravity weight towards the center of the moving ski and then bending, it tenaciously creates a reversed camber flex cutting smoothy and solidly arcing into the snow turn without having to finish tail edging with much if any downward back pressure. Not having to do so uses less effort for the same result. In other words I just launch aiming my momentum onto a wide easy to balance at center sweet spot and wallah! like a compressed spring am rebounding out balanced and stable into the next turn.

Of course played with all manner of turn shapes, edging, and pressure. On low gradient groomed slopes, the rocker and narrow sidewall like a knife, readily allows rotating smoothly around with 180s. Picking up speed, increasing forces, to flex the skis stronger, cutting deeper in firm snows, delivered at all turn radii, the same smooth tenacious curving turns "crushing' uneveness and snow chunks along the way like they didn't matter. So grade my groomed ski experience significantly more fun than my Twister bump skis that are quite enjoyable themselves. The SA's are simply a bigger tool for someone of appropriate weight to work them.

There was a narrow steep line of skiable moguls with loose snow on Upper Zachary skier's left, that I ran several times. From the cornice ridge top along the groomed edge of Janek's sizeable frozen bumps down to the small mountain hemlock tree split and then right, down better formed bumps past tower 12. The SA's did fine slowly gravity dropping nose to nose on the really steep loose snow bump line at the top and continued well behaved down past tower 12. I have a lot more exploring in moguls to do with the SA's, especially with mid winter packed powder and that will need to wait till we receive storms. My expectation has been that the SA's as a compromise, were not going to be as strong in moguls as the narrow Twisters but now having skied them today, am raising those expectations and see firm conditions where they even have advantages. I was particularly pleased with the way I can make controlled short swing jumps across the fall line into mogul turns when I need to as had wondered if that would be possible given the generally higher speed from its metal flex. Much of that is due to its ideal shape with less shovel width, as is with mogul skis.

Another big question given the metal flex will be if I can center bounce, in various moisture content fresh powder in an efficient way. And if they can do that, at what greater depth or moisture content are they inferior to my 110mm at boot S7's . And also given cold storms, how they ski in various all mountain snow surface conditions.

 

[AmyPJ]

@SSSdave, if you liked them on harder packed snow, you will LOVE them in powder. The soft is where they REALLY shine. Lumpy, bumpy, dense, they smooth it all out. Fresh powder? Density doesn't seem to matter, they handle it very well.

 

[SSSdave]

Last update. Skied 3 more days on the 2020 Santa AnaA 88's filling out use on more snow conditions. Sunday with sunny skies, cold temps, skied Kirkwood steep firm groomers that was similar to the previous day on the skis. Few skiers off groomed with 2 inches of dust on crust. Those steep groomed runs quickly built up small moguls along with flat slabs and loose snow piles. Given the 2 metal layers, a much better easier tool for such firm conditions than my Twisters.

Then sunny cold Monday skied Northstar that had a solid 6 inches of fresh cold mid winter powder a couple days before that was still not enough for beyond groomed trails. The SA 88's continued to work well in my short dynamic turns and at one point skied consecutive fall line non-stoppers down the long 1835 vertical feet of Railsplitter that says a whole lot about being able to find a most efficient center balanced mode on this model. Above image shows similar Burnout. Great ski! Crush it with directed mental awareness at the feet with complementary awareness at my countering pressuring down upper torso.

Also skied the full 1.3k vertical down the lift line of Backside Express, The Rapids that had firm moguls of all sizes, with a few variable inches of loose and new snow about. Difficult enough firm conditions that there were few skiers challenging that slope all day. I waited until afternoon for others to mine it up a bit and afternoon sunlight to reach the skiers right side so I could see it that makes a huge difference for this person. I was able to ski the slope with similar technique to my Twisters and over time had adjusted to the differences. The SA 88's tips have a way of suddenly crossing if I am tightly parallel and not paying attention in a way my Twisters don't, so have learned to avoid doing such and generally have to this point learned to use a slightly wider stance on average in moguls. My first run down averaged 260 feet of vertical per stopping so was linking a lot of fall line turns with considerable forces. The above shows the top lower gradient section of The Rapids that had moderate sized well formed bumps I mowed down non-stops to this point several times. At this point am confident I can take the SA 88's into any mogul fields using familiar technique and have a lot of fun. In firm conditions like it was this day, are a better tool given the metal layers and new edges versus the softer Twisters that more easily conforms tightly on edge to shapes as long as snow is not firm.

Then Tuesday back at Northstar with 6" to 8" of cold dry snow, small soft moguls formed quickly on well skied steeper groomers. The SA 88's smoothly mowed down like it was butter, the center falls lines as I non-stopped such slopes with better ease than my softer Twister might have that tend to get deflected about in such variable junk snow. Also skied considerable untracked shallow powder. Had to adjust my centered balance forward versus my wide soft S7's as they plane through bottoming out powder faster increasingly as slope gradients increase. Thus in steeper sections had to horse through more jump around turns that is fine though uses energy I can't maintain too far. In lower gradient powder, no trouble at all and much fun. Above shot of my first tracks on lower Goldmine shows how they were able to bounce nicely in 6 inches fresh powder. Am likely to use my short Scott The Ski 155cm (89mm at boot) skis on future shallow powder days as on steeper slopes given less surface area, they sink in deeper allowing more control. However the Scotts are otherwise much less versatile so the SA 88's will more often be my choice. On deeper than 10 inch fresh days, the fat Rossignol S7's (110mm at boot) are the still going to be the most fun, but again are not as versatile so there will be other such days up to maybe 15 inch depths on the Nordica's.

This 132 pound wiry ol jackrabbit has clearly decided the 2020 Santa Ana 88's will be my primary day to day ski from now on as it is significantly more fun on all manner of groomer conditions, better than expected in moguls, and decent in a depth range of fresh powder.

 

[SSSdave]

Just back from 3 more days at Northstar on these SA88's at 165cm skis with about 7 runs each day down The Rapids moguls below the Backside Express lift. Wednesday 1/22/20 had a couple of 2 stoppers on the long 1300 vertical feet of bumps that says much about how now after a few days on these new skis, I've established technique becoming confident that they can pretty much have their way on any type of snow conditions one finds in mogul fields. Thursday down at shadowed lower elevations, given some wet snow and balmy temps, bumps had heavier denser loose snow, common in the spring. The skis didn't have any problem moving through with less effort I would need versus the Twister.

Wednesday's weak storm added 2" to 3" fresh overnight giving the bump surfaces a smooth soft surface, so a rare shallow powder bumps experience. A rather tricky mogul slope condition where turning location on sides of mounds is important for flow and impaling a tip in shapes is to be avoided. Was the third person down The Rapids and that was amazing fun as the powder made quick left rights in the direct fall lines noticeable slower without accelerating even in the steepest sections with largest bumps.