Nordica Enforcer 104 Skis 26/27

The Nordica Enforcer 104 is the widest and softest-snow member of Nordica's men's Enforcer line, and most of how it skis traces to one choice: two full sheets of Titanal on a 104mm platform. The metal is what makes the 104 ride quiet and planted as the snow breaks up - independent reviews call it one of the dampest skis in its class - and it is also most of why the ski is heavy, roughly 2.0 kg per ski near the 179. The elastomer Pulse Core between the two metal sheets keeps that mass damp rather than dead, and the True Tip is why a ski this heavy still comes around quickly.

On soft snow the Enforcer 104 does its defining work. The flatter, less-splayed semi-twin tail from the 2024/25 redesign pivots and smears willingly, floating close to the surface, so it drifts and changes direction more intuitively than the narrower Enforcers. Then the surface breaks up and the metal earns its weight: the independent testing we found says the 104 flattens chop, crud and spring slush and stays quiet doing it, and it carves better than a 104mm ski has any right to, with real grip on a groomer.

The honest limit is deep powder. At 104mm the Enforcer 104 floats well in soft snow and smooths out a chopped-up powder day, but in bottomless snow the mass works against the width - testers split, one scoring flotation 9 out of 10, another noting the weight fights the float - so it is not the tool for a deep day. The 104 is also one of the heavier skis in its class, tiring on a long day and real work in tight bumps; that weight is the price of the damping.

Within the men's Enforcer line, the 104 gives up firm-snow edge-to-edge quickness to the narrower 94 and 99, which change edges faster and hold a sharper edge on hardpack; in return it floats more and handles chop and crud better - independent testing found the 104 managed rough snow noticeably better than the 99. For a lighter skier who cannot keep two sheets of metal loaded all day, the 104 gives up ease to the women's Santa Ana 102, the roughly 2mm-narrower counterpart with the same DNA but one sheet of Titanal instead of two, lighter and more forgiving. Choose by build and driving style, not the label on the topsheet.

The Enforcer 104 comes in five lengths, 167 to 191cm, with the sidecut widening as it grows and a medium-to-long 17.5-to-19.5m radius happier carrying speed through a big arc than hopping down a tight trail. Because the weight rewards a skier who keeps it loaded, most advanced-to-expert skiers can size at height or up for stability, while those wanting it manageable in trees and bumps can size down. MSRP is $1,100, fifty dollars over the Enforcer 99 and the priciest in the line. It is sold flat, so the binding is a separate purchase and needs mounting; Nordica's recommended pairing is the Marker Griffon 13.