Nordica Santa Ana 82 26/27

The Nordica Santa Ana 82 is a women's all-mountain ski, 82mm underfoot, and the narrowest, quickest and most forgiving ski in the Santa Ana line - a short-radius frontside carver built for groomers and firm snow. It carries the same core recipe as the wider Santa Anas, but in the slimmest package, where the metal does the most damping.

Nordica builds it as Energy Ti W: a single sheet of terrain-specific Titanal over a poplar-and-beech Performance Wood core, with an elastomer Pulse Core underfoot and a True Tip at the shovel. That one sheet is the key women's-specific detail - the men's Enforcer runs two sheets, the women's Santa Ana runs one, which makes it lighter and more forgiving. Nordica's terrain-specific metal puts proportionally more metal into the narrower models, so within the women's line the 82 carries the most metal for its width. The profile is All-Mountain Rocker with an unlocked tail that lets the ski pivot, skid and release instead of hooking.

The short sidecut - a 13.7-to-15.7m radius across its lengths - is what makes it quick edge-to-edge and easy in bumps and tight spots. At 82mm it is a firm-snow tool rather than a one-ski quiver: the narrow waist floats poorly in deep or wet snow, and it is not a first pair for a progressing beginner. Our full review covers how it skis, and when to step up to the wider 87 or 92 instead.

The Santa Ana 82 comes in five lengths from 150 to 173 cm. It is sold flat, so a binding is a separate purchase; we mount it and help you set the right length and size in-shop.