Unleashed Redeux
If you’ll indulge this gear writer, a quick story time. A few seasons back, Nordica launched a new series of freeride skis to compliment their uber-popular directional Enforcer and Santa Ana skis. They kept the metal, but gave it more rocker and high tip and tail splay. Those original Unleashed skis were sweet—they had the predictable and smooth riding feel with a bit more surf and swivel than the directional skis. But, if playful freeride was what they were going for, it lacked a bit of zip and energy. Enter: the brand new Unleashed 106. In this Nordica Unleashed 106 review, we dive into how it differs from the old skis, where it fits in the freeride scene these days, and where it excels.
Nordica Unleashed 106 Review: Field Notes
The Unleashed 106 gets a whole new mold and construction. On the inside, Nordica transitions this ski to a poplar woodcore, with a tip-to-tail carbon strip, and their new “drift lock metal” partial sheet. Overall, you get less metal , with this partial sheet running shorter than the terrain specific metal. It extends just a bit past the bindings into the tip and tail, and doesn’t run edge-to-edge either. That gives you power though the midfoot and center of the ski, while giving you a bit more energy and pop.
When it comes to the shape of the ski, the old Unleashed 108 was sort of sneaky directional. Where it had dramatic tip and tail splay, it didn’t have a tremendous amount of rocker or taper, which contributes to a ski feeling manuverable. The new Unleashed has much more rocker and tail taper. On paper, that should equal a ski that feels more drifty, surfy, and easy to release behind you.
New for this year too is the Unleashed 106 CA, which has the same shape as the new 106 but no metal. Just like the Unleashed 98 CA that was released last year. Since the shape is the same, you can imagine that most of the things here will correlate to the non-metal ski.
Both the Unleashed 106 CA and Unleashed 106 come in full size runs, just with different start and end points. The CA will go down to a 152cm, perfect for shorter riders and freeride groms, but skips the 190cm.
Here are some more tech specs:
Dimensions: 136.5 – 106 – 125.5 (171cm)
Sizes: 157, 164, 171, 178, 185, 190
Radius: 16.7 meters (171cm)
At around 5’8″ and 135lbs, I skied the 171cm, which worked well for me. I could probably get along with the 178cm, but may feel a bit bulky in tight terrain. I’d say this is something you can size pretty true to your normal length, but can size up in if you normally are keen on big skis.
Groomers
At 106mm underfoot, we don’t really expect this ski to arc carves like a dedicated carving ski. That said, every lap I came down saying “this ski carves better than it has any right to.” Ripping around on everything to fresh courdroy to skied off afternoon funkiness, this ski remains reliable and precise in its edgehold.
You’d think adding some more taper, rocker, and taking away metal would make this ski feel more nervous and chattery. And while it may feel less “damp”, it gains so much rebound going from turn to turn. That makes it a much more engaging ski to carve.
It’s still not quite as nimble as something like an Elan Ripstick 108 or Black Crows Atris. But, those skis lack metal and a bit of suspension when pushing through choppy snow or carving over exceedingly firm snow.
Bumps and Trees
Where the old Unleashed 108 felt extremely planted and predictable, albeit a bit sluggish, the Unleashed 106 blends pop with the stability and damp feeling of metal. It’s also much easier to release in tight terrain than the previous version. While there was tons of tail splay, the shape was kind of secretly directional. This ski feels very intuitive to flick sideways and slash around on.
That said, it still has metal. So in some soft chop or sneaky refrozen variable snow, the skis track smoothly and hold up to high speed skiing through this funky snow. In our low snow year, I’ve been skiing it mostly in a few inches of fresh, chalk, through bumps that have a few…obstacles. It easily swivels underneath me when I need to shut things down if a rock pops up out of nowhere.
It’s also pretty easy to do that, despite the stiffer construction. The partial metal shape helps a lot with that, keeping the tip and tail a little softer. I feel like I can easily recover from a backseat landing or last minute turn, and then roll easily back into the shovels. Sometimes metal skis can have an “on/off” button feeling, with a distinct moment of engaging the ski versus being completely off. The Unleashed isn’t like that at all. The front half of the ski feels like a nice, round flex. You can smoothly roll into a more aggressive forward stance. Which, in tight terrain, is awesome for manuvering around and making last minute turns.
Powder and Mixed Snow
We haven’t gotten a chance to ski the Unleashed 106 in perfect dreamy powder yet, but I have gotten a good amount of turns in mixed conditions. The Unleashed 106 is clearly going for a sweet spot. Stiff enough for stability and good tracking that makes you feel confident for fast skiing, but lively enough for good pop off of hits and bouncing in and out of deepers snow. Overall, I think they crushed it.
Because the metal doesn’t extend all the way through the tip, I found the very end to get deflected just a smidge in some chunk. But not nearly enough to feel unstable or to feel like the ski is unpredicatable. If you’re looking for an absolute chef’s knife that slices through refrozen crud like nobody’s business at speed, you might be lacking a little juice here. That said, it packs a punch for how easy it is to ski.
For me, this balance of metal keeps things fun and surfy in the front of the ski, while giving you the reliability underfoot that helps you ski confidently. The tip shape and taper makes the most of any little soft spots you might find. It feels incredibly fluid to link turns together to help you find a flow state in soft snow that so many of us are looking for. And, this ski feels remarkably stompy as a landing pad for everything from little side hits to big drops.
Downside?
By going for a Goldilocks feel, you can sometimes lose a bit of character or lose the folks looking for a specific feel. This is no Volkl Mantra 108 or Kastle Paragon 107. But it certainly is more gas than a K2 Reckoner 110/102, an Atomic Bent 110, or an Armada ARV 106. So, if you’re a skier who likes a lot of bend and pop, you might be missing some jibbiness here. If you like a real hard charger that rides glued to the snow and fall line, you’ll be left wanting a little here.
Compared to some other skis in this middle man category, the Unleashed still skis more like a damp Nordica than a poppy alternative. For example, something like the Blizzard Rustler offers a bit more snap out of turns, while the Unleashed rides just a bit more glued to the snow.
Nordica Unleashed 106 Review: The Bottom Line
In a word? Balance. These skis come alive off trail, feel solid ripping groomers, and overall feel like the perfect pair for someone who needs a freeride ski that is confidence inspiring to push things a little. They don’t want to be locked into the hard charging fall-line hawk nature of some directional models, but they also want some rigidity for confidence in steeper terrain and bad snow conditions. Soft skis are great for jibbing and soft snow conditions, and no doubt hard chargers rip on some real bendy skis.
But for the every-skier, loose and jibby skis can feel a little unsteady in big-mountain conditions. That’s where the Nordica Unleashed strikes excellent balance. It’s got a drifty and manuverable shape that encourages you to explore lots of the mountain, but with a bit of power and steadiness underfoot to help you push yourself a bit.
