Review: 2027 Nordica Santa Ana 97

If ever there was a 2008 Subaru Legacy Outback of skis, it’s the Nordica Santa Ana 97. Versatile, reliable, sturdy, but when you give it to a dirtbag that will use the hell out of it or really hit the gas, it’ll surprise you with just how sendy and rad it can be.

Maybe that’s a far-fetched analogy, but the Santa Ana 97 really does compliment the rest of the Santa Ana line as truly one of the most versatile women’s skis on the market that doesn’t make the same compromises as so many other women’s skis. The second widest ski in Nordica’s women’s all-mountain line up, behind the 102, the Santa Ana 97 might be one of the most true “all-mountain’”skis to exist. A waist narrow enough to rip hardpack, a little rocker and shovel in the tip for fresh snow, and a construction that keeps it damp even in chopped up, icy, crud, the Santa Ana 97 remains a tried and true facet of Nordica’s lineup in 2026. 

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2027 Nordica Santa Ana 97 Specs

• Size skied: 167cm
• Lengths available: 150cm, 155cm, 161cm, 167cm, 173cm, 179cm
• Sidecut: 129mm – 97mm – 117mm
• Radius: 17.5m (173cm)
• Profile: All mountain rocker
• Weight: 2000g

Shape, Flex, and Construction

Like the rest of the Santa Ana lineup, the Santa Ana 97 comes in a nice range of sizes for a range of skiers and preferences. The skis’ radius is adjusted for each length, but falls somewhere in the 15-17 meter radius, for a predictable turn that’s not too snappy, but doesn’t send you flying into the ether either. 

At 97mm underfoot, this ski falls pretty squarely into your all-mountain category with the ability to carve, but a bit more width in the tip and tail doesn’t hurt on days where there’s fresh snow either. Nordica updated the tail shape in 2025 and has kept it the same since, to increase the rise a bit and allow the ski to pivot at slower speeds in tighter terrain, without sacrificing stability. 

Where Nordica really hits the nail on head with the Santa Ana is in its construction. A beech/poplar wood core keeps the ski delightfully light and poppy, while an elastomer layer works to dampen the ski. What Nordica calls their TSM Pulse Core is completed by a sandwich of Titanal that’s tailored in width to the width of each ski in the Santa Ana lineup to provide the right amount of dampening, edge grip, and stability for the ski’s intended use. The narrower the ski, the more metal for optimized performance on hardpack,  the wider the ski, the less metal to keep it playful in soft snow. Rarely do we find women’s specific skis with two sheets of Titanal in them, and boy is it refreshing. There’s no doubt the TSM Pulse Core makes the Santa Ana a hard-charging ski, but since when did ‘women’s ski’ and ‘hard-charging’ need to cancel each other out?

On Snow Performance

True to the nature of the Santa Ana, the 97 is an approachable and intuitive, yet ultra-capable ski. The first few days of our 2026 ski test at Grand Targhee delivered some pretty firm and marginal conditions before turning to heavier, weird snow, and finally powder. In those first days, the Nordica Santa Ana 97 didn’t back down at refrozen rain crusts, chunky slush, and even patches of mud. “It seems like an all-mountain powerhouse. I skied it mostly on the groomers in an array of conditions and it handled it all. I was really impressed with how well it got on edge,” said one tester of the Nordica Santa Ana 97.

However, unlike some other high-performance, metal, crud-busting skis, the Santa Ana 97 manages to remain delightfully playful. The poplar core leaves a bit of spring in its construction, underneath all that Titanal, meaning this ski is as equipped for side hits, bopping around in the trees, and popping off moguls as it is for trenching turns. There’s no doubt the combination of stability and playfulness that the Santa Ana 97 seems to nail is a highly sought after one. As a result, the Santa Ana 97 is a ski that doesn’t make many compromises and where it might, another width of the same ski probably makes up for that.

Comparisons

One of the standout qualities of the Santa Ana 97 is how intuitive it is as a ski, not unlike the Salmon QST 100. The obvious difference between these two skis is the waist width and side cut that make the QST 100 a bit more equipped to perform in deeper snow. However, considered as two all-mountain, daily driver picks, the layers of metal in the Santa Ana 97 cater more towards those who like an aggressive ski than the Salomon QST 100. While the QST 100 is plenty damp, it might lack a bit of the edge-grip and driveability of the Nordica. On the flip side, where the Nordica may lack a touch of playfulness, although it still has plenty, the QST 100 encourages a creative skier.

The other standout, hard charging women’s ski the Santa Ana 97 often goes up against is the Blizzard Sheeva 9. The Sheeva 9 has pretty darn similar dimensions (129mm-96mm-118.5mm in a 174cm) to the Santa Ana 97, although the ski’s tip is a bit more shovel shaped and has a good bit more tip and tail rocker, which lends itself a bit better to floating in deeper snow. However, where the Santa Ana 97 uses two full sheets of Titanal, the Sheeva only has metal along its edges and instead uses a piece of fiberglass along the length of the ski underfoot to lighten it up. In contrast to the Santa Ana 97 (and the Rustler 9, which also uses Titanal underfoot), the use of fiberglass versus Titanal and tip rocker in the Sheeva make for a lot more chatter and vibration on hardpack. Despite this, the Santa Ana 97 is also a slightly more intuitive ski than the Sheeva 9.

What type of skier is the Nordica Santa Ana 97 best for?

The Nordica Santa Ana 97 is an excellent women’s ski for a range of abilities and skier styles. Those looking for a dependable, yet fun, daily driver at a mountain like Steamboat, Grand Targhee, or Deer Valley can’t go wrong with the Santa Ana 97. A ski that will grow with one’s abilities, it would also be a great ski to take an intermediate skier to feeling confident and charging in advanced terrain. Where East Coast skiers might enjoy something narrower and stiffer as a daily driver, the Santa Ana 87 would compliment it. For those out West who want a little more width and float, the Santa Ana 102 is the next place to look.