They May Not Be Convenient, but These Are the Skis You Want on the Best Day of the Season

For good reason, truly massive skis tend to scare off a good portion of skiers. Not only is the main use case (super deep powder days) an exceedingly rare occasion for most of us, the technique and strength required to pilot a pro-level big mountain ski is a bit more than the average skier can realistically handle. However, there’s something just deeply satisfying about clicking into a pair of absolute boats to blast through grin-inducing depths of snow on a powder day. That’s where Nordica’s largest addition to the backcountry freeride focused Unleashed range—the new-for-last-season Unleashed 120—joins the fray.

While this might have been one of the largest skis we tested this year (at 190cm long, with a 120mm waist), the ski actually possesses a surprisingly friendly character with easily harnessable performance. Don’t take that to mean that the ski can’t handle huge lines, high speeds, and the deepest snow (it certainly can), but it won’t tire you out immediately. 

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2027 Nordica Unleashed 120 Specs

• Size skied: 190cm
• Lengths available: 180cm, 190cm
• Sidecut: 150mm – 120mm – 139mm (190cm)
• Radius: 22m (190cm)
• Profile: twin rocker
• Weight: 2210g (190cm)

Shape, Flex and Construction 

Nordica skis have a bit of a reputation for being burly, stiff, and overly aggressive, catering to ex-ski racers and those of us who don’t skip leg day at the gym. Back in the day, Nordica skis like the Patron and the double metal-laminate Helldorado were favorites among hard-charging big mountain riders who wanted a tool to plow through pow and crud in the resort. Those were followed by Nordica’s more refined Unleashed series, which now includes the 120mm-waisted Unleashed 120.

From a shape standpoint, the Unleashed 120 sports a fairly traditional-looking fat twin-tip silhouette, with long and deep rocker lines in the tip and tail. Where a lot of brands have gone with lower-rise rocker profiles, there’s a significant amount of tip and tail splay on these big dogs. Turn radius is a long 22 meters (on the 190cm version we tested), with contact points closer to the tip and tail than many other large powder skis, resulting in a fairly long effective edge. 

Inside, things are pretty par for the course when it comes to Nordica: wood and metal. Surprise! The narrower skis in the Unleashed lineup actually feature more metal and less carbon, but the wider Unleashed 120 still incorporates a layer of Titanal (not full width) plus carbon woven into the fiberglass to add damping and stiffness to the ski. Nordica calls this terrain-specific metal construction. The skis are very stiff underfoot, with slightly softer but still quite stiff tips and tails.

Given the shape, it was cool to see a brand finally take a hint from more freestyle-oriented skiers and suggest a mount point that’s a bit closer to center than most. Some testers suggested moving it up 1 or 2cm from the rec line to make it more jib-friendly, but I found that almost makes the stance feel too far forward when skiing in deep snow—which is kind of the whole point of the ski. 

On-Snow Performance

So a stiff 120mm underfoot ski must be a one-trick pony, right? Well, sort of. It certainly excels at what it’s meant to do: rip huge turns in big terrain, but what surprised me and other testers the most was how easy it actually was to ski outside of that envelope. 

I was taken aback at how easy to ski the Unleashed 120 was. I expected it to harbor the usual overly stiff Nordica feel, but, while stout, it’s actually quite friendly and makes skiing variable snow in big mountain terrain feel like it’s on autopilot. In pow, it’s very floaty, and wants to make big, open, drifty turns.

They don’t turn as quickly as a narrower-waisted ski with a shorter radius would, but they do make skiing really fast feel like you’re barely moving. It needs space to maneuver, but if you have that, it will stomp anything. 

“This ski is a big mountain weapon that has enough energy to snap off smaller turns too. Big open terrain with features that require good pop and ability to transfer is awesome,” said one tester.

In reality, however, it’s not really maneuverable enough to be a practical everyday resort ski. It’s still quite a lot of work to control, and it left me pretty tired after only a few laps, but those laps were REALLY fun. It’s a bit heavy to use as a dedicated touring ski, but I could see this being a solid tool to mount with a hybrid binding for lift-access or sled-access backcountry skiing.

Comparisons

Unlike more versatile all-mountain skis, super-fat twin-tip powder skis aren’t necessarily a dime a dozen today. We don’t live in the golden days of the “fat and floppy era” anymore, but there are still a few things out there to compare it to, namely the Rossignol Sender Free 118 and the new Blizzard Canvas 118. 

Compared to the Rossignol Sender Free 118, this was just a more fun, more engaging, and more versatile ski overall. It could still charge the fall line at speed if you wanted it to, but it draws you in to making those quicker, shorter turns, whereas the Rossignol was clearly happier being pointed downhill so it could power and blast through stuff. 

Next to the new Blizzard Canvas 118, the Unleashed 120 harbors a much more charge-y character. The Canvas 118 is really a relatively soft freestyle ski that’s meant to play around in pure powder, whereas the Nordica has a bit more backbone to charge.

It’s also worth comparing the ski to the newly updated Nordica Unleashed 106. Compared to the narrower 106, the 120 is a great example of scaling up a ski within the same line. It’s got a similar feeling on snow and will cater to the same skier, just for deeper conditions and more aggressive backcountry/big mountain skiing.

What Type of Skier Is the Nordica Unleashed 120 Best For? 

As mentioned earlier, skis of this scale aren’t really for everyone. This won’t be a great daily driver unless you’re a heli- or cat-skiing guide, have a lengthy Japan trip on the calendar, or you spend a ton of time in the backcountry with a snowmobile. 

In fact, it’s the kind of ski that’s best reserved for those 15+ inch days where the plan is to smash pillow lines, charge a big open face, or otherwise bounce around in bottomless pow. That doesn’t happen all that often for most of us, but we can dream, right?