Curated Skiing Expert Sara Beeken got her hands on the 2024 Nordica Unleashed 108 Tree this spring. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every skier is different; if you have any questions about the Nordica Unleashed 108 Tree or need recommendations on which ski would be best for you, reach out to a Skiing Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Nordica claim about this ski? Nordica claims that this is an advanced - expert, big mountain, freeride ski.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of the ski? My overall impression of these skis was a really, really good one. These are fantastic. I had so much fun on them. They were playful. They were also a little bit stiffer than some other twin tips I've been on so I could carve groomers, but I could also have a lot of fun in the trees, in the bumps, and take it anywhere I wanted.

How does the shape of the ski affect the way it rides? Most notably, this is a twin tip, which is a little bit unusual for Nordica. It's also got a powder rocker profile, which I had a blast with when I was skiing some soft snow today. What that means is that there's a little bit more rocker in the tip here. Nordica claims that there is a good bit of camber underfoot, but I really didn't feel it. Honestly, it looks pretty flat and it felt pretty flat, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that was exactly what I wanted out of the ski.

What is the flex like? The flex of this ski is stiffer than most twin tips. It's definitely not a hard charging, carving ski, but it's a really good balance. It's just stiff enough so that I really love it.

Carving

How does the ski turn? This ski has enough rocker in the tip that it's easy to initiate your turns. It really likes pivot turns, which is something that's really useful in the trees and the bumps. And, especially if you have kind of a more set back stance and you're not really pushing hard, the pivot turns are really great.

What is the edge hold like? This has a really great edge hold. We had a little bit of icy patches today, and it's got just enough stiffness that it wasn't sliding out on the ice.

What about dampness? Any chatter in the skis? I felt like the one place this ski really didn't excel was higher speeds in chunder-y, soft, choppy snow. It gets a little bit chattery in there but I felt like that was a decent compromise for all of the other ways that it excels.

How does it feel in terms of speed? There's a little bit of a speed limit on this ski, but I really didn't find it very much because of the terrain that it's meant for. This ski made me want to ski in the trees. It's called the “Tree”, and it's very well suited for that terrain.

How is its energy/acceleration? I felt like this ski did really well going fast. It kind of wants to go a little faster, but it's not going to have the energy and pop across the hill that some more cambered skis might have.

Freestyle

How is it for freestyle skiing?

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? For a hard charging, big mountain ski, this is pretty playful. It's a twin tip that you can kind of have fun with, hit little side hits, and drop big cliffs - this ski is ready for it! So, the playfulness was spot on for somebody who's a little bit more advanced.

There wasn't a ton of pop with this ski, but I felt really stable on the landings of jumps and I wasn't really looking for more pop.

Is it good for skiing switch? I skied some switch on these and they did a great job. They've got a good full twin tip. And, it was easy to initiate the turns skiing switch because it does have quite a bit of rocker in the tip and tail and it’s pretty flat underfoot.

How is the ski with jumps? The jumps in the powder were incredible. I had such a blast going off a little powdery side hits. It was so much fun, very stable, and playful enough. I couldn't ask for anything more out of a ski in that environment.

Can it handle the park and what features is it best for/should avoid? I mean, you could take these in the park, but they're not made for it. They're pretty wide. If you want to just take a little lap through the park because it's on your way to the trees, go for it. It's definitely going to do just fine, but it's pretty heavy because it's a little bit wider. So, if you're going to spend a lot of time in the park, look for something that's going to be a little bit narrower.

Freeride

How is it for freeride skiing?

How is it in powder? This is a great powder ski at 108 underfoot. You can take this in most situations. Probably the only place you would want something wider is if you're taking it out to Japan!

How is it in uneven terrain and chunder? This, for the most part, does well in uneven terrain. When it gets a little bit up to speed, you're going to experience some chatter on that uneven terrain. So, the combination of uneven terrain and speed wasn't this ski’s favorite place to be, but it held up pretty well.

How is it skiing in the trees? How is its maneuverability? I'm very sold on this in the trees. That was my favorite place to ski it because I felt like it was really maneuverable. I really like how much rocker it has in the tail because it makes it super easy to kind of whip the ski around quickly.

What terrain is this ski good for? These skis would be the perfect tool for 8 inches to a foot and a half of powder. Somewhere out West is ideal. You're going to get the best use out of this ski in the trees, in bowls, and somewhere that's not your typical groomed trail. Although, it does do surprisingly well on groomed trails.

What terrain should skiers avoid with it? I mean, don't take it on a race course, but I would take the ski pretty much anywhere else.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend these skis to? I would recommend these to most any advanced - expert level skier that's really into skiing off piste. These are made for somebody who wants something that's versatile enough but does have that focus on freeride.

That said, a strong intermediate who's looking to progress and wants to get on their first powder ski - this could be a good option for you.

Who should avoid these skis, there are better options out there for them? I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner just because it's a little bit heavy because of the width. You're going to want something a little bit softer, a little bit narrower, and better for progression.

If you could pack these skis for anywhere in the world, where would you take them? I would take these skis right here in Colorado. I'd take them to Utah, Tahoe, and the Pacific Northwest. If the Northeast gets a huge powder dump, I’d take them there, too.

Skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you are wondering whether the Unleashed 108 Tree is the right ski for you, chat with Sara or any other Skiing Experts here on Curated, and they’ll put together free, personalized ski recommendations on the best skis for your needs.