Powder-Hungry Daily Driver: Nordica Unleashed 114 Skis Review

Here’s something you might not know: Powder skis can be your daily drivers. If you mostly ski out West and stick to soft snow, there’s no good reason not to keep it fat all season long. A damp, carvable pow ski such as Nordica’s freestyle Unleashed 114 skis can actually be a better tool in all manner of soft snow than mid-fat “compromise” skis.

The Nordica Unleashed 114 skis are relatively stiff and stable big mountain powder chargers. But ample rocker with shallow camber underfoot help them turn quickly and easily on-demand. With their fat waists and big shovels, it’s no surprise they shine in fresh snow. But their unexpected superpower might be making the most out of tracked-out pow, mixed chop, and crud.

If you only get a few deep days a year, a narrower ski might make more sense. But the “mid-fat” class of skis (roughly 98-108mm) can be disappointing when things get really deep. Going a bit bigger makes those “best” days even better. And the all-around performance of the Nordica Unleashed 114 skis minimizes the usual drawbacks of a dedicated powder ski. The ski even took home a Powder award in The Best All-Mountain Skis Buyer’s Guide.

In short: Obviously, a ski this fat prioritizes pow, but if you’re a strong skier allergic to frontside groomers, the Nordica Unleashed 114 ($900) skis might be the only kit you need. Their weakness is hard snow. But the overall dampness paired with traditional camber underfoot help them carve surprisingly well.

Read The Best All-Mountain Skis Buyer’s Guide to see how the Nordica Unleashed 114 lines up.

Nordica Unleashed 114 Review

Based in Italy, Nordica launched the Unleashed collection of skis for the 22/23 season. The company added the 114mm width in 23/24. Now, the ski returns unchanged for the 24/25 ski season.

The Unleashed skis are meant to be a more playful, freestyle complement to their popular Enforcer line of all-mountain chargers. They deliver the stability of the Enforcers with more pop and maneuverability in soft snow and mixed conditions.

I rode the Unleashed 114 for 7 days in spring in the 186 cm length at my home resort, Breckenridge. These sticks took me through spring pow, slushy groomers, and plenty of end-of-the-day chopped soft snow.

The recommended mount point was surprisingly centered, given the impression I had of Nordica as a legacy European brand with race roots. I’m 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, and an expert skier. A 186 cm is right about the length I normally ride.

I was concerned I might be lacking shovel length with the centered stance, and they initially felt just slightly short. But I got several days of deep, mostly untouched snow, and the Unleashed never sunk on me. 

Pow Plows

The width of the Unleashed 114 means they’re powder boards, first and foremost. I was lucky enough to ski several deep, uncrowded spring powder days on them and eased into a comfort zone pretty quickly.

My normal powder sticks are 118mm in width and 190 cm in length. So, I was careful at first, knowing I had a bit less surface area underfoot. It didn’t take long for the Unleashed to earn my trust.

The Unleashed planes wonderfully at a range of speeds in soft snow, even when turning hard. And it was easy to disappear in a cloud of smoke if I threw them sideways at speed in the fluff. I assume the 191cm length might plane even better in pow but would cost me some of the quickness I loved in the 186cm planks.

Crud Capabilities

As good as the Nordica Unleashed 114 skis were in untouched pow, their superpower might be blasting through chop and crud.

When the pure pow lines inevitably funneled me into heavy chop and runouts, I was able to hold speed to blast through and over, rather than scrubbing speed as I might have with looser, softer skis.

The Unleashed have a single sheet of what Nordica calls “terrain-specific metal,” which doesn’t span the full width and keeps the overall weight reasonable at 2,160 g per ski (191 cm). For perspective, Nordica’s popular Enforcer 110 has two sheets of metal and weighs 2,420 g per ski (191 cm) despite being narrower.

On snow, I thought the Unleashed 114 had a perfect balance of heft, flex, and dampness to be able to crush all manner of cruddy, chopped-up snow. Throughout, the ski retained lots of elastic flex to give energy while I was going edge to edge and for me to pop off of features.

I can imagine more novice, casual skiers getting pushed around by the Unleashed at times. But any reasonably strong skier will appreciate how well it performs in less-than-ideal conditions off-piste.

Edge-to-Edge Quickness

The other defining characteristic of the Unleashed 114 for me was how nimble they are for such a wide plank. Most of the weight is concentrated underfoot while thin ABS inserts in the wide tips keep them easy to swing around on a dime.

I skied the Unleashed at speed into treed sections and felt confident making quick decisions, knowing the skis wouldn’t lag behind and get me in trouble.

Part of this is undoubtedly due to the fairly centered stance, which keeps the tips short for the overall length of the ski and easier to whip around on short notice. The sharply upturned rockered tails also help. I never felt like I had to jump turn just to disengage the tails, even in steep chutes. 

The quickness makes sense when skiing soft snow, since good pow technique keeps a shallower edge angle and light pow doesn’t grab skis. But I was pleased to discover they remained just as nimble on crust, firm snow, and even groomers, where they confidently transitioned between right and left turns, perhaps especially when carving at speed with plenty of force applied.

Limitations

The 114mm width underfoot is obviously not ideal for frontside hard snow. And anyone buying a pow-first ski will be making this tradeoff with eyes open. I had limited opportunities to tackle truly hardpacked midwinter snow and ice with the Unleashed design, but the early morning groomers were a blast, thanks to the quick swing. 

If you love carving on steep edge angles and steep terrain, you probably should get a dedicated ski for the purpose. But moving the mount point back a touch could skew them closer to your preferences at the expense of some of the quickness. Still, keep in mind this is a freestyle-oriented ski built for creative soft snow skiing at speed, so it just won’t be a fit for many folks with more traditional skiing styles.

While the Unleashed 114s aren’t nearly as heavy, stiff, and unforgiving as other skis such as Nordica’s own Enforcer line or Blizzard’s Anomaly, they require some skill and strength to pilot. More intermediate skiers and those that want more pop and playfulness in a wide ski can look at either the 110mm or 120mm width of Atomic’s Bent Chetler lineup.

Nordica Unleashed 114: Conclusion

The width and all-around performance of the Nordica Unleashed 114 made these snag a Powder award in this season’s The Best All-Mountain Skis Buyer’s Guide.

If you chase powder (and get it often), there’s no reason these fat boys can’t be your daily drivers. Compared to the glut of wider, lighter, and fatter pow skis available, the relative stability of the Unleashed make them much more capable in a wider range of conditions. They don’t have to be relegated as a specialty tool.

One reason to look elsewhere, as mentioned above, is if you’re a more casual or intermediate skier who doesn’t want to have to attack every slope to get the most out of their skis. There are plenty of more forgiving planks to be had. But if you want a fat ski you can drive confidently at speed in any soft snow conditions while retaining carve capabilities when you come back frontside, the Nordica Unleashed 114s are a top choice.