Unleashed 98 CA | 2026

When you think of Nordica skis, metal usually comes to mind. That’s always been the case for the Italian race heritage brand, aside from the 2013 Soul Rider. Over a decade down the line, the Unleashed series has replaced the playful essence of the Soul Rider but with the beefier construction synonymous with Nordica skis. That is, until now.

Brand new to the Nordica freeride lineup for 2026 is the Unleashed 98 CA. Exactly the same in almost every way as the Unleashed 98, the 98 CA offers the same twin-tip shape and rocker profile but in a metal-free construction. Removing the heavy material makes the ski more playful and reduces swing weight for butters, spins and flips. Similar to the construction of the original Soul Rider, the Unleashed 98 CA utilizes carbon to maintain a reliable feel in firmer conditions with a little more give than metal when you want to press into the tips and tails.

A modern freestyle ski at heart, the Unleashed 98 CA feels equally at home in the terrain park as it does boosting off a cat track or threading the trees. The rockered tail and steeper rise in the tip offer you the ability to pivot and schmear the ski without locking you into the turn. Camber underfoot provides solid edge hold on firm snow, but if you’re looking for a true groomer ripper, Nordica’s Enforcer and Santa Ana series fare better in that regard.

With a true 98-mm waist, the ski’s tip and tail get wider as the ski gets longer to maintain the target turn radius for each length. The wider tip also accounts for better float in soft snow than is generally assumed for a narrower ski. Where we used to feel like the Unleashed 98 was a bit too stiff to really maximize the playful shape, the new 98 CA satisfies just about every desire from a versatile freestyle ski.