Warning, this is a rant about Icelantic but as you can tell from the title its more of a praise.
I just wanted to give some major props for this company and making a bombproof, fun-as-hell, and reliable pair of sticks. Recently, i've gotten the chance to ride the Nomad 105s, Nomad 105 lites, and Nomad 115s along with perspective from their older version of the Nomad 125, the Gypsy. If you're looking for a little review on the skis, here you go.
Im going to start off with the 105 and working my way up on the fatness scale. (Please note, this is based off the 181cm version)
https://www.icelanticskis.com/collections/freeride-collection/products/16-17-icelantic-nomad-105
The 105s are a great all mountain ripper. The day I tried them was a powder day and we had about 6 inches of snow over the past two days but there were still groomed trails to mob on outside of the fresh. These skis were too fun to handle. The 105s actually have a 140mm tip with allowing for some pretty easy riding when in soft snow. They are definitely on the more playful side of things and love to be slashed around and jibbed on. They feel like they have a progressive flex where it gets softer in the tips to a little stiffer in the tails allowing for effortless landings in soft snow, crud, and hardpack but still are easily able to be buttered thanks to some rocker. On hardpack they are actually very stable. I learned to ski from racers (even though I never raced) and put my skis to the test on hardpack often going too fast for my own good. These skis do chatter just a tad at higher speeds of around 55 +/- 5 but that is to be expected of any ski right?
As for the Nomad 105 Lites, they felt just as good with a little stiffer flex and, of course, being a bit lighter. The Lites would be perfect for an AT setup for the person looking for a more playful ski to tour on that is a bit lighter than the normal construction. I don't have the exact weight difference but it was noticeable when on snow.
tl:dr, The Nomad 105s wont float as well as a powder ski but as a one ski quiver in the east or an everyday weapon in the West, they do very well
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Now for the Nomad 115s. Let me preface this by saying that I am a sucker for big mtn skis and I will be buying a pair for next season even though I definitely will have overlap in my quiver. Again, my experience was on the 181cm version of the 115s.
https://www.icelanticskis.com/collections/freeride-collection/products/16-17-icelantic-nomad-115
The 115s have a surprisingly playful nature for a ski of their size. (I'm 5'9 165lbs) In comparison, they're a more slashy, pivoty, and poppy version of the Moment Bibby Pro. Now, I know that the Bibby is regarded as one of the greatest skis period so I'm sorry if I offended anybody but as soon as I went through Red Chair at Mt Bachelor on the 115s, I was in love. Like the bibby, they bust through all the tracked out shit effortlessly but once you got to an open powderfield, pillow line, or tight tree spot; they preformed exactly how you would want to no matter what you throw at them. I can honestly say that they're more nimble than my Venors in the trees and wayyy more fun than my JJ's in the deeper stuff. Not to mention, I found them to be a bit more buttery than the 105s but still had the same if not better carving capabilities as the 105s on the groomers.
tl;dr, the Nomad 115s are the perfect big mountain tool compared to other skis of their size.
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Last but not least, the Nomad 125s. Please note, my experience with this ski is with the Icelantic Gypsy which is the same exact dimensions as the 125, just different graphics and name. Also note that I rode the 180cm version and have put about 100 days on them if not more.
https://www.icelanticskis.com/collections/freeride-collection/products/16-17-icelantic-nomad-125
When you look at the Nomad 125 (I'll probably switch between calling them the 125s and the Gypsys so sorry in advance) you'll probably see a fat ass ski with full reverse camber, soft(er) flex, and think "No". Well hear me out. The Gypsys are one of the most versatile fat skis I've ever ridden. During the beginning of this season, I sold my SFB's and never mounted my park setup so it was just me and the Gypsys in early season, park, ice, powder, EVERYTHING and I could have not had a better time with them. The ice days were not good ill admit. For a 125 wasited ski, they roll over on edge super easily (thanks to the reverse camber) and grab the snow super well. Since its full rocker, the underfoot engages
before the tip and tail contact points allowing for quick little turns when needed but roll over onto that deeper edge for longer, more engaged turns. When grabbing ice, I had to do alot of little turns because when i got to the point in a carve where I could reach out and touch the snow with my hand, the skis would wash out on me but mind you, this is east coast ice style. On regular groomers, however, I can engage enough edge to put my full forearm on the snow and have no worries of washing out or eating it. In the park, they're buttery as hell but suck for bigger jumps with hard landings (flat underfoot). Now, for the powder. I ski all my skis like they're in the park once I reach the powder. Every tree and rock can be jumped off of, every wind lip is a quarter pipe and every powderfield is a butter pad/slash zone. These Nomad 125s, Gypsys, whatever you want to call them have given me the most enjoyment in soft snow out of any ski I've ridden. I make skis as my job and wouldn't dare to recreate these because they are perfect the way they are. Maybe i'd make a lighter pair for a touring setup but that's about it. You can pivot effortlessly through trees, take steep chutes and mach speeds with no worries, drop cliffs without washing out (unless you're too backseat). That may sound over-hyped but I speak from experience that its the truth. These skis also have a mounting point which is farther forward than most powder skis i've seen. I believe its 4cm back from true center or something along those lines but the ski is nearly symmetrical with 152/125/148 and 59cm of tip rocker and 51cm of tail rocker. This allows for much easier butters, spins, and slashing than a ski mounted farther back.
tl;dr, The gypsys are an amazing, playful powder ski capable of ripping groomers when needed.
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Okay, I'm done ranting now. If anybody has any questions about specifics of these skis I can try and answer them or if anybody has any contrasts to what I've said feel free to engage in discussion. I may sound over-hyped on all of these skis but to me its kinda crazy to see a company that is so consistent in their ski's performance and I just have to give props for that. I think I'm going to try out some ON3P skis soon so maybe my opinions would change but hey, if they're fun skis then they're fun skis.
/endrant
