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Average of 7 Reviews
Overall
Value
Durability
Maneuverability
Performance 
All User Reviews
Featured Review
Value 
Durability
Maneuverability
Performance
Overall
Pros: Soft, Playful, Easy Turning and Drifting
Cons: Too soft for True hard pack
Purchase Date:October 2009
Purchase Price:$500.00
Icelantic Nomad SFT 181 CM
Liam reviewed March 12, 2010 at 9:08 am
Me:
Age 40
Skiing: 10 Years
5'10", 180lbs
Level: Athletic 7 ish
Icelantic Nomad sft 181cm 140-110-130
It took a long time to get the right conditions here in Southern New England to give this ski a proper workout.
But starting Tuesday afternoon (2.5 weeks ago), the snow really came down hard, and since then I've put in 6 full days on this ski in: a nice 10 inches of heavy snow, a deep, very wet and very heavy 24 inches of snow, a funky, crusty and deep night of snow and one (yesterday) soft, spring-like day of skiing. Prior to this week, I had skied it on firm groomers from time to time, and a few chalky/ chunky ski tree runs, but nothing that the ski was really designed for.
The Review:
General Impressions: First off, as the name implies, this ski is SOFT! Not quite old pocket Rocket soft, but certainly softer than many similar twin-tips of a similar size. Also, I mounted these with Marker Griffon's at +1-these skis are impressively light-both over your shoulder and on the snow. This allows a hacker like me to take more advantage of the 'twin-tip' nature of this skis as spinning around, skiing switch to impress my kids and spinning back (either in the air or on the snow-they feel like big sneakers) is pretty damn easy and fun. These skis are very lively and not damp at all.
Oh, the waist does measure almost 110mm-about 5mm wider than advertised.
Groomers: On hard groomers, (which is what New England has had too much of this season-south of Stowe anyway) I found the ski chattery and balky. It was hard, for me anyway, to get the tip to engage on firmer surfaces and usually in these situations I would weight my uphill/ inside foot ski a lot more through the turn and go with a drifted approach to turning rather that anything that could rightfully be called 'carving'. This was not wholly unpleasant, But not as much fun as skiing my Contact 4x4's.
Hard Snow: Ice conditions, frozen, broken or unconsolidated snow are just no fun at all on this ski. The lack of dampness sends every bump and jag right up into your ankles and made my feet sore. There's enough side-cut (20m turn radius) and surface area to get through occasional encounters with rock-like snow, but this is not a tool for such a job (I prefer a damper, stiffer, metal-laden ski for such occasions).
Soft Snow: This covers everything from an inch on groomers, to broken crud, to crud bumps, to powder bumps, to powder and 'warm snow'. This ski just flat out shines. All the chatter and balkiness felt on hard snow completely disappears and they become easy turning (either heavily rotated or tipped and quick carved) in softer conditions. They're very lively feeling and encouraged even a fuddy-duddy skier like myself to load them up and spring off of any/ every terrain undulation I could find. Their lightness becomes a blessing when you want to re-direct them in a jiffy or just float across the top of sticky crud-bumps. And the FLOAT-ah the float, I experienced no tip dive and pretty easy maneuverability even in the 24 inches of deep slushy snow we had last Wednesday. In tight trees they changed direction without a fuss (when emergency maneuvers were called for), and carved quicker than I thought they would. They've been a great ski all week long.
Final Thoughts? Is it a potential One ski quiver??-no way, not in the east anyway. Even up in northern Vermont there are too many 'firm snow days (and firm mogul runs) to make this an everyday ski. Maybe in western resorts where even groomers are generally soft (places like Steamboat, for instance) I could see these as a 90% time ski, but not at most places.
But in any kind of soft snow, they are fun, lively, very easy to turn. They are both playful but capable of reasonable 'macho speed' skiing. They're a perfect compliment to my Contact 4x4's. They'd make a wonderful AT ski due to weight and range of use off-piste.
Oh, and they're hot looking skis-people stop me all the time (especially people under the age of 20!) and comment on how cool they look. I know that's a peripheral concern for most folks, but I like having fun-looking skis.
Anyway-looking for a lively, fun, light twin-tip for soft snow or spring-conditions use?? These are a great ski. Looking for a fat 1 ski quiver in the east?? Look elsewhere-Even at Jay...I'm not sure this would fit the bill.
Hope that helps-this is a quality soft-snow ski.
Just a quick update: Since Sunday we've had an ample amount of Spring soft skiing specifically-bumps and honest to goodness corn. EACH mid afternoon when the the surfaces were nearing the slush breaking point I switched to the nomads-I can honestly say that these skis extended the day for me and bumped up the fun factor over my carvers.
FWIW-they are a joy to spin in slushy surfaces (I've been working on this
)-I pulled off 10 consecutive rotations on a pretty warm, slushy slope (until I fell over from dizziness! I just can't spin like the kids!). Capable and Fun in soft snow-that's what these skis are about!
Age 40
Skiing: 10 Years
5'10", 180lbs
Level: Athletic 7 ish
Icelantic Nomad sft 181cm 140-110-130
It took a long time to get the right conditions here in Southern New England to give this ski a proper workout.
But starting Tuesday afternoon (2.5 weeks ago), the snow really came down hard, and since then I've put in 6 full days on this ski in: a nice 10 inches of heavy snow, a deep, very wet and very heavy 24 inches of snow, a funky, crusty and deep night of snow and one (yesterday) soft, spring-like day of skiing. Prior to this week, I had skied it on firm groomers from time to time, and a few chalky/ chunky ski tree runs, but nothing that the ski was really designed for.
The Review:
General Impressions: First off, as the name implies, this ski is SOFT! Not quite old pocket Rocket soft, but certainly softer than many similar twin-tips of a similar size. Also, I mounted these with Marker Griffon's at +1-these skis are impressively light-both over your shoulder and on the snow. This allows a hacker like me to take more advantage of the 'twin-tip' nature of this skis as spinning around, skiing switch to impress my kids and spinning back (either in the air or on the snow-they feel like big sneakers) is pretty damn easy and fun. These skis are very lively and not damp at all.
Oh, the waist does measure almost 110mm-about 5mm wider than advertised.
Groomers: On hard groomers, (which is what New England has had too much of this season-south of Stowe anyway) I found the ski chattery and balky. It was hard, for me anyway, to get the tip to engage on firmer surfaces and usually in these situations I would weight my uphill/ inside foot ski a lot more through the turn and go with a drifted approach to turning rather that anything that could rightfully be called 'carving'. This was not wholly unpleasant, But not as much fun as skiing my Contact 4x4's.
Hard Snow: Ice conditions, frozen, broken or unconsolidated snow are just no fun at all on this ski. The lack of dampness sends every bump and jag right up into your ankles and made my feet sore. There's enough side-cut (20m turn radius) and surface area to get through occasional encounters with rock-like snow, but this is not a tool for such a job (I prefer a damper, stiffer, metal-laden ski for such occasions).
Soft Snow: This covers everything from an inch on groomers, to broken crud, to crud bumps, to powder bumps, to powder and 'warm snow'. This ski just flat out shines. All the chatter and balkiness felt on hard snow completely disappears and they become easy turning (either heavily rotated or tipped and quick carved) in softer conditions. They're very lively feeling and encouraged even a fuddy-duddy skier like myself to load them up and spring off of any/ every terrain undulation I could find. Their lightness becomes a blessing when you want to re-direct them in a jiffy or just float across the top of sticky crud-bumps. And the FLOAT-ah the float, I experienced no tip dive and pretty easy maneuverability even in the 24 inches of deep slushy snow we had last Wednesday. In tight trees they changed direction without a fuss (when emergency maneuvers were called for), and carved quicker than I thought they would. They've been a great ski all week long.
Final Thoughts? Is it a potential One ski quiver??-no way, not in the east anyway. Even up in northern Vermont there are too many 'firm snow days (and firm mogul runs) to make this an everyday ski. Maybe in western resorts where even groomers are generally soft (places like Steamboat, for instance) I could see these as a 90% time ski, but not at most places.
But in any kind of soft snow, they are fun, lively, very easy to turn. They are both playful but capable of reasonable 'macho speed' skiing. They're a perfect compliment to my Contact 4x4's. They'd make a wonderful AT ski due to weight and range of use off-piste.
Oh, and they're hot looking skis-people stop me all the time (especially people under the age of 20!) and comment on how cool they look. I know that's a peripheral concern for most folks, but I like having fun-looking skis.
Anyway-looking for a lively, fun, light twin-tip for soft snow or spring-conditions use?? These are a great ski. Looking for a fat 1 ski quiver in the east?? Look elsewhere-Even at Jay...I'm not sure this would fit the bill.
Hope that helps-this is a quality soft-snow ski.
Just a quick update: Since Sunday we've had an ample amount of Spring soft skiing specifically-bumps and honest to goodness corn. EACH mid afternoon when the the surfaces were nearing the slush breaking point I switched to the nomads-I can honestly say that these skis extended the day for me and bumped up the fun factor over my carvers.
FWIW-they are a joy to spin in slushy surfaces (I've been working on this
)-I pulled off 10 consecutive rotations on a pretty warm, slushy slope (until I fell over from dizziness! I just can't spin like the kids!). Capable and Fun in soft snow-that's what these skis are about!Was this Review Helpful?
Yes
Value 
Durability 
Maneuverability 
Performance 
Overall
Pros: good flotation
Cons: torture on firm snow, unstable edge hold at high speeds
1 person found this review useful
Not the ski for me (SFT)
SRECK reviewed March 13, 2010 at 10:07 pm
I am glad to see that so many people love this ski. However, this was not the ski for me. I am reluctant to write negative comments because I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers. I feel some affection for my favorite skis and I know that many others do too. From reading the other reviews I can see that many people have been happy with this ski. However, for me, this ski was a bad fit.
I tried the 181 SFT. I'm 6 feet, 175 pounds, aggressive level 9 skier. I spend nearly all my time off-piste looking for good snow. I demoed lots of skis this year in hopes of finding something that would be fun in deep snow but still good enough on firm snow to enjoy the inevitable laps back to the chair. I found these to be pretty good in deep snow but not the best powder skis I have tried. In heavy powder, turn initiation was not effortless and they got knocked around a fair bit in crud. They were also fine on firm snow at low speeds. However, they could not hold a stable edge in high speed turns on firm snow. They would hold briefly, then release and skip sideways, then re-engage, release, skip... you get the idea. They didn't do this at low speeds, only at high speeds. This was very unpleasant... actually it was painful. I think that the problem was that this ski is way too soft and lacks the torsional stability that is needed for someone my size who skis the way I do. It's not the width. I have skied lots of skis wider than these that perform well on firm snow and blow these away in powder.
I hope I have not hurt anyone's feelings, but I felt obligated to share my opinion on these skis. Obviously, no one ski works for everyone, and this one was not for me.
I tried the 181 SFT. I'm 6 feet, 175 pounds, aggressive level 9 skier. I spend nearly all my time off-piste looking for good snow. I demoed lots of skis this year in hopes of finding something that would be fun in deep snow but still good enough on firm snow to enjoy the inevitable laps back to the chair. I found these to be pretty good in deep snow but not the best powder skis I have tried. In heavy powder, turn initiation was not effortless and they got knocked around a fair bit in crud. They were also fine on firm snow at low speeds. However, they could not hold a stable edge in high speed turns on firm snow. They would hold briefly, then release and skip sideways, then re-engage, release, skip... you get the idea. They didn't do this at low speeds, only at high speeds. This was very unpleasant... actually it was painful. I think that the problem was that this ski is way too soft and lacks the torsional stability that is needed for someone my size who skis the way I do. It's not the width. I have skied lots of skis wider than these that perform well on firm snow and blow these away in powder.
I hope I have not hurt anyone's feelings, but I felt obligated to share my opinion on these skis. Obviously, no one ski works for everyone, and this one was not for me.
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Value
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Overall
Pros: damp, foregiving, predictablly playful
Cons: waashed out on the hard stuff, drew a lot of stares
They are everything advertized
Stranger
reviewed March 12, 2010 at 10:15 am
reviewed March 12, 2010 at 10:15 am
Demoed for 1 day @ Crystal Mt, WA. Conditions 9" over three days, very well set up in places, dust over crust, buried death cookies, crispy base, Depending on the aspect just about everything was there. Skier: 6', 200lbs, athletic, used to be good, normally ski a very round turn, "don't go very fast but I go pretty far". Skis, the 181 Nomad Soft.
WOW! These things did almost everything really well. In variable crud no deflection, even the occasional surprise chunks did not send them sideways. Carve, swivel, steer, peddle turn, these skis will initiate anyway you choose, They would rail on the groomers, would do a zipper in the bumps (under some protest), piles over slick they washed out (the Soft thing). Did not know these were the 'Soft' till lunch time when I looked at them, for my weight the standard Nomad should help a lot with the few complaints.
You can not ski off the ridges on this mountain without leaving P-tex as alms for the granite gods. Stomped some pretty firmly with nearly no damage, you got to love that in a ski. These had not been skied many days and the edges of the top sheets were really starting to show the lumps.
The graphics; you will meet people. Might paint mine black and put a silver dot on the tip. Fear that these might be popular with those that choose not to pay for skis.
Icelantic Nomads will be my next skis. Have tried 2010 Gotamas, Czars, Prophet 100's, Lords, Obseths, and some others. For this left coast skier, these fit best
WOW! These things did almost everything really well. In variable crud no deflection, even the occasional surprise chunks did not send them sideways. Carve, swivel, steer, peddle turn, these skis will initiate anyway you choose, They would rail on the groomers, would do a zipper in the bumps (under some protest), piles over slick they washed out (the Soft thing). Did not know these were the 'Soft' till lunch time when I looked at them, for my weight the standard Nomad should help a lot with the few complaints.
You can not ski off the ridges on this mountain without leaving P-tex as alms for the granite gods. Stomped some pretty firmly with nearly no damage, you got to love that in a ski. These had not been skied many days and the edges of the top sheets were really starting to show the lumps.
The graphics; you will meet people. Might paint mine black and put a silver dot on the tip. Fear that these might be popular with those that choose not to pay for skis.
Icelantic Nomads will be my next skis. Have tried 2010 Gotamas, Czars, Prophet 100's, Lords, Obseths, and some others. For this left coast skier, these fit best
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Value
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Pros: Versatile - can do everything from pow to hard pack
Cons: Edges aren't too solid if icy; artwork is easy to chip away
Purchase Date:January 2010
Purchase Price:$651.00
These skis love snow
adamfarren
reviewed February 18, 2010 at 6:22 pm
reviewed February 18, 2010 at 6:22 pm
I got the 168 nomads a couple weeks ago after demo'ing at loveland. saw the 2010/11 line showcased at SIA, really cool graphics with a music theme; then i skiied them both days after the show. there wasn't a ton of snow at loveland but still loved the skis so i bought the '09s with Marker Griffon bindings
Skiied them in the powder at heavenly and kirkwood and they were just awesome, i was in the trees all day and had total control and they floated really well
Then skiied them the next weekend in north lake (sugar bowl and alpine and mt. rose). in the corn snow, they are great, they can float even if the snow gets really soft. in winter conditions where its shady all day, great as well - you can definitely carve with them. BUT when its icy, like if the sun melts and then it freezes in the shade late in the day, they do not hold the edge very well. they just slide/chatter too easily in those conditions
Also, this may be an issue with my technique but I'm chipping the artwork pretty bad on the inside edge of my right ski - I hit with my left tip as I turn to the right and it causes the topsheet to chip off. The skis still look cool but they are no longer mint condition :(
in summary, tho, these are awesome skis. and they love snow of all kinds
Skiied them in the powder at heavenly and kirkwood and they were just awesome, i was in the trees all day and had total control and they floated really well
Then skiied them the next weekend in north lake (sugar bowl and alpine and mt. rose). in the corn snow, they are great, they can float even if the snow gets really soft. in winter conditions where its shady all day, great as well - you can definitely carve with them. BUT when its icy, like if the sun melts and then it freezes in the shade late in the day, they do not hold the edge very well. they just slide/chatter too easily in those conditions
Also, this may be an issue with my technique but I'm chipping the artwork pretty bad on the inside edge of my right ski - I hit with my left tip as I turn to the right and it causes the topsheet to chip off. The skis still look cool but they are no longer mint condition :(
in summary, tho, these are awesome skis. and they love snow of all kinds
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Pros: Fun, nimble, bomb-proof bases, Unique feel
Cons: tops can chip a bit
Nomads Rock!
Finndog reviewed February 2, 2009 at 9:57 am
reviewed February 2, 2009 at 9:57 am Icelantic ski's made by Never Summer are in class by themselves. Intended to be skied shorter, the Nomads excel in all conditions but on real EC hardpack. Published dims aer 140-105-130 but actual dims are 146-110-136 (?) not positive on the tail dims. I love the feel of these wood core skis, lots of energy and pop, but no overly damp, nice feeling under foot. The ski's are stiff torsionally but have a nice flex to them.. I am 6' 170 and ski the 168. I love them in trees and for exploring around Steamboat. Decent in the soft bumps too. Mount BC.
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Pros: Wood Core, relatively tight turn radius, vertical sidewalls
Cons: no special dampening devices
Purchase Date:March 2009
Purchase Price:$380.00
Light but solid
snowpro reviewed September 5, 2009 at 12:36 am
I bought these toward the end of the season. I like the light weight and the agile nature of the ski. The turn radius is a relatively tight 20m, although up on the mountain a skier can open the radius without a problem. The 105mm underfoot is solid.
I did find it helpful to put a 3* base bevel w/1* side to get them to be a bit more versatile and less grabby on the firmer snow. My tuner thought I was crazy, but I had tried 1*, then 2* but I wanted the ability to float a bit more through the turn.
We had a number of nice powder days in the late season and I was able to test out the skis. I hiked into SnowWhite at Breck. 12" of creamy powder. The sun hit it for a few hours. These ski were AMAZING! Perfect flex with no bogdown or hangups. The turned tightly, and opened up and handled speed extremely well. They work equally well if you drive the ski, or float them. I look forward to big back bowl days with these bad boys. Even at full retail price $599, these are great deals when compared to other skis. The graphics are quite eye-catching as well.
I did find it helpful to put a 3* base bevel w/1* side to get them to be a bit more versatile and less grabby on the firmer snow. My tuner thought I was crazy, but I had tried 1*, then 2* but I wanted the ability to float a bit more through the turn.
We had a number of nice powder days in the late season and I was able to test out the skis. I hiked into SnowWhite at Breck. 12" of creamy powder. The sun hit it for a few hours. These ski were AMAZING! Perfect flex with no bogdown or hangups. The turned tightly, and opened up and handled speed extremely well. They work equally well if you drive the ski, or float them. I look forward to big back bowl days with these bad boys. Even at full retail price $599, these are great deals when compared to other skis. The graphics are quite eye-catching as well.
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Value
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Pros: Nimble
Cons: Not as floaty as I had expected.
Purchase Date:March 2009
Purchase Price:$400.00
Nomads are Fun !
TaosMath reviewed July 1, 2009 at 3:13 pm
reviewed July 1, 2009 at 3:13 pm
I am 160# / 5'10 & ski the 156 ( so it's short - I don't care).
I have a blast on these skis - I bought them with the intention of using them for powder days, but I've found them great fun for just about everything except solid ice (which I try not to ski anyway). I was a bit concerned about the width (which as Finndog says in his review is a tad over 110) since my other ski is a Head im72. However my concerns were unfounded, I just needed to widen my stance a tad to stop the edges knocking. The Nomads are a blast on groomers, in trees and on the steeps. I found them easy to put on edge and perhaps because of their short length, very easy to turn. I had a super time with them last season on soft bumps at Copper Mountain but have yet to try them on hard bumps. I can't comment on their energy, since I haven't enough experience on different skis to compare them with. What I can say is I enjoy throwing these about in short turns as much as I do my Head im72's so I figure they seem to be very agile for a wide ski and the Nomads have significantly better float than the Heads (Duh!)
Downsides are minor - The reviews used phrases like 'Bomb- proof bases' which I have not found to be the case, thought the bases are no worse than anyone elses. The top sheets are highly glossy and so show scuffs and scratches easily. I was slightly disappointed with how much tip dive I got in 15" at Taos last season - but then again these are only 156 long and I am a complete gaper in powder.
Bottom Line An amazingly versatile ski suitable for everything except hard ice and megadumps. If you get the chance ski them, I expect you'll enjoy them.
I have a blast on these skis - I bought them with the intention of using them for powder days, but I've found them great fun for just about everything except solid ice (which I try not to ski anyway). I was a bit concerned about the width (which as Finndog says in his review is a tad over 110) since my other ski is a Head im72. However my concerns were unfounded, I just needed to widen my stance a tad to stop the edges knocking. The Nomads are a blast on groomers, in trees and on the steeps. I found them easy to put on edge and perhaps because of their short length, very easy to turn. I had a super time with them last season on soft bumps at Copper Mountain but have yet to try them on hard bumps. I can't comment on their energy, since I haven't enough experience on different skis to compare them with. What I can say is I enjoy throwing these about in short turns as much as I do my Head im72's so I figure they seem to be very agile for a wide ski and the Nomads have significantly better float than the Heads (Duh!)
Downsides are minor - The reviews used phrases like 'Bomb- proof bases' which I have not found to be the case, thought the bases are no worse than anyone elses. The top sheets are highly glossy and so show scuffs and scratches easily. I was slightly disappointed with how much tip dive I got in 15" at Taos last season - but then again these are only 156 long and I am a complete gaper in powder.
Bottom Line An amazingly versatile ski suitable for everything except hard ice and megadumps. If you get the chance ski them, I expect you'll enjoy them.
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