Nordica: Performance, Italian Heritage, and a Passion for Alpine Skiing

Discover the Nordica brand

Nordica: The Brand’s Origins and History

Nordica is an Italian brand founded in October 1939 by brothers Adriano and Oddone Vaccari in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso. This region in northeastern Italy, situated between the Dolomites and the Gulf of Venice, is historically the birthplace of the mountaineering footwear industry, and it was only natural that the two brothers, leather artisans, would launch their mountaineering footwear business there.

The brand’s history took a major turn in 1950 when Italian skier Zeno Colò won two world championship titles in the Rocky Mountains, wearing Nordica boots. This breakthrough marked the beginning of the brand’s international fame, and it subsequently specialized in ski boots.

In the decades that followed, Nordica was at the forefront of every major technical advancement in modern ski boots: the transition from leather to laminated plastic, aluminum buckles, flex ratings... In the 1980s, the brand became one of the most successful in world alpine skiing, notably thanks to Swiss champion Pirmin Zurbriggen.

Now owned by the Italian group Tecnica, based in Giavera del Montello, Nordica combines artisanal heritage with technological innovation to remain one of the major players in the global alpine skiing scene.

Did you know?

Nordica’s official slogan is *Let’s Ski*: a direct call to all those who don’t just ski, but who love to ski, and who pass this passion down from one generation to the next.

Product Development and Innovation at Nordica

Innovation at Nordica first took shape around ski boots, a segment where the brand made its mark on the sport’s history by equipping more than half of the World Cup athletes as early as the 1990s, including the multiple Olympic champion from Norway, Kjetil André Aamodt.

Starting in the 2000s, under the leadership of the Zanatta family, Nordica expanded its expertise to the skis themselves, racking up podium finishes at World Championships and the Olympic Games. The Dobermann line, a direct descendant of competition skis, has since become a benchmark in the race and carving segment.

More recently, Nordica made a big splash with the HF collection, launched in 2020: its hands-free construction allows for effortless boot entry and exit thanks to an easy-entry shell and a buckle that can be locked with either the foot or a pole, without compromising performance. An innovation that has become a market benchmark.

Nordica’s philosophy remains true to its DNA: doing things its own way, combining the artisanal expertise of Montebelluna with cutting-edge technologies to push the boundaries of skiing.

Products offered by the Nordica brand

Nordica offers a complete range dedicated to alpine skiing, centered around three pillars: skis, ski boots, and accessories.

When it comes to skis, the brand covers all uses with clearly segmented collections: Dobermann Spitfire for the piste and carving, Enforcer 89 for men’s all-mountain, Unlimited 88 for all-mountain touring, and Unleashed 90 for freeride. The women’s line mirrors these categories with the Belle 75 for the piste, the Santa Ana 87 for all-mountain, and the Santa Ana 88 Unlimited for those who want to combine downhill and touring.

As for boots, the lineup is segmented by width to accommodate all foot shapes: Promachine 120 (98 mm, narrow) for narrow feet seeking precision, Speedmachine 3 available in multiple flex options (100, 110, 120) with or without the BOA® system for a versatile medium fit, Sportmachine 3 (100, 120) and HF 110 GW with a medium-wide volume of 102 mm, and finally The Cruise 100 (104 mm, wide) for wide feet seeking all-mountain comfort. All these models are equipped with GripWalk soles and a thermoformable Primaloft® liner for a personalized fit.

Nordica’s commitment to sustainability

As a division of the Italian Tecnica Group, based in Giavera del Montello (Treviso), Nordica is part of the group’s sustainability approach, formalized through the publication of an annual sustainability report since 2022.

The flagship initiative is the Recycle Your Boots program, launched by the Tecnica Group in 2021 and subsequently extended to Nordica. The program, supported by the European Union’s LIFE initiative, aims for up to 85% recycled materials per pair of boots collected, with a stated goal of recycling 30,000 pairs by the end of 2025.

*Let's Ski* = Let's Ski

*hands-free* = hands-free