Here at Chalet Ski Holidays we have been big fans of the rejuvenated Kastle ski brand and are delighted to be able to test the latest Kastle BMX98 ski for 2015. 

OVERALL RATINGS

SKI TEST	Kastle BMX98 Skis
ON PISTE	★★★☆☆
MOGULS	★★★★☆
POWDER	★★★★☆
ALL MOUNTAIN	★★★★☆
VALUE	★★★☆☆
BUY	Yes
BEST FOR	Competent Skiers
TERRAIN	All Mountain

ABOUT KASTLE  

Firstly, if you are not familiar with the Kastle brand, a little history. Anton Kästle was a coach maker who started making skis 90 years ago in 1924 in the village of Hohenems in Austria and from this the Kastle Skis were born. 50 years later it had become one of the worlds leading brands winning several World Cup events. This success continued well into the 80’s before it was acquired by the Benetton Group in 1991. Quite soon after the acquisition production was moved out of Austria.

The acquisition, rather than spearhead even greater success, created quite the reverse. By 2007 it had virtually become a forgotten brand and dedicated management buyout team decided to seek to reverse its demise.  It was a tall order and their first bold step was to bring design and manufacturing back to Austria. Being true to its heritage, they started, with great success, by manufacturing piste and race carvers before expanding the range in 2010, having had already made significant inroads in respect of rebuilding their brand and reputation. 

KASTLE BMX98 2015 SKI 

So on to the Kastle BMX98 ski review. We guess the first thing we all look at (and see) is the design. Here if the kaleidoscope colour scheme or Banksy graffiti look is your thing, the BMX98 ski isn’t probably going to be the first ski you pick up in the shop. We have a sneaky feeling that perhaps Kastle doesn’t even want to even entertain the ‘buy on look’ crowd, preferring instead the discerning skier who buys on quality and performance! In our case, here at Chalet Ski Holidays, and fortunately for Kastle in terms of this ski review, we aren’t too worried of what they look like on the shelf either, preferring our skis to do the talking on the slopes rather than in the showroom! In fact, but we will whisper this quietly as we are sure we are in the minority here, we actually quite liked the minimalist look! 

The Kastle BMX98 of course isn’t a new ski and when it came out over three years ago it soon became a hit as one of the best all round skis to ski, hence why we were keen to see if it had moved even further since. 

SKI STATS AND KEY DESIGN ELEMENTS

Before we progress on to the ski test. lets keep the statisticians amongst you happy with a few stats and key design elements.

You’ve probably guessed, one of the key dimensions is that its 98mm underfoot. Once a giant, 98mm doesnt even measure on the richter scale nowadays, particularly powder skiing against the 120cm – 130cm brutes that are now available. But remember this is an all round ski not just for powder whereas the wider skies are limited to one specific!

At the front it is 126mm and at the back a narrower 116mm. 

In terms of its construction, those of us who have tested or bought the lightweight all composite skis, will be pleased to know that the Kastle BMX98 is NOT such a ski! Kastle are a traditional ski manufacturer who have gone, quite rightly in our opinion, back to their roots with a beach and poplar wood core construction, with fibreglass over laid. As a result, yes it is heavier, but it gives a progressive and fairly rigid response without any flap whatsoever. Well done Kastle – we love you for it.

In terms of weight, the guys were on 178cm which weighed in at 2.05kg and our female accomplice on the 168cm at 1.9kg. Certainly not therefore a ski we would have as our ‘out and out’ randonee ski but for occasional use, with a Dynastar binding, it would probably be ok.

Finishing off the key design elements, it has a ‘Hook Free Shovel’ where the side cut stops earlier than many skies and with the early rise helps avoid you getting ‘hooked’ in the varied conditions on and off piste.   

The Powder Tail is again a neat feature in that it allows you to change your style off piste with its rounded feature without fear of being kicked out at the rear, particularly useful in the trees and bumps we found. 

The Dual Radius Big Mountain feature ensures it carves long turns well but can also be whipped through narrow pistes and moguls quickly too. More on this later.

Finally it has an Early Rise Low Camber. I haven’t been a great fan of ‘rocker’, ‘cambered’ or ‘early rise’ skis’ until skiing Kastle – but here it isn’t over used and works well as a consequence.

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SKI TEST

On to where it matters, the slopes and the ski test. First some quick background on the Chalet Ski Holiays team; three males, one 75KG, one 80kg, the other 90kg, and a female skier 48kg (our guess on the latter(!)). Three have spent several seasons in the Alps with around 700-800 days skiing with one of the males circa 300 days. Competent therefore in most conditions without being true professionals. The guys were on 178cm and the female skier 168cm.

ON PISTE 

If you had no idea of its reputation, you might have been forgiven for thinking this would be an oil tanker on piste, but far from it, with the exception of ice and extremely hard packed snow, it is very responsive for a ski that is seen as a more off-piste than on-piste ski. Whilst on a GS course test, it was not the easiest of skis to push through and out of the gates, on general pistes without having to make precise turns, it carved big radius turns well whether groomed or hard pack. Even if you like to throw it around edge to edge, this is where the Dual Radius technology comes in and delights. It is lightening quick for a fairly wide ski which is really useful late in the day when the pistes get carved up and you want to get home quickly. Pop on the edge and drive it down quickly and effortlessly along the side. 

Our female tester had read some other reviews that seemed to point to being suited more towards aggressive male skiers, and she was therefore a little worried that it might not be ideal for the lighter female skiers which included herself. Her expression after the first run soon dispelled such pre-conceived thoughts. Skiing normally Scott’s, she was pleasantly surprised how nimble and energetic they were and vowed that her next pair would be Kastle, regardless of their off-piste credentials. 

The least experienced amongst us had been skiing as they put it ‘piste skis’ up until the test and felt even on piste that it transformed their skiing. Particularly after midday when pistes became cut up and lumpy. The tip just bashed through everything and they felt they could ski with so much more confidence.  

Icy conditions however are its nemesis, it is an off-piste ski, and therefore I guess we shouldn’t expect too much here, but where its bad snow conditions, ice or extremely hard packed snow, this is the one time these skills won’t excel, so leave them in the cupboard and dig out your GS skis on such an occasion.

OFF-PISTE MOGULS  

One of us had already skied them on moguls in 2011 and was fully aware of their attributes but kept quiet and awaited the others verdict. I  guess with its responsiveness on piste they shouldn’t have been surprised how good it would be in the bumps, but I think like I was the first time I skied them, they didn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. It is a relatively rigid and stable ski, but has still enough flex at the tip to be forgiving, whilst quick enough in the turn to whip in and out. In fact, moguls are probably where it excels most in my opinion. 

OFF-PISTE POWDER DAYS

Nowadays, on a powder day, if you can afford it you’ll have a set of brutes (118cm or 128cm if skiing Kastle’s). But the reality is most people only want or can afford one pair of skis. Whilst in the really deep snow they are a little light, in most powder situations we found them very good and again finished with a smile on face, despite spring conditions. The Early Rise keeps the tips up effortlessly and 98cm generally floated well. Unless you really do ski backcountry and deep and steep, I question how many people need wider than this (although big skis do look good at the apres-ski bar), but you pay your money you take your chance?

ICE AND CRUD

For any off-piste ski, the ultimate test is ice and crud in our view. Its when we are really under pressure and need our skis to help us out. We therefore headed low, in and out of trees to find some crusty snow and ice. Such conditions late and early in the season are never hard to find so we weren’t (or maybe we were) disappointed. The Kastle Bmx98 ski on ice wasn’t at its strongest but it wasn’t bad either, generally well behaved without excelling. However, in crud they worked beautifully with the rigidity and early rise bashing through the top layer well and carving beautifully heavy turns very well. Far better than we have on other similar skis we have tested, including the Dynastar Cham 97 that we also like. 

WOULD WE BUY A PAIR

Definitely a yes. The Kastle BMX98 2015 has really changed from the 2011 pair but then again it didn’t really need to being probably one, if not the best all mountain ski on the market. 

Some all mountain skis we would use the term ‘jack of all trades but master of none’ but in the case of the Kastle BMX98 ski this would be doing this ski an injustice. Yes you can find fault in one or two things it does, but such complaints are no more than niggles and a very small compromise for such a genuinely versatile all mountain ski.   

It loves to be skied fast and whether you take the fall line or long carves, it is a great ski in both scenarios. We all particularly loved the fact that when carving it felt as if it was on rails, very steady, smooth and held the turn from initial bite until shifting weight or just easing off. Never a murmur, shake or anything untoward. Yet take in the bumps and you could throw it through through the turns as if you were in a Mini Cooper S in the Italian Job!

Staying with the car analogy, we would describe it as a Range Rover Sport, can handle all terrain and anything you through at it off the beaten track, but put the foot down on the open road and it can fly, and on the corners throw it in hand and it will still zip through the turn with the traction control always leaves you feeling safe and assured. Like the Range Rover Sport the Kastle BMX98 ski is a class act! 

WHO DOES THE KASTLE BMX98 BEST SUIT

The million dollar question, one man’s (or woman’s) pleasure is another’s poison. But we doubt few would feel the latter in this case. Four testers and everyone of us loved and raved about them afterwards and there was a reasonable disparity in experience, age, physiques, styles, and both female  and male skiers. All said they would happily buy a pair and had loved every minute on them.

So to answer the question, if you have a good intermediate or expert skier – can make good linked turns on a variety of pistes, are confident to ski at a reasonable pace, like off-piste or want to venture more this way, and wants a one ski fits all, this and the Dynastar Cham 97 are two skis we think should be high on your list, regardless of whether you are male or female, light or heavy.

Enjoy and have a great ski day from the test team at Chalet ski Holidays.