2022 Kastle MX 83

In the world of all-mountain carving skis, the Kastle MX 83 stands out as one of the good ones. Thanks to the build, shape, and profile, these skis have the ability to make some of the cleanest and roundest turns out there. If you’re looking to spend most of your time on the groomers, while leaving the opening for having some fun in the off-piste, these skis are an amazing choice. The build is on the simpler side, but the way they do it definitely places the Kastle-branded skis in a class of their own. The central part of the ski consists of beech stringers while the outer portions are poplar. By keeping the stringers of the wood on the thinner side of the spectrum, the Kastle ski designers are able to keep the ski balanced, poised, and damp—much more so than with blockier wood cores. The flex is on the stiffer side, and the skis are dense, as they add to that wood core two sheets of metal and two layers of fiberglass. At 83 mm underfoot, these skis are on the wide side for front side and on the narrow end of all-mountain, so they do a fantastic job at blurring the intended use of the ski. Hollowtech in the tips keeps unwanted vibrations and chatter to a minimum.

John McIntosh was on the 175, and he noted it skied true to length and was a good size for him. Normally, when we see these skis with zero rocker and minimal taper, it makes them ski a bit long, as the effective edge length is increased, but it’s nice to hear that John didn’t really have that feeling, as the skis might have felt on the long side for him if that was the case. Forgiveness and flotation earned lower scores of 3 out of 5 for John, and that’s likely to be expected, as the skis are on the stiffer side, and since they’re also on the narrow end and fully cambered, it’s easy to see why they’d prefer sinking in powder. All other scores, including torsional stiffness, edge grip, versatility, and overall impression all got 4’s, and that’s a good sign for these low to mid-80's carving skis that they do have more going for them other than making ridiculously clean and round arcs on the groomers. John notes about the MX 83s “Classic camber. A versatile all mountain ski with great on-piste performance.” John’s a classic skier, so it makes sense that he’d appreciate the profile of the MX 83.

Also on the 175, Bob St.Pierre notes that the ski was a bit on the short side, “but due to the stability and build, it skis a bit longer than the length indicates. I’d love to ski the 182.” He gave top marks of 5 out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, edge grip, quickness, maneuverability, and overall impression. Forgiveness, playfulness, versatility, and flotation all got 3’s. “This is the type of ski that I’d love to have, but fear I wouldn’t use as much as I ought. It makes the roundest turns of any ski I’ve ever been on, and that includes a lot of race-like skis with short radii. This thing is so very impressive in a variety of ways, but it is a handful, and you do have to stay on top of it. The tail is stiff and square, so it likes to hold on tight until the end of the turn, which is great, but not all of the time.” The MX 83 does require the skier to be in control of the situation, and not everyone’s up to the task 100% of the time on the hill.

If you’re looking for something that will handle the groomers better than most anything else on the planet, the Kastle MX 83 is a great choice. Agile, grippy, and strong, these skis are best-suited to advanced and expert skiers who not only know how to make a carved turn, but who are also committed to doing it the entire run. Not a whole lot of room for relaxation here—these are more in the sports car category than a luxury sedan.