2022 Kastle MX 98

Big, burly, and a whole lot of fun for the right skier, the Kastle MX 98 holds a pretty special place in the ski world. With the shape, construction, and profile to take you wherever you want to go, and at ridiculously high speeds, the MX 98 is the one-tool all-mountain crusher that rips about has hard as it gets. Built with a wood core consisting of beech and poplar stringers in the middle-portion of the core and with poplar stringers on the outer parts, the skis are stable, smooth, and damp in the best possible way. With two sheets of fiberglass and two metal layers, these skis have the sidewall sandwich construction that grips tight to the hard snow, while being compliant enough to not only plow through crud and chop, but also to float on top of fresh and softer snow. With taper and rocker on the minimal side, these skis are equally at home on an early-morning groomer as they are in mid-day crud and chop. As usual, our testers raved about the stability and high-performance ceiling of these skis, and that’s just something that we’re used to these days here at SkiEssentials.com from the good people at Kastle.

J.T. Vize was on the 178, and he noted that it was true to size. Good thing, because these are only offered in three sizes, so if you’re not really in the intended zone, you’re going to have a hard time sizing up or down, but I suppose sizing down would make more sense if you’re in the middle, mostly because of the stability and power of the ski. J.T. gave top scores of 4’s out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, and edge grip, with low scores of 1 for forgiveness and playfulness, showing the top-end and high levels of demand when it comes to the MX 98. While some skiers may see this as a detraction, there’s an equal number of skiers who view that 1 for forgiveness as a good thing. He calls it a “Great ski for beautiful, fresh groomed, icy mornings. Great for that expert skier that wants a solid turning ski.” And that’s the funny part about these skis, is that they’re so wide, yet hold an edge so well, that people forget that they’re supposed to be more versatile. They just work so well on groomers, a lot of skiers never take them off-trail.

Jeffrey Siegel also skied the 178, noting it’s trueness, and scoring it 5’s out of 5 for stability and overall impression. Quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and versatility all got 4’s, while we see another low score of 2 for forgiveness, signifying the stiffness of the ski and its ability to hold tight to the firmest of snows. With heaps of praise, Jeffrey notes that “This was my favorite ski from the test, hands down. It has everything that makes a Kastle great: great edge hold, smooth release of power, a big sweet-spot for great forgiveness…it just has that feeling of something quality under your foot. What it added was a level of playfulness I never expected to find from a Kastle. I felt it just wanted to fly off every bump. I was effortlessly bouncing from mogul to mogul and just having a blast. And once you’re in a carve, the ski is a rocket. A little bit of play in the tips at speed through the crud, but that didn’t seem to have any effect on stability. A fantastic ski.” We’ll leave it at that!

Wide enough to be more of a freeride ski, but with the build and attitude of a front side carver, the Kastle MX 98 blurs a lot of lines in the ski world. It rips the groomers at high speeds, and plows through crud and chunky snow as if it weren’t even there. Skiers looking to do it all with the utmost in power and precision needn’t look further than the MX 98.