2027 Kastle Paragon 93

Kastle’s Paragon 93 is a carryover model for 2027, bringing with it the same shape, construction, graphics, and profile as last year. These are full-on fun-loving high-end freeride skis and operate well in an all-mountain format. While they are notably precise and quality-oriented, they’re also somewhat approachable. These are not expensive in the same vein as the MX line, and while they’re still upper end due to the engineering in the build, at least they’re not THE most expensive skis out there. They have an uncommonly good blend of power and creativity. If you’re looking for a mix of freeride and all-mountain, the Paragon 93 is tough to beat.

We’ve loved how Kastle has approached construction lately. With the InfiniCore technology, the designers at Kastle put the proper influence in the right spots. With Paragon 93, they use dense beech stringers in the central portion with lighter and more peppy poplar and paulownia on the outsides. Kastle also puts in two full layers of metal, both stopping just before the tip’s upward sweep. Normal Hollowtech 2.0 applies here to stem the vibrations and chatter through the forebody of the ski. By reducing mass, they reduce vibes and increase stability. By using thin laminates of wood, the engineers keep the weight manageable, with the 184 cm length sitting on the scale at a stated 1912 grams per ski. For something like this with multiple metal laminates to come in at under 2kg in the 184, that’s impressive. Tester John Corbi notes that “I love skis that are meant to go fast. This ski felt comfortable with speed, but didn't love to carve on the bulletproof and death cookies present today. I realize the ski is meant for softer snow. It skied very well, but not as good as I would expect considering it's exceptional cost.”

This is one of the narrower freeride skis on the market. In the 184, we get an 18.2-meter turn radius which allows the skier to dictate shape and style with greater ease than a shorter arc. There’s a good amount of tip taper and rocker while the tail stays a bit more traditional in style. This emphasizes the floaty part of the ski while allowing it to complete turns with pep and zest—one of the things we like most about Paragon series as a whole. Tester Bob St.Pierre states that “This is a high-end ski with fantastic snow feel. It's easy to steer but you can really lean into it and get amazing feedback and performance. It's a very good floater for the width and it's also a very good carver for the width. In the low to mid-90's skis like this need to do a lot, and the Paragon 93 certainly handles variety.”

This is a fairly unique ski in terms of blending the dramatic shovel rocker and taper with such burly construction. The 2027 Kastle Paragon 93 is a wonderful example of a premium all-mountain/freeride ski. This is best when used as an advanced or expert skier, but it’s not unreasonable for a progressing intermediate to find happiness here. It’s not too heavy, nor too stiff, so there’s some accessibility. That said, for experts and aggressive skiers, this thing will hold up to very rigorous and spirited skiing. We’ve loved them in the bumps, trees, groomers, softer snow, etc. Basically, anywhere you want to ski, the Paragon 93 will handle its end of the bargain.