2027 Kastle Sublime 88 W

The 2027 Kastle Sublime 88 W is a high-powered all-mountain ski that's built and shaped to tame the resort and beyond. We think that a ski like this with two sheets of metal and a sophisticated shape makes a lot of sense. You get the benefits of edge grip and carving power to go along with an all-mountain rocker profile and a slightly more tapered shape, especially versus the MX line from Kastle. Sublime does take a bit off the top against that MX 88, but it still has a very high-performance ceiling and offers a lot of confidence to a ton of strong skiers.

Kastle uses a sophisticated construction with this ski and we're not at all surprised about that. Built with their Twin Core technology, Sublime 88 W uses a mix of poplar and beech in this ski. We get two sheets of titanal here for damping and power. You can feel all of it and it's awesome. Kastle stats a weight of 1837 g/ski in the 166 cm length, so there's certainly some power and stability here. The flex is quite strong as well, with a consistent feel from tip to tail. it's even a bit stiffer than the MX 88 in the very shovel since it doesn't use Hollowtech 3.0. Tester Megan Papineau notes with two wows: "Wow! I LOVE this ski. While, maybe not quite as stable as the MX series, there is something about it that just inspires confidence while still encouraging fast but safe and controlled awesome turns. While she certainly shines on groomers, this ski is playful enough to work as an all-mountain ski as well. This is a great ski for a former racer in my opinion. Wow. This was my favorite ski at ski test. I will say, I’d have a hard time skiing it routinely at a resort as it encourages high speeds and too much fun!"

At 88 mm underfoot, the Sublime 88 W is a pure all-mountain ski. We get a bit of rocker in the tips and the tails for ease of entry and exit in the turns. It helps with softer snow and powder, but this is still more of an on-trail ski rather than one that is meant for deep days. We do see more of a tapered look in this ski versus MX, and that gives it just a bit more of a pleasant nature—it's not harsh at all in terms of ride quality. In that 166, the ski generates a 15.2-meter turn radius which is right in the sweet spot for mixing turn shapes and styles in all sorts of conditions and terrain. It's got a nice sense of confidence as a result. Tester Emily Sampson states that "This ski felt like a big, safe, bear hug. You can stand on her and she won’t let you down. She is a ski you do need to drive and finding the tip will be where you want to feel her in all her glory. The 88 did feel a touch wide for what I really wanted from it but didn’t take away from my fandom. I love her and felt supported by her mentally and emotionally."

We all really enjoyed our time on the Sublime series, and this 88 W is a fantastic representation of what a high-quality and high-performance all-mountain ski can truly be. With enough power to satisfy the needs of former racers and powerful skiers, the Sublime 88 W has an awesome front side gear. Then when you bring the 88 mm waist and the rocker profile into the discussion, these skis work great in bumps, softer snow, and packed-out trees. While they ultimately will need more width and shape to be ideal powder skis, they do just fine for a normal resort day.