2027 Kastle Transcend 104

The 2027 Kastle Transcend 104 is a fantastic new addition to the freeride lineup and makes a lot of sense for strong and capable skiers looking for a well-rounded mid-100's ski. The shape plays very well with the construction, offering skiers a lot of smoothness and power to go along with a fun-loving profile. We found these skis to be intuitive and easy to ski for how big they are, complete with capable turning properties and high-end carving. So far, the Transcend 104 is a fan favorite and has a ton of upside for advanced and aggressive skiers.

Built with Kaste’s Twin Core technology, we get a mix of poplar and beech in the wood core. This ski is built similarly in this sense to the new Sublime series as well, so there is some influence here from a carving perspective. Kastle uses their Powerzone Titanal to increase the damping and control in the mid-section of the ski as the metal doesn’t extend full length, rather ending just outside of the binding zone. Kastle states a weight of 1940 g/ski in the 183, but somehow it feels heftier than that. Tester Matt Stromecki states: “It's a tank. Very similar to the Enforcer 104 Free but with a surfier feel. It's not the easiest to put sideways and is quite taxing, but when you open it up and let them run, that's what they want to do. It's like a mini big-mountain ski. It will certainly shake up the freeride category as a strong contender. There is still some Kastle precision here, but the driftiness you get when skiing flat is so fun in the slush. I can only imagine what they are like in deeper snow, probably incredible. This ski is a lot. It may have been the heavy spring slush and tired legs, but they were a lot. As long as you can use that heft to your advantage, you will love them.”

At 104 mm underfoot, these skis have the ability and the desire to be used in multi-valent opportunities. There’s a lot going on here with the shape and profile, but overall, this feels like a wonderful directional freeride ski with enough rocker and taper to make it fun and interesting. With ample shaping, this ski is able to function well in softer snow but still maintains its on-piste chops that are super satisfying for advanced and expert skiers. The 183 claims a radius of 18.8-meters and while it can do that, it feels a lot more versatile at the same time. Any turn you want it to make—you're all good. Bob St.Pierre notes that “The Transcend 104 is an instant agreement ski. This ski immediately feels like an extension of your body and will go wherever you want it to with minimal complaints. For a relatively hefty ski with metal, that's a big ask, but the shape really speaks to my style of skiing, which is mixing turn shapes and styles to go along with high-speed compliance. From the graphics to the snow feel, this is one of the best new skis I've been on this past year.”

While Kastle still bears the burden of being known as very expensive and borderline inaccessible, we feel that there’s a lot of room for the Transcend 104 in a daily resort setting by most normal skiers. It’ll be priced at $949, and with many top-flight skis topping the 1K mark, this almost seems like a downright bargain.