When I refer to a Power Powder ski’s ability to carve like a much narrower ski, I’m not kidding, but neither am I telling the whole story. A wide ski with camber in the belly of its baseline, like the Kästle BMX115, provides a solid platform that won’t swim under pressure. On groomers, the skier notices the slender edge that’s dug in the snow more than the behemoth slab of ski that isn’t. As long as the ski is on edge, awareness of its ballooned dimensions is suppressed.

It isn’t until the ski passes through the turn transition and the skier tries to find the new edge that the prodigious width of the BMX115 is unmistakable. It doesn’t take a winch to haul the ski up on edge, but the tapered tip isn’t over-anxious to engage, so turn entry is often accompanied by a dab of drift – a driftette? – until the edge is elevated enough to take over. The drift-ability of the BMX115 ends up being as useful as its carving capacity; it’s equal access to both skills that makes the BMX115 a first-rate Powder board.