No other non-race ski handles speed with such suavity. As one’s aura of invincibility grows with every immaculate turn, so does the temptation to amp up the acceleration. Just what the MX84 was waiting for. It’s fully cambered baseline and classic, wood/metal/glass construction is made to respond to speed. No matter how fast you go, the MX84 seems to have a power reserve that will allow you to go even faster if you have the cajones. Its serenity on edge is unwavering on any snow at any speed, although hard snow and high speeds are its bread and butter. Of course it will make short-radius turns, particularly in its shorter lengths, but it’s like asking American Pharaoh to pull a plow. “For someone with the skills, getting this ski to do what you want is effortless,” sighs Amy from Footloose.
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.
Kästle wasn’t even trying to make a knockout women’s ski. It applied a square sidewall to what was previously a cap ski to give it a performance kick, in the process raising the performance bar to the elite level. It doesn’t hurt that the stock lay-up for a Kästle is a vertically laminated beech/silver fir core encased in twin laminates of glass and Titanal. There’s a reason it’s the foundation of all the best hard-snow skis being made today. The strongest women might overpower it, but the LX73 isn’t meant for them. It’s a confidence builder for those who aren’t as skilled or athletic as they’d like to be.
