[The test results for the Kästle BMX105 HP are from 2016 & 2017; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

A ski gets its courage from its core and its affability from its baseline.

The Kästle BMX105 HP never cowers in the face of crud, for it knows that behind its loose baseline lurk the innards of a race ski, with a Silver Fir core encased in two sheets of Titanal. Its construction is intent on domination; its base profile is devoted to reconciliation.

The BMX105 HP’s shape, as viewed from both the side and above, is adapted for smoothing out terrain that’s still in its native state, untrammeled by machine or man. The sidecut is tapered at tip and tail to form short paddles that smudge both turn entry and exit, making it harder to trip and stumble in deep snow. (Here’s how you don’t want to spend your precious powder day: looking for the ski you lost when your over-eager ski hooked into an arc.)

Looking at its baseline, the BMX105 HP tip and tail are turned up, pulling the forward contact point back 446mm and moving the rear contact point forward 268mm (for a 181cm). The Progressive Rise front rocker is long and gradual. The elevated extremities make it possible to smear into wind drifts and slip sideways through moving slough, but the BMX105 HP’s midsection remains ever ready to carve on call.

Whether you’re a charging skier who craves the stability needed to floor it through a field of wind-battered chop or an easy rider who wants to look good without expended more energy than he has in the bank, the BMX105 HP will match your style. As Blake from The Sport Loft tersely attests: “Bomber. Buy.”