Kästle’s current MX83, reprised from last season, is both typical of a current trend and atypical in a way all its own.  The trend it’s party to is how a series of modest modifications amount to a significant change, especially in Finesse qualities.  It’s unique among such upgraded models in that the name it’s re-assuming happens to be the legendary MX83, inarguably one of the greatest Frontside models ever made.

Let’s first dissect the tech tweaks that distinguish the new MX83 from the MX84 it replaced, starting from the tip, which is 2mm narrower yet houses a fresh version of Kästle’s signature Hollowtech insert that nearly fills the entire shovel.  A less noticeable but equally important alteration took place in the core, where heavy silver fir was swapped out for poplar, the reigning lightweight wood of choice among Big Mountain models.  In a 175cm that will be a popular size, the MX83 comes in 58g’s lighter than the 176cm MX84.

Unlike many Frontside models, the MX83 has no shock-sucking binding interface to muffle snow feel. If purchased as a system, the Tyrolia binding it’s mated with connects toe and heel but remains relatively close to the ski. This gives the MX83 a sensitive feel for the snow surface that’s smothered by heavy plates and lifters. “This ski has great feel for the snow,” confirms Bobo’s Theron Lee.

Among its other rare traits compared to its peers is it’s the product of a relatively new Czech ownership and factory. All preliminary indications are that taking control of its own manufacturing was a great idea, enabling the brand to reproduce the immaculate finish that helped to relaunch Kästle in 2007.

The reason the revival of the MX83 ought to interest experts everywhere is because it responds so intuitively to technical commands. All you have to do is look where you want to go, and you’re there. Its fully cambered baseline feels super-glued to the snow, inviting speeds that would cause lesser lights to shake loose. Most skis this torsionally rigid don’t flow over and around moguls too well, but the MX83 has an almost liquid flow bred into its bones. Cautionary note: if mogul performance really matters to you, stay away from the 182cm length, as it’s not too nifty a drifter, and it’s too long for troughs cut by shorter skis and boards.

One of the best indicators of a great ski is how well it performs in conditions for which it wasn’t made.  By this measure, the MX83 remains an all-time great. Sure, it’s a gas to make deep trenches in corduroy at speeds that on another ski would be terrifying, but the MX83 adopts the same attitude towards all terrain. It doesn’t care where you point it because it’s confident in its abilities, a self-assurance that invariably rubs off on its pilot.

If it sounds like the MX83 is too much ski for you, in one sense you’re right and in another you’re dead wrong.  You’re right in that you may never live up to the capabilities of this extraordinary ski; it’s ceiling will forever be above you. But you’re wrong to think the average skier can’t savor its delights. The MX83’s size range is skewed short so that lighter or less talented skiers can experience perfection without necessarily being able to exemplify it.

In its shorter lengths, the MX83 makes an excellent Silver Skier Selection if for no other reason than by this stage in your life, you’ve earned it.