Don’t let the Salomon X-Drive 8.3’s higher number or steeper suggested retail lull you into the assumption that it’s somehow intended to look down on the X-Drive 8.0.  It’s rather the opposite.

The head-fake on the MSRP is due to the 8.3’s automatic mating with a matching Salomon binding, while the X-Drive 8.0 can be purchased either with or without an associated binding.  The seeming superiority in numbers is merely a reference to the 8.3’s 83mm waist width, which is a less significant stat than the 8.3’s smaller meter-radius measurement.

Lest the obscurity of the last sentence leave you in a fog, it means that despite the 8.3’s wider waist it’s nonetheless predisposed to make a tighter turn than the 8.0.  This propensity for shorter turns at low to medium speeds is augmented by a semi-sandwich chassis that uses a flexible monocoque structure on either side of a stiffer, square-sidewall center section.

The combination of a wider platform, deeper sidecut and softer flex makes the X-Drive 8.3 ski/binding system an excellent value for the recreational skier who just wants to have fun.