K2 completely changed every core model in its 19/20 line, without straying one centimeter from its core values. True, the Mindbenders are built differently than the Pinnacles of yesteryear, using all wood cores in their Ti incarnations (say ta-ta to Nano-tech), and more Titanal in the tail section to increase rear support compared to the passé Pinnacles.
Even though the Mindbender Ti series, of which the 90Ti is the narrowest, aims for a better class of skier (if you’ll pardon the expression), they’re not so stout they can’t be controlled by adventurous intermediates. The Mindbenders’ Ti Y-Beam construction puts Titanal over the edge in the forebody but moves it away from edge in the tail. This adjusts the skis’ torsional rigidity requirements to create more bite in the forebody and easier release of the tail, without affecting their even, balanced flex longitudinally.
Light and responsive to a gentle hand on the reins, the Mindbender 90Ti may at first blush feel a tad too loose in the tip to trust at warp speed, but it proves trustworthy if given a chance to run at high rpms. An elevated platform connected to the core by its robust sidewall gives the Mindbender 90 Ti turbo power when rolled on edge. “It turns the way you ask it to and holds with confidence on hardpack,” attests Ward Pyles from Peter Glenn.
The reason the return 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.
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 epitomize it.
The last time Kästle made an MX98 it was the burliest All-Mountain West ski extant. If the skier didn’t commit to the turn, the ski would sense weakness and assume control. If you weren’t a strong, technical skier, you were more prisoner than pilot.
This personality profile didn’t change with the advent of the MX99 two seasons ago; the ski’s non-negotiable approach to turn shape – the fewer the better – limited its potential owners to those experts willing to submit to its terms.
The 20/21 MX98 incorporates several design changes that together flip the ski’s personality from stubborn to compliant. The tip is a tad wider in order to accommodate the larger Hollowtech 3.0 insert, and its slight early rise returns to a fully cambered baseline further up the ski. Note that the tail is square and flat, so the MX98 can hang onto the bottom half of a carved turn better than any other ski in the AMW genre.
One property that hasn’t changed about the flagship MX model is its pedigree: it comes from a line of carving models, the only ski in the All-Mountain West to do so. When other AMW models confront a foot of new snow they’re predisposed to ride near the surface, while the MX98 bulls it to the side. Getting knocked off course feels not only unlikely, but impossible.
If Salomon’s brand identity over the past forty years could be summarized in a single word, it would be “innovation.” The driver behind its history of successful new product introductions is a corporate culture grounded in extensive Research and Development (R&D). Salomon’s Annecy Design Center continues to launch breakthrough products capable of disrupting a market, such as the Shift binding.
The same relentless devotion to R&D that made the Shift possible spurred Salomon to re-design the QST 106 two seasons in a row. The list of last year’s changes may sound like a handful of minor alterations, but together they turbo-boosted the QST 106’s 19/20 Power score and its 19/20 Finesse score shot even higher.
I confess I’ve been maintaining a soft-snow-days only liaison with a QST 106 since we first met, so my bias in its favor is engrained. I’m now seeing a 181cm 106, which strikes me as the perfect blend of flotation for soft snow and grip on hard snow. Instead of dreading the latter, I find the QST 106 to be so natural and imbued with fluid fortitude that I stop noticing its width and simply ski. Even as the rpm’s ascend it stays the course, laying down long turns as if to the manner born.
Because of its brilliant balance between Power and Finesse virtues, we again award the QST 106 a Silver Skier Selection.
The return of the MX88 to the Kästle line is a significant re-launch, as it’s not only a revered model with more than 10 years of history, it’s also one of the first skis made by Kästle for Kästle in over two decades. To finally get to the point, the resuscitated MX88 is a gem, perhaps the smoothest, most unperturbed ride in a genre overstocked with stellar skis.
The changes to the new MX88 are similar to the tweaks applied to the Blizzard Brahma 88 and Nordica Enforcer 94 in that the particulars sound inconsequential, yet the total effect is stunning. Using poplar in the core in lieu of silver fir makes the MX88 considerably lighter than the MX89, so the new model feels more nimble. The forebody now has a hint of early rise but it doesn’t compromise snow contact because the new Hollowtech 3.0 tip design muffles shock before it can knock the edge off line.
All these embellishments make the MX88 easier to bow and more subtle in its transition from edge to edge. The new MX88 takes less effort to guide without surrendering an ounce of its power quotient, so it’s more amenable to the movements of the less skilled skier. While it’s not necessary to ski the MX88 with the speedometer pegged, it would be a shame not to let it run.
