If all you knew about the Line Sick Day 114 were its waist width (114mm), sidecut radius (23.9m) and that it’s tip and tail were tapered, you’d expect it to turn with all the agility and grace of the Exxon Valdez. And you might be right if Line ladled on the Titanal, but the Sick Day 114 is unshackled by metal bonds. It retains the springiness of an all-glass ski, and lo and behold, it steers with ease of a far shapelier ski. Its tapered tip keeps it from diving into a turn at the very top, so it smears its way through turn entry before settling on an edge that rolls comfortably through rubble.
The RX12 SL is built on traditional bones, with a classic, metal/glass sandwich around a poplar/ash core, to which Kästle adds its special ingredient, the colorful Hollowtech tip, to keep its fully cambered baseline in contact with the snow. A continuous-radius sidecut extends all the way into the tip, so as soon as it’s tipped, it’s engaged. Unfettered by FIS restrictions on sidecut radius, Kästle went tighter, pinching the RX12 SL’s radius down to 12.5m in a 165cm.
The Finesse side of the Supernatural 100’s split personality dominates when it’s skied at low speeds, while its Power traits don’t reveal themselves unless the pilot applies the lash. The Supernatural 100’s ability to adapt to the moods of its master makes it particularly suited to the Finesse skier. Its preference for off-piste terrain is signaled by its gradual “5-Cut™” shape that’s made to drift and carve in roughly equal measures. The glass in its structure provides energy and the Titanal delivers dampening, improved edge grip and better control when churning through heavy snow that would deflect a lesser ski.
That both Kästle RX12’s sit atop our Power rankings proves that our testers prefer the more forgiving branch of the race ski family tree. The RX12 GS behaves less like a true race GS than a narrow-waisted carver. It’s unadorned by any plate or interface except what may come with a given race binding, so it isn’t as tippy as a ski with more standheight. Being closer to the snow gives it a more all-mountain feel and allows the skier to roll gradually to the edge. The absence of extra hardware not only makes the RX12 lighter than category average, it helps to keep it supple and easy to bend.
Given Line’s anything-goes ethos, you might expect the Supernatural 92 to be twin-tipped, center-mounted and more likely to drift than carve, but you’d be wrong on all counts. As an all-glass ski with 4mm of camber underfoot, the Supernatural 92 is a showcase for what this uncomplicated construction can do: pounce from turn to turn, the glass behaving like a coiled spring when pressured, zinging the skier across the fall line and setting up the next turn. A powder ski that secretly loves to carve, the Supernatural 92 responds to light pressure and low edge angles, making it perfect for lighter skiers. Just because Line markets to the young doesn’t mean its skis won’t also perform for the 50-year old adolescent.
