The Salomon QST 118 is all about the drift. It likes to smudge the top of the turn, swivel a smidge in the middle and pivot as it drifts to the finish. If a turn were a performance of Hamlet, the QST 118 would show up near the end of Act II and leave before Act IV.
Aside from its smear tactics, the most noticeable trait of the QST 118 is its light weight, less than 2kg in a 185cm, which is a blessing considering its surface area, roughly the same square mileage as Montenegro. All you have to do to guide the QST 118 through powder is push it around; advanced technical skills aren’t required.
The singular trait of the Blizzard RC Ti that sets it apart from other elite Technical skis is the light caress it applies to a short turn. Most powerful carving skis earn their bona fides by being burly trench diggers, ripping up the corduroy carpet with the subtlety of a Sherman tank. Relatively speaking, the RC Ti is a waterbug, creasing the snow surface but not disfiguring it, zipping back and forth with the accuracy of a Chopin étude.
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.
