FX95 HP
The Kästle FX95 HP isn’t just an all-terrain, all-condition ski; it’s also an all-attitude ski. This odd elocution means that the FX95 HP doesn’t care if your style is docile or dominating, the FX95 HP is going to hold on to every medium-to-long radius arc as if the fate of Austria hung in the balance.
There is one caveat: it helps to go lickety split . This is never more true than in still-crystalline, crisscrossed crud, when the Dual Rise baseline of the FX95 HP feels most appreciated as an aid to maneuverability over and around submerged obstacles. The trade-off is that its rockered tip and tail feel less motivated when confronted with crystalline groomage. Because of its two layers of Titanal, the FX95 HP never feels unstable at speed, but its baseline unquestionably favors variable terrain as long as it’s not the consistency of haggis.
Laser SL
A test card from South Lake Tahoe’s Powder House paints a telling portrait of the Laser SL’s strengths and limitations. The written remarks could not have been more complimentary: “Awesome! Best ski I’ve ever skied.” But the accompanying scores were deeply divided between Finesse and Power properties, with no score above 3 for off-piste performance, low-speed turning, forgiveness and drift and no score below 9 for carving accuracy, rebound, stability at speed, short turns and Finesse/Power balance.
Magnum Opus
[The test results and review for the Magnum Opus are from 2016; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.] The Magnum Opus is just kidding around. It doesn’t have a serious bone in its body. It wants to plane across the pow, toss it sideways to brake just before the...La Nina
A case could be made that Nordica has been building the best all-glass (i.e., non-metal) skis on the planet for the past several seasons. Models like the Steadfast, Hell & Back and Patron raked in best-in-show awards in their respective genres since their introduction. Nordica’s La Nina is cloned from the Patron, purloining every aspect of the unisex model but two center channels of its wood core, which La Nina replaces with foam.