This year, Kästle completely redesigned its off-trail FX series, returning to a metal laminate construction. Kästle’s FX96 Women, however, wasn’t part of this transformation, returning to the line where it first debuted in the 2019/20 season.
The cornerstone of the FX96 W design is a poplar and beech wood core inside a fiberglass torsion box that is itself encased in a laminate, with poplar and Paulownia bookending the central core. The torsion box rides higher than the outer sections, creating a 3D top surface, which is the first weight-saver. Second is the concentration of hard woods in the center, so lighter woods can be used in the remaining 2/3 of the core. Third is using a thicker core profile in the central torsion box, which gives it more power without adding more materials.
The proof of the FX96 W’s terrain proclivities is found in its double-rockered baseline. Its shallow camber pocket transitions to a long, gradual front rocker – Kästle refers to it as Progressive Rise – that starts 310cm from the tip. The tail rocker picks up and a similarly slight slope 150cm from the tail. This creates a relatively short contact length that works in concert with its slalomesque sidecut (14m @ 164cm) to create a fat ski that skis skinny.
Rossignol has completely overhauled its keystone Experience series, re-defining its target customers as recreational skiers who want to take in the entire resort experience, of which skiing is but a part. They’ll spend most of the day on groomed slopes, but want a ski that will allow them to travel off to the side of the trail should conditions be favorable. They expect quality and performance, but they’re not looking to stretch the performance envelope as much as stay comfortably inside it. It’s unisex counterpart, the Experience 82 Ti, is the highest rated Finesse ski in the Frontside genre, a strong indication the women’s version will exude the same properties.
The Experience W 86 Basalt from Rossignol is part of a tiny minority of Women’s All-Mountain East models that headlines a mostly Frontside collection. Rossi has completely re-imagined its Experience series, long the mainstay of its core recreational models, to fit what it perceives as a new skier type, the “All-Resort” skier. Skiing is still an important part of the overall resort experience, but it’s not the whole ball of wax for this resort visitor. While this person is an avid skier, she’s not going to go wandering out of bounds intentionally and whatever powder she essays will be on the side of the trail. She’ll find something else to do when the weather is lousy, and she’s not going to push too hard on the performance envelope.
Forgive me, Dear Readers, for I have sinned. I’ve included the Liberty evolv 90w here without knowing, deep-down, how women will feel about its 21/22 incarnation. You see, Liberty added a third alu strut to its innovative Vertical Metal Technology core, which will require a certain amount of energy to deflect. I’m sure Liberty understands that any skier, regardless of gender, has to be able to bend a ski to extract its best behavior. Still, I hate to render judgment based on suspicions alone.
But I’m going to, anyway. The prior generation’s carving prowess, to which the fabulous Kim Beekman alluded in last year’s review, was already first-rate, and the unisex 21/22 evolv 90 is one of the brightest stars in this year’s pantheon of All-Mountain East models. There’s every reason to suspect the new evolv 90w will perform like an elite carving ski trapped in an all-mountain model’s body.
When the fabulous Kim Beekman opined in her review of last season’s evolv 84 W that it “definitely prefers to mach the groomed at eye-watering speeds,” she had her finger on what makes the evolv 84w special. Even though it belongs to an all-mountain family of which it is the narrowest member, it behaves as if it has a carving obsession. Over the off-season, Liberty encouraged this behavior by adding a third aluminum strut to its Vertical Metal Technology core.
Which is why the 21/22 evolv 84w has a distinct, carving-ski feel with a fall-line disposition. Short turns tend to be shallow, keeping close to the shortest path downhill. If you want it to head cross-hill, get forward and drive the evolv 84w as you would a race ski. As the sublimely powerful Megan Ochs somewhat cryptically encapsulated its personality, “this ski skied like a stiffer ski than what it actually is. Well done,” said the demanding Ms. Ochs, who, BTW, is strong enough to bend an I-beam.
