The personality profile of the Mindbender 99 Ti can be traced directly to the Ti Y-Beam, its principal structural component. As if often the case, Titanal laminates have such a profound effect on torsional rigidity and vibration damping that both its presence and its absence are palpably evident. In the Mindbender 99 Ti, wherever the Ti goes, Power properties follow; where it’s excised, Finesse facility blooms in its absence.
The forward prongs of the Y-Beam yoke travel over the edge, so at the top of the turn early tip pressure is rewarded with engagement at the earliest contact point. Through the critical mid-section, the Y-Beam expands edge-to-edge for max torsional rigidity before retreating to the center of the ski in the tail. Its edge grip underfoot derives from the wall-to-wall section of the “Y” pattern, sticking to any surface that will hold snow, then relaxing its grip through the bottom of the turn. This creates a built-in micro-drift that helps the tail release and keeps it pliable in manky bumps.
No ski will feel easy if it can’t grip on hard snow, so K2 attaches an insurance policy in the guise of a slender, separate core and sidewall combo that sits astride the Mindbender 99 Ti midsection. Dubbed Powerwall, its bonus standheight and damping multiply any force applied from above, amplifying the skier’s efforts. It’s a classic K2 embellishment, reducing the exertion required of the skier without compromising the result.
Any ski with a Power/Finesse Balance score above 90 is doing a lot of things right. The flex of the new ZX100 from Kästle is balanced and even, and the ZX100 resides comfortably on the borderline between drifting and edging as it dances close to the fall line. If you want to make a tighter turn that’s more carve than swivel, be prepared to work for it, but that’s the case for just about every ski in this genre. It somehow manages to feel lightweight and more maneuverable than most AMW models, yet it’s not particularly light; the Kastle FX 96 Ti is actually lighter, despite sporting two sheets of Titanal.
While there’s nothing extraordinary about its essential elements or their construction, the ZX100 gets all the basics right. Its non-metal make-up is refreshing in a genre loaded with as much metal as a gunboat. You may get it to quake at supersonic speeds and of course the baseline is rockered and the forebody tapered to neuter the shovel, but overall the ZX100 feels stable and confident.
The only quibble I can concoct is that Kästle should reconsider aligning the ZX too closely with the budget-challenged youth of America, as its blend of security and peppy personality could suit skiers of any generation. In full awareness of the irony of the gesture, we award the ZX100 a Silver Skier Selection.
Few conditions are as intimidating as bone-flat light, where all terrain features disappear in a miasma of misty grey. Not that this is anyone’s idea of Nirvana, but it happens, and when it does it would be good to be on the MX98. It exudes confidence, a blessing when the pilot has little of his own. Like the Bonafide 97 and the Mantra M6, the MX98 doesn’t care where you aim it. Its tendency is to stay pinned to the planet, rolling over whatever is presented in its path. While one wouldn’t call it agile, neither is it nervous or indecisive. Whether flat or on edge, it’s a ski you can trust, which is of paramount importance when you can’t see squat.
Sad to say, the most likely condition an all-terrain ski will encounter is also the most mundane: groomers. If you own an MX98, you’ll actually look forward to a morning of corduroy, for groomers are to the MX98 what the briar patch was to Brer Rabbit: its natural element. Rolling it edge to edge, twin-track style, you’d never guess you were on a 98mm-waisted ski. The ski simply doesn’t call attention to itself in any unpleasant way: no loose tip, no sense of sluggish girth, no soft tail to spin out. If you know how to fire out of a turn, the MX98 gives you a tail you can stomp on.
I ski the Kästle MX83 on a regular basis, so I can’t help judging the FX86 Ti by the standard set by its stablemate. It’s not a fair comparison, because the two skis are aiming at different targets. They don’t ski much alike because they’re made to ski differently. Let us count the ways.
Starting from the tips, the MX83’s full camber line is made to connect as early as possible, while the tapered and well-rockered (280mm) tip of the FX86 Ti is meant to do just the opposite. Both use Hollowtech 3.0, Kästle’s signature damping device, but the FX86 Ti starts off as a looser construction, so it doesn’t feel as quiet as the MX83.
Moving to the middle of the ski, both models use a wood core and Titanal in a combination Kästle calls Tri Ti, but the two constructions are subtly and importantly different. The MX83’s tail is square, flared and stiff; the rear of the FX86 Ti is rounded-off, softer and rises gradually off the snow for its last 210m’s. When all their differences are tallied, it’s clear why the FX96 Ti has no more chance of behaving like the MX83 than a giraffe has of bearing kittens.
The orientation of the lighter and looser FX86 Ti is unabashedly off-trail, where its turns of choice are mid-radius. As long as one’s speed is also kept at a comfortable mid-range, the FX86 Ti remains cool, calm and collected.
If the MX88 has a character flaw, it’s that it can’t resist the urge to show off. It’s ability to stay blasé when other skis are getting buffeted around like a teacup in a typhoon can’t be evinced unless the pilot is willing to lay on the gas. So what if it’s not great at slow, short turns? That’s no way to ski crud and it’s certainly a boring means of consuming groomers. One pays a pretty penny for a MX88; what you’re paying for is its unperturbed ride when it kicks into a gear most skis in this genre don’t possess.
The trade-off for its tranquility during supersonic acceleration is the absence of any patience with low speeds, which the MX88 sees no point in indulging. It would rather implement its own advice, which can be summarized as, “how are you going to go fast if you don’t stop going slow?”
If this sounds like the MX88 belongs to a club whose only members are experts, well, that’s certainly true for the 187cm length, and I’m not sure anyone less than expert ought to get a 180cm, either. But the shorter lengths are fine for any competent skier who wants the quiet ride of a luxury sedan with the steering of a sports car.
