After testing the new Kästle FX85 last SIA, I told Mr. Davenport, “It’s like cheating!” — so quick and easy to ski, super fun in bumps yet handled both groomed and light crud with ease. I already own an MX83, so I felt the want but not the need for a similar ski. Except that they aren’t that similar, and as summer approached its end, I kept thinking about that black and red ski ….
Fast forward to 2016, my willpower finally lapsed and I am the proud owner of a pair of 173s mounted on the line with Pivot 12s. I have had two full days on them so far. The FX85 was in its element on a lovely January chalk day at Copper Mountain. My concern back at SIA was how the non-metal ski would hold up to speed; I did need to keep it on edge — straight is not a strength — but I was able to open it up as fast as I’m comfortable. (Bear in mind, this is not exactly slow but also not as fast some of my ski buddies; I weigh about 140, so bigger and/or faster skiers will definitely want the HP, if not straight to an MX.) In a variety of off-piste terrain, including open bowls and trees, the FX85 was obedient and right at home.
Yesterday we went to Snowmass, which had reported a couple inches of new snow but on top of consistent snowfall over the past week, and a few more inches fell during the day. Normally I would ski something a little longer and wider in such conditions, but I was curious and took the FX85. Groomers were miles of wide soft cord, so … yeah, that’s not really a test because 2x4s work there. But we found plenty of untracked and lightly tracked but deep snow to work with in the trees and playgrounds around Snowmass. It took me a few runs in the morning to get it all figured out, but by the afternoon, I felt confident again.
Comparison with MX83: Not surprisingly, the FX retains much of the smooth, damp feeling of the MX, but not quite the same stability. It takes a touch longer to hook up and doesn’t track as powerfully, but it holds its own. While I was comfortable skiing at a good clip on the FX, the MX urges me to ski even faster than I really want to. The biggest difference, though, is in unconsolidated snow in trees, which is where I pretty much refuse to ski the MX83. The MX seeks the bottom — which is great, when there is a bottom. The FX is much easier to deal with at slow speeds, and the early rise tip helps avoid surprises underneath the snow.
Both my MX83 and FX85 are 173s. Yes, the FX skis a little shorter, but not that much. I want it to be a Western no-new-snow, off-piste-biased ski, which in Colorado means lots of bumps, chalky steeps, and tracked-out trees. After yesterday, I could see this as the narrow half of a Western two-ski quiver, or maybe even the elusive one-ski quiver, but for either of those, I would get the 181.
Fast forward to 2016, my willpower finally lapsed and I am the proud owner of a pair of 173s mounted on the line with Pivot 12s. I have had two full days on them so far. The FX85 was in its element on a lovely January chalk day at Copper Mountain. My concern back at SIA was how the non-metal ski would hold up to speed; I did need to keep it on edge — straight is not a strength — but I was able to open it up as fast as I’m comfortable. (Bear in mind, this is not exactly slow but also not as fast some of my ski buddies; I weigh about 140, so bigger and/or faster skiers will definitely want the HP, if not straight to an MX.) In a variety of off-piste terrain, including open bowls and trees, the FX85 was obedient and right at home.
Yesterday we went to Snowmass, which had reported a couple inches of new snow but on top of consistent snowfall over the past week, and a few more inches fell during the day. Normally I would ski something a little longer and wider in such conditions, but I was curious and took the FX85. Groomers were miles of wide soft cord, so … yeah, that’s not really a test because 2x4s work there. But we found plenty of untracked and lightly tracked but deep snow to work with in the trees and playgrounds around Snowmass. It took me a few runs in the morning to get it all figured out, but by the afternoon, I felt confident again.
Comparison with MX83: Not surprisingly, the FX retains much of the smooth, damp feeling of the MX, but not quite the same stability. It takes a touch longer to hook up and doesn’t track as powerfully, but it holds its own. While I was comfortable skiing at a good clip on the FX, the MX urges me to ski even faster than I really want to. The biggest difference, though, is in unconsolidated snow in trees, which is where I pretty much refuse to ski the MX83. The MX seeks the bottom — which is great, when there is a bottom. The FX is much easier to deal with at slow speeds, and the early rise tip helps avoid surprises underneath the snow.
Both my MX83 and FX85 are 173s. Yes, the FX skis a little shorter, but not that much. I want it to be a Western no-new-snow, off-piste-biased ski, which in Colorado means lots of bumps, chalky steeps, and tracked-out trees. After yesterday, I could see this as the narrow half of a Western two-ski quiver, or maybe even the elusive one-ski quiver, but for either of those, I would get the 181.
- Who is it for? Anyone who wants a versatile ski with off-piste bias; lighter finesse skiers should love it, as will larger aspiring skiers.
- Who is it not for? Big and/or fast dudes who want to straightline stuff.
- Insider tip: The good-looking combination of ski and black chrome binding has elicited a few ooh’s and aah’s from ski geeks.
