Individual Review Volkl 100Eight vs Kastle BMX 105

[Olesya C]

I am looking for a new powder ski. My current top contenders are Vokl 100Eight and Kastle BMX 105. I am looking for input on difference between the 2 skis and input on ski length for someone with my stats.

About me: 185 cm tall or 6'1", currently about 180-183 pounds light. I am L7 out of 9 skier, low advanced. My current skis are Kicker POTUS, previosly I skied and loved Kenjas in 170 cm. Also I own Savory 7 in 177 cm that I am trying to sell/replace because the Savory 7 are way too soft for me, even though they are fun in soft/deep snow.

Some skis I demoed in the past and loved - 2015 Vokl Mantra in 177 cm, Kastle FX 95 in 173 cm, Blizzard Brahma in 173 cm. I also demoed and hated Blizzard Bonafide - felt like too much of a ski.

What I am looking for in a powder ski - ability to handle a rare powder day on a trip out West, ability to handle crud, slush and heavier/cut up powder. I like to ski soft easy bumps and mellow trees. I am not fast off-piste, so the ability of ski to handle high speed is not a huge concern, but I need to be able to ski them semi-enjoyably manner on soft-semi or soft groomers in between the off-piste expeditions. So I suppose I would need a ski that is not very soft but not very stiff and burly, somewhere in the middle perhaps.

 

[Philpug]

Jeez, both of these skis are great. My first thought would be to lean to the 105..the ski is jsut so darn good for everything you are asking for. The 90Eight is a fine choice, almost would suggest considering the 100Eight but sticking to your two options, I beleive the Kastle will do everything the Volkl will do for you but the Volkl won't do everything the Kastle will..in your ist of desires.

@Bobalooski...do you have some 105's?

 

[Olesya C]

@Philpug do you think 173 cm in either ski be too short or just right for me for slower skiing in bumps and trees? I never skied anything above 180 cm, even in a powder ski (well not many women's skis are longer than 180 cm), but I do wonder if one of the reasons I dislike Savory 7 in 177 cm that they are too short for me, especially in powder? The best thing would be to demo of course, would be hard to find Kastle demo, but maybe Volkl 100Eight in either 173 or 181 cm on one of my out west trips?

 

[Philpug]

@Philpug do you think 173 cm in either ski be too short or just right for me for slower skiing in bumps and trees? I never skied anything above 180 cm, even in a powder ski (well not many women's skis are longer than 180 cm), but I do wonder if one of the reasons I dislike Savory 7 in 177 cm that they are too short for me, especially in powder? The best thing would be to demo of course, would be hard to find Kastle demo, but maybe Volkl 100Eight in either 173 or 181 cm on one of my out west trips?

Paging @SBrown to the white courtesy phone please.

 

[SBrown]

We actually have already been in contact ... I do think something closer to 180 would be better, the 173s just seem too short. I do recall the BMX 105 being super quick in the 181, so I think that would be the safer bet. I would bet for sure that Savory 7 was just not enough ski.

 

[Olesya C]

Yep, I think me being 185 cm tall and all I need 181 cm long, leaning towards BMX 105 now.

 

[Tony S]

We actually have already been in contact ... I do think something closer to 180 would be better, the 173s just seem too short. I do recall the BMX 105 being super quick in the 181, so I think that would be the safer bet. I would bet for sure that Savory 7 was just not enough ski.

FWIW, I'll just note that the 100Eight @173cm turns out to be more like 176cm. At least my pair does. Splitting hairs, perhaps, but some of us enjoy doing that.

 

[Olesya C]

FWIW, I'll just note that the 100Eight @173cm turns out to be more like 176cm. At least my pair does. Splitting hairs, perhaps, but some of us enjoy doing that.

That is good to know! But my guess would be not long enough still for me probably?

 

[Tony S]

That is good to know! But my guess would be not long enough still for me probably?

Can't say. I'd go with what sbrown says.

 

[Olesya C]

Can't say. I'd go with what sbrown says.

Yeah she said 181 cm would probably be better.

 

[Bobalooski]

Jeez, both of these skis are great. My first thought would be to lean to the 105..the ski is jsut so darn good for everything you are asking for. The 90Eight is a fine choice, almost would suggest considering the 100Eight but sticking to your two options, I beleive the Kastle will do everything the Volkl will do for you but the Volkl won't do everything the Kastle will..in your ist of desires.

@Bobalooski...do you have some 105's?

Why, yes I do. PM sent.

 

[Olesya C]

I got the BMX 105 HP in 181 cm and skied them today in a few inches of fresh snow and Iove them! Great skis! Thank you @Bobalooski !

 

[Olesya C]

I wanted to add - these ski were very easy to ski for me despite being 181 cm long ski 2 sheets of titanal and 105 mm width. They are easy to pivot - and I skied them in a short stretch of easy glades, they held a edge and carved pretty well on firm patches for the ski that wide. They are effortless at slower speed, but they really shine at higher speed and they smoothed out the piles of snow that built up as the day went on. Skiing fast down the fall line felt very natural and I am usually not a fast or agressive skier, but I think this ski helped my find my rawr like @Tricia likes to say. It's almost like these skis encourage me to go faster. It could also be that 181 cm was just the right length, in the past I skied shorter and softer skis. As @SBrown pointed out to me in the past I probably needed longer and more substantial skis (as compared to 177 cm Savory 7 I had previously) and I think she was right.

I will probably write more on them later as I ski more on them when I ski them on my out West trips.

 

[SBrown]

I wanted to add - these ski were very easy to ski for me despite being 181 cm long ski 2 sheets of titanal and 105 mm width. .... Skiing fast down the fall line felt very natural and I am usually not a fast or agressive skier, but I think this ski helped my find my rawr like @Tricia likes to say. It's almost like these skis encourage me to go faster. It could also be that 181 cm was just the right length, in the past I skied shorter and softer skis. As @SBrown pointed out to me in the past I probably needed longer and more substantial skis (as compared to 177 cm Savory 7 I had previously) and I think she was right.

I will probably write more on them later as I ski more on them when I ski them on my out West trips.

Kästles always do that to me. Without fail. Period. Full stop.

 

[Olesya C]

I skied BMX 105 them today at Alta. I skied everything - soft corduroy in the morning, later as the fresh snow was really coming down - crud, soft bumps, powder, mellow trees. I should specify that conditions were great! These skis are amazing! So easy to pivot, and so stable. I don't know how they are so nimble and damp at the same time, but they are. somehow. They are very easy to ski in soft powdery bumps of any size and moderate steepness (easy single blacks at Alta - don't ski anything stepper yet), easy to pivot in trees, they never felt cumbersome in any way, just did whatever I asked them to do. Like I said previously, they do encourage me to go fast and today I obliged! Today I was way more confident in ungroomed terrain with fresh snow than I have ever been before. They will carve quite competently for a wider ski on a soft groomer and hold good edge on icy spots between bumps.

I will add that I recently got new boots (Nordica GPX 95) with a custom footbed, from a great bootfitter and the boots improved my skiing and my confidence. It turns I was skiing in the boots too wide for several seasons, so some of the confidence issues I had were probably from that.

All in all BMX 105 HP with the new boots are a winning combo! I am looking forward to exploring some more of Alta's ungroomed goodness on BMX tomorrow.

 

[Tricia]

I skied them today at Alta. I skied everything - soft corduroy in the morning, later as the fresh snow was really coming down - crud, soft bumps, powder, mellow trees. I should specify that conditions were great! These skis are amazing! So easy to pivot, and so stable. I don't know how they are so nimble and damp at the same time, but they are. somehow. They are very easy to ski in soft powdery bumps of any size and moderate steepness (easy single blacks at Alta - don't ski anything stepper yet), easy to pivot in trees, they never felt cumbersome in any way, just did whatever I asked them to do. Like I said previously, they do encourage me to go fast and today I obliged! Today I was way more confident in ungroomed terrain with fresh snow than I have ever been before. They will carve quite competently for a wider ski on a soft groomer and hold good edge on icy spots between bumps.

I will add that I recently got new boots (Nordica GPX 95) with a custom footbed, from a great bootfitter and the boots improved my skiing and my confidence. It turns I was skiing in the boots too wide for several seasons, so some of the confidence issues I had were probably from that.

All in all BMX 105 HP with the new boots are a winning combo! I am looking forward to exploring some more of Alta's ungroomed goodness on BMX tomorrow.

Pics!! ?

 

[Bobalooski]

Yes please!

 

[Philpug]

If I knew you were going to be in Alta, I could have had the other skis shipped there.

 

[Olesya C]

I didn't take very many! I was too busy skiing and visibility was low. But here are a few I did take.

 

[Olesya C]

If I knew you were going to be in Alta, I could have had the other skis shipped there.

Aww thank you! We are leaving tomorrow for Snowmass, where I will ski for 2 days, so it's a short trip. I am hoping conditions warrant skiing on BMX 105 for the whole trip, so hopefully I want need the narrower skis! So far conditions have been perfect for BMX and will be today I think!