My son and I went to the Wachusett Demofest today and tried out a number of skis. I'm really glad I did because I found a new ski and it ain't a Kastle. I really, really liked the K2 Mindbender 90Ti. I skied the 177 first and it was FUN. It handled small-radius turns nicely and there was a stable feeling with medium to larger turns. The most surprising is how smooth and easy it was to ski. I've been on Kastles so long that I'm really used to how they feel and the Mindbender was an eye-opener for me.
The rep and i talked and he suggested I take out the 170 to see if I liked that length, which I did. It's even more fun with short radius turns and easy to play on. It did lose a bit of stability on the bigger turns but I want it for bumps and trees and the MX88 would still handle the groomer days.
I skied the following:
K2 Mindbender 90Ti, 170 and 177
Kastle FX96 HP, 180cm
Kastle FX86, 170 and 177
Head Kore 93, 171
I couldn't believe it but I really liked the 96 HP at 180cm. I've been bitching for some time that the FX96 didn't come in anything less than 172. I've been pretty happy with 16x with my other Kastles so I assumed that was the right length range for me. It is for a cambered MX ski but not for the newer FX. I tried and found that I didn't like the FX86 in 170 (tip was all over the place) but the 177 was pretty good. I think I like a longer contact length and that when I'm on skis with tip rocker or early rise I want a longer ski.
Anyway, the biggest thing I noticed was how much easier the Mindbender was to ski versus any of the Kastle I tried or the ones I own. I think I'm going to pick up a pair of the 90Ti at the end of this season.
My son skied a bunch of Kastle, Salomon, and K2. He also has the Mindbender 90Ti at the top of his list, followed closely by the Ikonic 84. I think we're both going to end up on the same ski