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Old School vs New

DocGKR

Stuck at work...
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Palo Alto, California
While visiting my Mom this weekend, we found my last pair of college GS racing skis from the early 1980’s that evidently had been hidden away in a corner of the garage for nearly 40 years—these old Kastle National Team GS skis are 210cm (88mm-68mm-78mm) with a turn radius of 52m as determined by the FIS ski radius calculator (http://member.fis-ski.com/skicalc.htm).

Since I am just getting back into racing after a multi-decade absence, I thought it might be fun to compare them with my newest GS skis—some Head Womens FIS 188cm/30m (101mm-65mm-82mm):

GS Skis.png


Now if I could only find my old Kastle DH skis with the holes in the tips....
 

Jilly

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Belleville, Ontario,/ Mont Tremblant, Quebec
I never understood the brake position on that binding. I think I was on a pair of Head Wahoo's around then....Or Head Racing SR's....

Fun times back then. I'll keep my new skis thank you...
 
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DocGKR

DocGKR

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Yup--the modern 21st Century skis are definitely easier! While those Look brakes were a bit weird, I can't say they ever created a problem on this pair of skis. I fondly recall this pair GS skis as being smoothest at speed I had ever been on--better than my previous K2 810's; these Kastle's also did surprisingly well in some of the deepest in-bounds powder days I ever experienced while at both Squaw and Snow Bird.
 

Noodler

Sir Turn-a-lot
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Denver, CO
Yup--the modern 21st Century skis are definitely easier! While those Look brakes were a bit weird, I can't say they ever created a problem on this pair of skis. I fondly recall this pair GS skis as being smoothest at speed I had ever been on--better than my previous K2 810's; these Kastle's also did surprisingly well in some of the deepest in-bounds powder days I ever experienced while at both Squaw and Snow Bird.

Actually the toe activated forward facing brake did create problems. That's why they went to a heel activated rearward brake fairly quickly. Most poles back that had basket holes or a ring-surround based basket that skiers were accidentally getting hooked by the brake arms and creating accidents. They didn't think that one through before producing the forward facing brake prongs. ;)
 
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DocGKR

DocGKR

Stuck at work...
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Fully agree--the forward facing brakes definitely created problems for lots of folks, but as noted, I just did not run into any of those issues on this specific pair of skis.
 

bbbradley

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I wish I still had some of my old college race skis, just to see what I could do on them! I've been lobbying the guys on my beer league team to go for a retro night, all of us track down a pair of skis from the early 90's and race on them one run, then go back to your current skis for the 2nd run. Thus far, no takers.
 

François Pugh

Skiing the powder
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I still have my old Kästle SGs. I take them out to play once in a while when I get to a bigger hill where I can get them up to speed before I run out of room to make a few turns, but due to too much time away from big mountains, I didn't use them enough, didn't take care of the bases :eek:and they have become slow speed skis:nono:. They used to be very fast.

Anybody care to venture what the odds are that a $100 race tune including a good base grind will restore them? I'm thinking about it. Nothing feels as smooth at serious speeds as an old Kästle speed ski.
 

Doug Briggs

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I wish I still had some of my old college race skis, just to see what I could do on them! I've been lobbying the guys on my beer league team to go for a retro night, all of us track down a pair of skis from the early 90's and race on them one run, then go back to your current skis for the 2nd run. Thus far, no takers.
Come to Breck someday and borrow some from me. My college race skis are '77 STs, ROCs and DHs. The first two can be used with some Langes of the same era. The DHs are set up for modern boots in about 305 BSL.

I'm serious about loaning my skis. See: Lots of vintage skis for what I have. Most are useable. I like the Bad Dogs that work well with a pair of Raichle Flexons I have. My foot size is US 9, I usually where a 26.5 in a modern boot, to give you a size of the boots I mentioned that match up to the respective skis.
 

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