- Joined
- Apr 20, 2017
- Posts
- 45
Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but def have some questions for you. Thought I'd lead of by giving some reviews before asking you to share some of your wisdom!
Me: 30 years old, 6'4" 185lbs. East coast race background. Ski 30 days a year. Looking for a new "daily driver" to serve duty 65% on piste, 35% off piste. Prefer medium to long, high speed, high edge angle turns. Prefer skiing in wide open terrain to tight trees. Weather doesn't always come through for me on trips, so I absolutely demand solid on piste performance in my "all-mountain" ski. I've got a pair of 115's for the real powder days.
Skis I've spent at least 10 days on over the last two years: Stockli Laser AX 183cm, Laser SX 184cm, Laser SC 177cm, Nordica Enforcer 93 185cm, Blizzard Bonafide 187 (I'm happy to write some more in depth reviews for anyone interested).
The Laser AX: in my mind, this is really the ski to beat. It's a medium-stiff ski with a bit of early rise in the tip and a fairly small turning radius (17.5 I think). On paper, that sounded too small to me, but this ski will really do whatever you ask of it. It flexed and locked in to whatever turn shape I asked of it. Despite its relaxed nature, it can be pushed HARD and can take almost anything you throw at it with ease. It performs at a very high level without demanding that you are at the top of your game every second of the day - which is not something I can say for the Laser SX (which is a scalpel). Only knocks I can put on it are that it's a little narrow for true versatility and if anything it might be over-damped, which takes away some of the pop and liveliness that I think it could otherwise have (like the stiffer skis in the Laser series). Most of the time that ends up being a good thing - like when you want to blast straight through chopped up powder on-piste at speed, this thing will take you straight through or over without getting pushed around. This is a ski that absorbs bumps so well I can pretty much ski GS carves through soft medium sized bumps on it and barely notice. At 78cm waist width, it's got great edge grip on the hard pack, and is fairly quick edge to edge. Obviously, it does not hold a candle to the SX or SC hardpack performance, speed limit, or energy, but of course, you sacrifice a lot of versatility with those skis, which are 68-72mm wide.
Nordica Enforcer 93: honestly, this is a great ski. Very versatile. Easy to ski. Predictable. I understand the hype. I took the 185cm in some very tight, steep, and bumpy places and it was completely at ease. Also skied it in a lot of cruddy, steep, refrozen bowls out West, and it never hooked up on me once. Could really bash away on this thing with confidence. I know some people say it is a stiff ski, but I honestly found it to be very forgiving in challenging conditions. On piste, this ski had a decent amount of energy (for what it is) on piste. When you load them up, they give you a decent amount of rebound out of your carve turns (a hell of a lot more rebound than the Blizzard Bonafides, for example). Obviously nothing close to the energy of the Stocklis mentioned above, but you've got to accept this with a rocker-camber-rocker ski in this width. THAT BEING SAID, I did find myself wanting a little more frontside performance out of these skis. I did not feel I could push these skis in to high speed, high angle carves on hardpack with absolute confidence the way I can push every single one of the Stockli's mentioned above. Whereas the Laser AX could be turned into a wide variety of turn shapes and be completely reliable at high speed on hard pack, the Enforcer was not able to "lock in" to nearly as many turn shapes. That lack of reliability became an issue to me.
SO that brings me to the big question - is the Kastle MX88 the answer to my prayers?
I am hoping that the MX88 is essentially a Laser AX with a little extra energy and and a little extra versatility (due to that extra 10mm in width). In an ideal world, it would have a blend of the Laser's frontside performance and the Enforcer's non-groomer versatility.
My worries about the MX88 (which I'm hoping you will weigh in on):
1. The square tail - I have a hard time believing this thing releases too easily when you need it to in tighter places, bumps, etc.. One of the great features of both the Laser AX and Enforcer 93, for example, was how easily you could turn them in tight spots when needed.
2. The sizing - at 188cm fully cambered, this ski's effective edge must be noticeably longer than the 183cm Lasers, 185cm Enforcers, and 187cm Bonafides that I spent most of my time on this season (all of which at least have tip rocker). I was completely comfortable on those skis, but after reading a couple reviews in which people call the 188cm MX88 "a lot of ski" in an ominous tone, I would love to hear peoples' thoughts on the maneuverability of the MX88 in this length. Of course, I know it will be an absolutely blast on wide-open groomers, but my question is whether or not it will still be maneuverable enough for anything else in this length? How can I expect it to handle in bumps and very steep sections that will require short turns? I would have no intention to take this ski into very tight places or glades of course. But steeps and bumps, yes. The true beauty of the Stockli Laser series, for example, was how easily you could transition from 50MPH long arcing GS carves to shorter turns without the ski bucking like a bronco.
Alternative to the MX88 - the FX95HP:
I'd be going after the 189cm here. Very comfortable with that length given the rocker. I imagine the FX is a slightly less demanding ski that will clearly upstage the MX in terms of versatility. But given my background and preferences/need for good on-piste performance, I've gotta ask you guys how does the FX95HP compare to the MX88, Enforcer, and Bonafide in hard pack performance? If it were 15-20% better than the Enforcer 93 on hardpack, I think this would literally be the holy combination of qualities I am looking for in an "all mountain ski" that would entice me away from the obvious frontside prowess of the MX series. I've also seen a couple pairs of the latest version of the FX94, which is apparently a little bit more similar to the MX line than the current FX's because it has far less rocker and a stiffer tail, so that might also be a solution. Would need to gather more info on that one though.
Ok, that's close to book in length. Time to shut up. Would really appreciate to hear your guys' thoughts and experiences!!
Me: 30 years old, 6'4" 185lbs. East coast race background. Ski 30 days a year. Looking for a new "daily driver" to serve duty 65% on piste, 35% off piste. Prefer medium to long, high speed, high edge angle turns. Prefer skiing in wide open terrain to tight trees. Weather doesn't always come through for me on trips, so I absolutely demand solid on piste performance in my "all-mountain" ski. I've got a pair of 115's for the real powder days.
Skis I've spent at least 10 days on over the last two years: Stockli Laser AX 183cm, Laser SX 184cm, Laser SC 177cm, Nordica Enforcer 93 185cm, Blizzard Bonafide 187 (I'm happy to write some more in depth reviews for anyone interested).
The Laser AX: in my mind, this is really the ski to beat. It's a medium-stiff ski with a bit of early rise in the tip and a fairly small turning radius (17.5 I think). On paper, that sounded too small to me, but this ski will really do whatever you ask of it. It flexed and locked in to whatever turn shape I asked of it. Despite its relaxed nature, it can be pushed HARD and can take almost anything you throw at it with ease. It performs at a very high level without demanding that you are at the top of your game every second of the day - which is not something I can say for the Laser SX (which is a scalpel). Only knocks I can put on it are that it's a little narrow for true versatility and if anything it might be over-damped, which takes away some of the pop and liveliness that I think it could otherwise have (like the stiffer skis in the Laser series). Most of the time that ends up being a good thing - like when you want to blast straight through chopped up powder on-piste at speed, this thing will take you straight through or over without getting pushed around. This is a ski that absorbs bumps so well I can pretty much ski GS carves through soft medium sized bumps on it and barely notice. At 78cm waist width, it's got great edge grip on the hard pack, and is fairly quick edge to edge. Obviously, it does not hold a candle to the SX or SC hardpack performance, speed limit, or energy, but of course, you sacrifice a lot of versatility with those skis, which are 68-72mm wide.
Nordica Enforcer 93: honestly, this is a great ski. Very versatile. Easy to ski. Predictable. I understand the hype. I took the 185cm in some very tight, steep, and bumpy places and it was completely at ease. Also skied it in a lot of cruddy, steep, refrozen bowls out West, and it never hooked up on me once. Could really bash away on this thing with confidence. I know some people say it is a stiff ski, but I honestly found it to be very forgiving in challenging conditions. On piste, this ski had a decent amount of energy (for what it is) on piste. When you load them up, they give you a decent amount of rebound out of your carve turns (a hell of a lot more rebound than the Blizzard Bonafides, for example). Obviously nothing close to the energy of the Stocklis mentioned above, but you've got to accept this with a rocker-camber-rocker ski in this width. THAT BEING SAID, I did find myself wanting a little more frontside performance out of these skis. I did not feel I could push these skis in to high speed, high angle carves on hardpack with absolute confidence the way I can push every single one of the Stockli's mentioned above. Whereas the Laser AX could be turned into a wide variety of turn shapes and be completely reliable at high speed on hard pack, the Enforcer was not able to "lock in" to nearly as many turn shapes. That lack of reliability became an issue to me.
SO that brings me to the big question - is the Kastle MX88 the answer to my prayers?
I am hoping that the MX88 is essentially a Laser AX with a little extra energy and and a little extra versatility (due to that extra 10mm in width). In an ideal world, it would have a blend of the Laser's frontside performance and the Enforcer's non-groomer versatility.
My worries about the MX88 (which I'm hoping you will weigh in on):
1. The square tail - I have a hard time believing this thing releases too easily when you need it to in tighter places, bumps, etc.. One of the great features of both the Laser AX and Enforcer 93, for example, was how easily you could turn them in tight spots when needed.
2. The sizing - at 188cm fully cambered, this ski's effective edge must be noticeably longer than the 183cm Lasers, 185cm Enforcers, and 187cm Bonafides that I spent most of my time on this season (all of which at least have tip rocker). I was completely comfortable on those skis, but after reading a couple reviews in which people call the 188cm MX88 "a lot of ski" in an ominous tone, I would love to hear peoples' thoughts on the maneuverability of the MX88 in this length. Of course, I know it will be an absolutely blast on wide-open groomers, but my question is whether or not it will still be maneuverable enough for anything else in this length? How can I expect it to handle in bumps and very steep sections that will require short turns? I would have no intention to take this ski into very tight places or glades of course. But steeps and bumps, yes. The true beauty of the Stockli Laser series, for example, was how easily you could transition from 50MPH long arcing GS carves to shorter turns without the ski bucking like a bronco.
Alternative to the MX88 - the FX95HP:
I'd be going after the 189cm here. Very comfortable with that length given the rocker. I imagine the FX is a slightly less demanding ski that will clearly upstage the MX in terms of versatility. But given my background and preferences/need for good on-piste performance, I've gotta ask you guys how does the FX95HP compare to the MX88, Enforcer, and Bonafide in hard pack performance? If it were 15-20% better than the Enforcer 93 on hardpack, I think this would literally be the holy combination of qualities I am looking for in an "all mountain ski" that would entice me away from the obvious frontside prowess of the MX series. I've also seen a couple pairs of the latest version of the FX94, which is apparently a little bit more similar to the MX line than the current FX's because it has far less rocker and a stiffer tail, so that might also be a solution. Would need to gather more info on that one though.
Ok, that's close to book in length. Time to shut up. Would really appreciate to hear your guys' thoughts and experiences!!