2023 Kastle MX75

This is a fun and turny one. The Kastle MX 75 is a fantastic choice for skiers who spend most or all of their time on groomed and smooth surfaces and are in pursuit of the purely carved turn. Built with a blend of poplar and beech in the wood core, the MX 75 also gets two sheets of fiberglass and a dual-metal laminate. With a fully cambered profile, this ski hooks up sharply in the tip and rides that long effective edge all the way through the tail. As a result, the torsional stiffness comes to life with this ski, allowing it to have a true front side feel to it, and as always, Kastle’s high-performance and precise quality to it. In the 172, we get a 15.4-meter turn radius, so these things certainly like to be on edge and in a carved turn at all points of the day. Hollowtech tips carry through here as well, both lightening the swing weight as well as reducing vibrations. With less mass, there’s less to chatter, so these skis do a great job of smoothing themselves out when in that carved turn.

Reuben Jalbert was on the 179, and he noted that it was a good size for him. Stability, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression all got top scores of 4 out of 5, and these are some good marks for such a narrow ski, even though it wasn’t too long ago that 75 mm underfoot was a mid-fat. Playfulness got a low score of 2, and that has a lot to do with the fact that these skis are more business-like in their approach to the mountain. Reuben states that the MX 75 is “Very stable for how narrow it is. These things had no problem plowing through the soft spring snow at higher speeds. Very smooth and intuitive when you put them on edge. Advanced and experts who stay on-trail over 80% of the time would love these skis.” The build of the ski is just so pure and advanced, it makes quick work of a lot of different snow types and terrain options. There’s just a whole lot going on with these skis, and it makes a lot of sense for having them be a good all-mountain option as well, highlighting the versatility of the Kastle skis in the world.

Marcus Shakun got on the 172, and noted that “she be a bit short.” At 6’5”, it’s pretty clear that Marcus would be more comfortable on the 179. Resultingly, top scores of 5 out of 5 were given for quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. Interesting to see Marcus and Reuben differ in the playfulness category, and a lot of that is likely due to the sizing discrepancy. Either way, these are some high scores for a ski that’s too short, and that’s a testament to Kastle’s engineering department. “So surprised how well it skied even in its short length. The softer, but stable shovel gave as it hammered through the soft snow. While the tail held firm as it was pushed harder. Holds a nice medium sized turn and has the ability to whip out quick short turns as well. Kinda why I gave it some versatility points. Silky Smooth, these skis are precise and silky smooth all the way through. An active advanced to expert skier will benefit best. Bigger heavier intermediate would appreciate a longer length.” Fair enough, and great to see still that we get the smoothness and precision out of the skis, even in the 172 for a taller skier.

If you’re looking for a front side ski to add to your quiver, but don’t want a race-room style of product, the Kastle MX 75 is here to answer that call.  Since it has a pretty similar personality and feel to it as the wider skis in the MX line, there is some all-mountain character to it, but it doesn’t make it any less capable on the groomers.  If you’re an aspiring carver who spends most of your time on the groomers, this is an excellent choice for a great turning ski.