2023 Kastle ZX108

We’ve been digging on this ski for well over a season now, and it’s nice to see it come back unchanged. The Kastle ZX108 is an incredibly fun freeride ski that has more to it than you may expect. Since it’s got that Kastle construction and quality, the capabilities of this ski are quite impressive, at the same time, it loves to be used in fresh and soft snow, and the shaping of the ski allows it to float well above its level. Built with a wood core consisting of poplar and beech wood stringers, the ZX108 also gets two sheets of fiberglass and a rubber damping layer. The wider stringers of the beech and poplar make a lot of sense in this ski since it allows for a smoother and more consistent flex of the ski. Since less epoxy is required to keep the stringers together, the ski ends up being relatively lighter in the core versus the FX or MX lines. As a result, the swing weight is lower, and combined with the progressive shape, makes this ski smooth, drifty, and smeary in the softer snow without losing much in terms of energy and snap on the firmer stuff. Kastle uses Hollowtech 2.0 here, which is a lightly smaller window than we see in the 3.0, making the ski better suited to softer snow.

Marcus Shakun skied the 179, calling it “short but manageable.” He gave the ski a top score of 5 out of 5 for flotation, and 4’s for stability, quickness, and maneuverability. Overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, and playfulness all got 3’s. Marcus notes that the “Ski was a bit short so it wasn’t as stable as I would like. It’s very light, and quicker than most skis at 108. I'm not sure if because light or short but it bounced around in the thick variable snow. Getting on edge and initiating turns much quicker than most skis in this group. Skis felt Light so they easy to maneuver. I think an advanced skier to expert would be fine on these. Much easier to ski, but not necessarily forgiving.” The stiffer tail does come in to play here with these skis, giving them a bit more energy and rebound than one may expect.

On the 184, Dave Hatoff notes that it’s just right for him. He’s a bit shorter than Marcus, so I’d be interested in seeing them swap sizes, or at least getting Marcus on the 184 would make some sense. Dave had pretty similar scores, with a 5 out of 5 leading the way in flotation, and 4’s for stability, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. He had 3’s for overall impression, versatility, and playfulness, with a lone 2 for forgiveness, showing the more business-like character in Dave’s mind. A beast of ski. Need to be on your A-game to bring these to speeds where they will shine. Stiff and powerful for a powder ski. Needs a skilled pilot to drive them.” Perhaps it was the length that got in Dave’s way on this one, as he and Marcus definitely had two pretty different experiences, although they do share the lack of forgiveness in the ski. Much of this stems from the stiffer tail leading to strong energy and grip.

In total, the lower entry price combined with the strong tail and a floaty front makes a lot of sense for modern and progressive freeride skiers that want to have a lot of fun in the fresh. This is a sleeper of a ski, but for no particularly good reason, so hopefully if you get a chance to try out the ZX108, you’ll give it a go and like what you find.