2025 Kastle Paragon 93

The 2025 Kastle Paragon 93 is a new ski for this year, with Paragon replacing FX within Kastle’s freeride lineup. While the FX 96 was more directional and carving in nature, the Paragon borrows more shaping principles from the ZX line while keeping the build strong and sturdy. This way, skiers can have more success and options for deciding if they want a dual-metal laminate ski or one with just wood. We feel that most higher performance skiers and certainly those who are more aggressive will find more to like here with Paragon than with ZX. One of the nice aspects of the new ski is that since it shares a mold with the ZX 92, the good people at Kastle pass the savings along to you. These are not expensive in the same vein as the MX line, and while they’re still upper end due to the engineering in the build, at least they’re not THE most expensive skis out there.

What we like most about the Paragon skis are the build. With the new InfiniCore technology, the designers at Kastle put the proper influence in the right spots. With Paragon 93, they use dense beech stringers in the central portion with lighter and more peppy poplar and paulownia on the outsides. Kastle also puts in two full layers of metal, both stopping just before the tip’s upward sweep. Normal Hollowtech 2.0 applies here to stem the vibrations and chatter through the forebody of the ski. By reducing mass, they reduce vibes and increase stability. By using thin laminates of wood, the engineers keep the weight manageable, with the 184 cm length sitting on the scale at a stated 1912 grams per ski. For something like this with multiple metal laminates to come in at under 2kg in the 184, that’s impressive. Tester Bob St.Pierre notes that “the Paragon 93 feels like a very precise all-terrain instrument. It felt comfortable at a variety of speeds and turn shapes, and even though we had it on pretty firm early season snow here in Vermont, it's easy to tell that the tip shape is eager to be in softer stuff as well. Underfoot, the ski is rock-solid, and a lot of skiers are going to like this move from the FX series.”

We’ve been fans of the ZX shaping since inception, so when we pieced it together that the Paragon was sharing shapes, we got excited. Even though they’re named slightly different numbers, we could not tell a discernable difference between the ZX 92 and the Paragon 93 except for a slight increase in tail rocker of the Paragon. Iin the 184, we get an 18.2-meter turn radius which allows the skier to dictate shape and style with greater ease than a shorter arc. Like the ZX, there’s a good amount of tip taper and rocker while the tail stays a bit more traditional in style. This emphasizes the floaty part of the ski while allowing it to complete turns with pep and zest—one of the things we like most about ZX. St.Pierre adds that “As a 93, it's supremely versatile. Great carver on groomers, grippy on ice, and has a rockered and tapered tip that'll stay on top of fresh snow. Overall, this ski seems happier on-trail and in a carved turn, but if you want it to go elsewhere and be more adventurous, it's certainly capable.”

With a somewhat reduced price tag over the outgoing FX, and a more freeride-oriented feel, the 2025 Kastle Paragon 93 is a wonderful example of a premium all-mountain ski. This is best when used as an advanced or expert skier, but it’s not unreasonable for a progressing intermediate to find happiness here. It’s not too heavy, nor too stiff, so there’s some accessibility. That said, for experts and aggressive skiers, this thing will hold up to very rigorous and spirited skiing.