Wide base and light weight for modern freeride touring and for most talented skiers
- Buyer’s Guide reviews
- In words
- Technical specifications
Buyer’s Guide reviews
The charts show our impressions from testing
Product info
Category average
In words
Intro
ZX is the Kästle line that includes all the brand's stiffest skis, with waist widths from 92 to 115, intended for pure freeriding with just a tiny bit of touring. It has a traditional, monodirectional shape with a progressive tip rocker and flat tail, along with a tight-radius sidecut of around 20 meters, depending on the ski length. All of the Austrian brand's skis are easily recognizable thanks to their trademark Hollowtech tip, where they remove all the unnecessary material and replace it with a colorful insert in order to reduce weight both in the tip and for the ski as a whole.
On the snow
As soon as you hit the snow, you appreciate the large surface area and light weight, which make this ski ideal for modern freetouring. When using pin bindings, they're just light enough to take on ascents of over 500 meters (1600 feet). The mid-fat size enables the ski to float in soft snow, and its traditional shape helps keep the tip out of the snow. This is a great help for intermediate-level skiers both in starting the turn and to turn more easily in powder. At higher speeds or in more complicated snow conditions, an expert skier might notice that the nose tends to plow a bit and cause oversteer. The same can be said for tight turns or trying to carve on hard terrain. It's best not to overdo it with the pressure, or you might notice some unwelcome vibration or jolts. Its soft flex is suited for most talented skiers, but can hold back the pros.
Lab
Very concave, not perfectly flat after nine passes in the machine. Structure more or less removed with a few imperfections, waxed. Decent edges, 1.8/1.4 mm x 1.6/1.7 mm at 89.5°, base edge 1.8° (excessive). Tuning required.
Technical specifications
Construction
cap-sidewall
Materials
poplar, beech, glass fiber
Base
sintered UHMWPE with graphite and carbon
Available sizes
169, 179, 184, 191
Released in
2023
Made in
Czech Republic
Price
699 €
Declared specsMeasured by us
We measured the length 184 to get all the details
184 cm
Length
XXXXX
141 cm
Tip width
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130 cm
Tail width
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108 cm
Waist width
XXXXX
N/A
Edge contact
XXXXX
N/A
Camber
XXXXX
N/A
Tip rocker
XXXXX
N/A
Tail rocker
XXXXX
2.160 g
Individual weight
XXXXX
N/A
Left weight
XXXXX
N/A
Right weight
XXXXX
19,2 m
Sidecut radius
XXXXX
N/A
Load-bearing surface
XXXXX
N/A
Tip torsion
XXXXX
N/A
Center torsion
XXXXX
N/A
Tail torsion
XXXXX
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