Kastle FX96 HP Skis 2021

Kastle’s FX 96 HP is a freeride option with no compromises in its construction. ATri3 full woodcore is wound in a carbon and fibreglass jacket to produce power and thrilling grip. Hollow Tech 3.0 reduces swing weight in the tip to improve manoeuvrability; the Hook Free tip and tail make what is a burly ski more forgiving and easier to handle. The HP stands for high performance and Kastle have hit the nail on the head with a ski that provides uncompromising freeride performance.

Terrain Type & Ability Level

Terrain Type
It’s an all-rounder that has stability, power and float whether in fresh pow or varied conditions. It’ll even rail tuns on piste. Think the very widest part of all mountain categories or the more realistic side of freeride where deep powder is a rarity. Thanks to light weight it’s a good option to mount with tour-capable binding.

Skier Type
Advanced and expert skiers who demand the best performance and appreciate engineering excellence. Whilst it isn’t a difficult ski to use at all it is a ski that wants to be pushed and rewards the extra effort with stability, power and grip wherever you take it.

Overview

Shape
With the shovel and tail design, Kästle refine the aggressiveness of their skis. The Hook Free Shovel is a longer shovel that is often combined with Early or Progressive Rise. With this design the contact point to the snow is moved toward the centre of the ski, thus ensuring a more forgiving and playful performance. The Hook Free Tail is often combined with Dual Rise and a longer tail, with the contact point being moved toward the centre of the ski. The result is a forgiving, playful performance when exiting a turn. 96mm in the waist is bang on the money for maximum versatility, wide enough to float and still quick swapping edges; the 18.1m (180cm) radius matches this, long enough for stability and still capable of a variety turn shapes.

Rocker
With Low Camber, the ski centre is slightly elevated and the contact points are moved toward the ski centre. The effective edge is consequentially less, and the ski is more playful and forgiving. Dual Rise technology combined with an adapted camber profile creates a ski which guarantees the best float, even in the deepest of snow, without losing responsiveness.

Core
Made out of poplar and beech combined with poplar and paulownia on the sides. Each Kästle ski is built with the finest woodcore, manufactured with precision to one-tenth of a millimetre. This allows them to control the weight, responsiveness and dampening characteristics of the ski, resulting in a high-quality, durable product.

Construction
The Powerzone Sandwich Sidewall construction combines the durability of a semi-cap with the classic build of a sandwich sidewall. As you’d expect from a semi-cap build, the topsheet is extended down to the ABS sidewall but is then enhanced by a classic sandwich sidewall composition under the binding. This generates even better performance and edge grip.

Key Features

Hollowtech
Kästle’s patented, key technology is unique to ski manufacturing. By removing unneeded layers in the front of the ski, the ski is made lighter. This results in several advantages: the ski becomes up to 30 % damper, the ski feels more stable, edge-grip is more powerful, steering is more precise and the overall weight is reduced. The new, revolutionized Hollowtech 3.0 has a two-tier construction: a new outer ring cuts out even more material and therefore even more weight. The size of the Hollowtech is always precisely matched to the shovel of each particular model - for performance that's truly unbeatable.

Tri-Tech
Tri-Tech construction combines three innovative technologies to reduce weight while maximizing stability, power transmission and float. Firstly, 3D Shape uses varying thicknesses of woodcores to create contours along the length of the ski which substantially increases torsional rigidity and stability without requiring more materials. The second is the Triple Woodcore, Kästle is the first ski manufacturer to incorporate three types of wood within one ski. Higher density woods are used for the core, with lighter woods at the sides. Combined with their other technologies, this saves up to 500g per pair of skis - a truly revolutionary feat! The third element is the 1/3 Wrapped Core where the middle of the three woodcore strips is wrapped in a fiberglass sleeve, and for the HP models in a carbon-fiberglass sleeve. The torsion box that this creates makes the ski even more stable and cuts out more weight. The sleeve also binds the centre woodcore to the lightweight exterior cores, creating a supremely damp, yet responsive, ski.

HP - High Performance
Kästle HP are high performance models that allow skiers to reach and exceed their limits. Unique constructions are created with additional carbon for the most demanding skiers. Connoisseurs recognize this feature through the HP lettering on each ski.

EB tester’s comments: Szymon (Castlefield) Stable and powerful, smashes through anything. They will take you anywhere you want to go and over any type of terrain.

Technical Specifications

General Information

• Skier Ability: Advanced/Expert
• Terrain Type: Freeride
• Rocker: Tip/Tail Rocker
• Radius: Long
• Base: Sintered
• Bindings: n/a
• DIN: n/a
• Construction: Mini Cap Full Sidewall
• Core: Wood, Carbon
• Demo: Yes
• Sizing Description: Forehead to over head height. The increased length ensures better grip, stability and floatation and is essential to making the ski work to its full potential. Large rockers at the tip mean it is important not to size down.

• Radius 18.1m
• Waist 96mm
• Rocker Tip/Tail
• Demo Available