Ski test : Kästle TX 103

Our test

Size tested : 181 cm

A superb ski that made the team of testers smile from ear to ear because its skiability is clearly in a class of its own in the freeride touring category. The design and manufacturing quality give the zing to this Kästle TX 103. Some overexcited testers qualified it as “mind-blowing”, both for its performance and especially its ease! Frankly, we wonder how Kästle managed to make such a wide ski that is so easy to ride.

It does everything superbly, only its glide is just missing the mark, but the rest is top-level excellence! You’re dying to find mounds of crusty, unskiable snow just to slice through it with this Kästle TX 103, because you can! Pivoting is a dream, it’s pure unadulterated joy, the ski filters and responds to everything you ask it. The Kästle TX 103 never cross over, they stay in line. You can lengthen or reduce your turns: such joy! You can work the flex easily throughout the ski’s length. You immediately feel like you are the King of freeriding.

The Kästle TX 103 makes a characteristic little noise up front, the Kästle DNA. Its tail isn’t dominant, which we feared on such a wide ski. Even if you have a 70kg light build you can keep this baby under control. The big size (we tested 181cm) isn’t reluctant. We already saw that the pivot is instant in deep powder, you can even go very fast with this Kästle TX 103, in complete safety. At the season’s end, it’s a dream in that soft Spring snow. You can easily mount alpine ski bindings.

Once on groomed slopes, you wonder how it will behave with its wide edges. If the snow is close to being rock hard, it isn’t obviously mega comfortable since the Kästle TX 103 has a very wide waist: 103mm. You should either ski with a very upright stance to skid turns, which it does really well, or try for the edge. The latter is not that easy you need to skid then grip the edge, so you need good speed and an aptitude for angulation.

You can vary your turn initiations, the curve and radius, wider or shorter, skid or lift your angle and grab the edge! This is an excellent ski!

Its 1620g (181cm length) weight is mastered for (short) uphills. You just have to be careful with crossing the slope when it’s frozen, its only limiting factor.

A magnificent well-designed ski, freeride oriented. The freerider who prefers the downhill from the uphill will be riding on cloud 9 in all types of snow and terrain. A stunning object that is high-performant and easy.

Technical specifications

SIDECUTS : 138-103-120 (all sizes) WEIGHT (of a ski without binding) : 1620g / 181 cm  RADIUS : 19 m / 181 cm ROCKER (front) : Yes ROCKER (back) : Yes CAMBER : light AVAILABLE SIZES : 165 cm – 173 cm – 181 cm – 189 cm PRICE : 749 €