Pros: great looks.
Cons: High price
Review:
The West was my favorite of the three XX skis, both in graphics and ski ability. The graphics are a homage (I assume) to the late 70's/early 80's Kastle Freestyle, one of my favorite skis of that generation. With it's early rise int eh tip and tail along with being cambered underfoot, a design that, IMHO, is the best balance for an all mountain ski, I hardly even noticed that the Kastle XX West was a true symmetric ski. I recall a day when a symmetric ski did ski different but even without the traditional taper (tail width is usually 10mm less than the tip) the West skied very good on and off piste. I skied the XX West back to back with the Blizzard Gunsmoke and the Nordica Patron and it held up it's own and never felt the tail was as wide as the tip. While the West is a big mountain-slash-park ski, I don't see too many park rats shelling out the cost of admission for the West. On paper, the West brings nothing to the table in performance over the staples in this segment but you are buying a bit of Kastle panache and the ability to mount the skis by mixing up the red and blue tips.
Product:
Length Tested: 180cm
Dimensions/Turn Radius: 134/110/134 21.5
Camber: Early Rise, Tip & Tail w/camber
Binding: Demo
Mount point: Suggested--Freeride
Environment & Conditions:
Location of Test: Mt. Rose
Number of Runs: 2
Snow Conditions: Powder
Demo or Own: Demo
Tester Info:
Username: Philpug
Age: 48
Height/Weight: 5'10" 185lb
Ski Days/Season: 60+
Years Skiing: 35
Aggressiveness: Moderate (Finesse)
Current Quiver: 13 Blizzard Bonafide, 13 Blizzard Gunsmoke, plus various vintage skis
Home Area: Squaw & Northstar
Preferred Terrain: bumps, off-piste, trees
Comments: