Powder Review: Kästle Paragon 107
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In a nutshell
Kästle’s new Paragon 107 is the Austrian brand’s perfection of the inbounds freeride ski. With a fairly traditional shape, 107mm waist, and an incredibly damp and quiet ride, it’s a go-to for charging off-piste inbounds in all conditions.
Length Skied: 184 cm
Weight: 2050 g
Stated Dimensions: 140-107-129 mm
Stated Sidecut: 19.2 m (for 184cm)
Intro
A Paragon is defined as “a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.” It’s clear that Kästle went to great lengths to perfect their take on a freeride ski with the introduction of the new Paragon line. At first glance, all three skis in the lineup look quite similar: a directional shape, camber, relatively flat tails, and three “classic” waist widths, but the Paragon 107 stands out as a culmination of lessons learned about what actually makes a usable everyday freeride ski. It harkens back to the days of the BMX skis that athletes like Griffin Post rode to glory in TGR films or on comp days, but promises to be a modern take on the matter of what makes a good freeride ski.
With a motto printed on the ski that “smooth is fast,” it’s clear that these things are designed to dampen vibrations and smooth out whatever lies in their path. That 107mm waist screams versatility, and it’s wide enough to float on pow days, but not so fat as to compromise high-speed edge control when things get firm, chalky, and steep - exactly what I’m looking for in a resort-oriented freeride ski. The wood core and two sheets of titanal give it a solidly stiff flex, but it’s no 2x4 - the tip feels relatively soft, and the whole ski is actually quite forgiving on snow.
Length and Mount Point
I rode the Paragon 107 in the 184 cm length, and found it actually skied a bit long, probably thanks to the flat tail and really stiff flex behind the boot. I felt like the 192 would have given me trouble on anything but wide open runs. Kastle offers a full size run: 168, 178, 184, and 192 cm lengths. The sidecut radius also changes throughout sizes, with the 184cm sporting a medium-long 19.2m radius.
The skis come with a recommended mounting point that’s centered on the sidecut, but actually feels a little far back. It’s a Kästle, so a super-directional mount point isn’t a surprise. I messed around with mount points and found that I liked it best somewhere between 2.0 and 3.0cm forward of recommended.
Where does the Paragon 107 shine?
I was fortunate to first test the Paragon 107 at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort outside Golden, BC - perhaps the perfect playground for this kind of ski. You’ll find 4200-foot top-to-bottom laps that start with seriously exposed and steep inbounds couloir skiing, followed by pillowy tree skiing, topped off with well-maintained high-speed groomers back to the gondola. The amount of terrain you cover is astounding, and I’d wager that it’s the longest and most well-rounded run you can find outside of the Alps. There are sidehits galore, some very large cliff drops, and you’ll find every snow condition you can imagine all in one run. It’s no wonder the FWT loves coming back here year after year.
The 107s are the perfect ski for that kind of riding - where there’s enough room to open up the throttle and take advantage of the really quiet ride and ski as fast as you dare. It has a really large sweet spot of a balance point, which gave me confidence knowing the ski would respond immediately to direction changes or to dump speed when needed. I wouldn’t hesitate to enter a freeride contest on this ski, trusting that it performs equally well billy goating through steeps, making quick turns through narrow chutes, providing a solid platform for landing airs and rocketing out the bottom of aprons through questionable snow. It’s a point-and-shoot kind of weapon.
Furthermore, on hardpack groomers, the 107 has hands down the best edge hold and responsiveness I’ve ever felt from a ski this wide. It’s easy to lay it over to pretty extreme edge angles, biting into really firm and icy conditions. That Kästle racing pedigree clearly shines through here.
The 2050g weight makes them less tiring than other skis in this class, which is especially noticeable when making technical jump turns in steep, chalky terrain.
Where does the Paragon 107 make some compromises?
Truth be told, I was hard-pressed to find any terrain where the Paragon 107 didn’t feel at home. Sure, it’s no freestyle ski, and I probably wouldn’t lap the park or jib around with it, but it’s still playful and fun to doink around on sidehits, shifty over rollers, and get weird with your friends.
It also wouldn’t be my first choice for really deep days or skiing in the backcountry, where something lighter and with a wider waist would float better, but I would still grab it for most resort pow days.
What would a perfect day on the Paragon 107 look like?
Mobbing around a resort with varied terrain with a crew of homies. This ski is shockingly versatile, and will allow you to ski really fast in just about any conditions: chalky steeps, deep pow in the trees, soft bumps, and corduroy back to the lift. It’s an excellent choice for an everyday quiver-of-one ski for a place with lots of terrain like JHMR, Alta, Kicking Horse, or the like.
