Advice solving a second hand slalom ski problem

A snowHead

I purchased a second hand pair of Kastle RX SL skis on ebay. I think there are around 5 years old but the seller explained he had only used them for around 4 weeks but he couldn't get on with them and so wanted to sell them.

The skis themselves were in great condition - top sheets are almost like new and the edges were in excellent condition. So I was very pleased as the condition equated to very light usage.

I'm now though trying to ski them on the mountain, and I can't get on with them either! Forgive my explanation as I might use the 'wrong' terminology. But in my opinion, it is quite hard to get the tip of the ski engaged when you want to carve a turn. And then once you do get them onto an edge, they just don't grip in a consistent way, particularly on icy sections. Essentially they don't feel progressive which makes them frustrating to ski on.

I took them to the local ski shop and asked to get them serviced, in case that was the issue. I looked up online the correct geometry and it seems the RX needs 1 degree on the base and -3 degrees on the sides making an effective angle of 88 degrees. I was hoping this would solve the problem but alas the problems still remained.

In terms of the cause, I realise technique is the most likely cause. I'm not an expert skier, but I've been skiing every day for the last 3 weeks, practising carving turns and I don't mind the same problems with my other skis. In fact I also bought a pair of the Kastle FX95 brand new, and the grip is actually excellent on those skis, even on icy sections.

So I'm wondering if there are any other potential causes. I did notice the skis are very heavy to pick up, and the bindings are unusual in that they go to din 15 (I think the binding model is Kastle K15 KTI). They also have a plate joining together the toe and the heel pieces of the bindings, which I'm not familiar with, which I presume it to improve performance. The skis were also not ex-rental.

Anyone else tried this type of ski? Any thoughts on potential causes, or is it just my technique isn't up to scratch and I need to try it again in a couple of months.

Interested to hear your thoughts.

A snowHead

All proper slalom skis are heavy.

Why not post a picture of them so we can see which model you are describing.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I had a pair of Salomon slalom skis that behaved in a similar way but largely when turning one way. I took them to a shop in les arcs run by an ex racer to have the edges looked at. He flexed the top and showed me that they were delaminating. Basically he told me they were scrap

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Btw slalom skis are stiff they have plate bindings and the din goes up to 15. They are designed for competition where large forces are involved

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I have been skiing for over 35 years and used to race in some amateur leagues. Slalom skis are good for slalom racing but wear you out in minutes if you use them on the piste. You need to crank them to ridiculous angles to get them to engage with the snow properly and then they try to hurt you with the rebound Twisted Evil

. I wonder if this is why slalom courses are quite short.......?

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SL skis are stiff and unforgiving.
U need to be a half decent skier for them not to kick U in the butt and a decent skier to get a half decent ride out of them.
Ski them really well and they will rise to your standard: this is why really decent skiers use them for slalom.

Get a lesson - not any old 'follow me' lesson but a proper lesson from a good instructor.
Where are you skiing? - maybe someone will have a recommendation.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@eddiesteadygo, try moving the bindings position, from what you describe perhaps forward? I always have to do this with my daughter's slalom skis as she has tiny feet, so her bof (ball of foot) is too far back when mounted at boot centre. Just an idea☺, but apart from that, what admin states above, proper sl skis are hard work

After all it is free

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@eddiesteadygo, Do you consider yourself an expert race carver? If not I am afraid it's probably you rather than the skis. I am a pretty experienced skier, being a (lower level) instructor, ski and/or teach year round, am now doing my third complete season in the alps, and I know that if I put my slalom race skis on, for the first few runs they will try to kill me! They are designed for highly skilled, trained skiers.

snow reports

@eddiesteadygo, My skis looked good as well, but if you looked at them side on and bent them you would see a slight gap appear between the top sheet and the rest of the ski. Clearly this would affect the torsional stiffness of the ski and in a slightly different way on each turn direction, intensity and on which ski was on which foot.

I skied last year with a group in the Dolomites who largely skied on 155 long dry slope slalom skis and to follow them down a firm piste as they carved beautiful turn and beautiful turn was amazing.

They're slalom skis. Designed to work with huge amount amounts of power and rebound.

As for the inconsistent grip. If you can't get them to bend enough with a sufficient force along the length then some part of them is going to slip. I suspect it's as simple as this.

You know it makes sense.

Those skis were described by Kastle as;

".... a race-bred high-speed carving ski with a tight, slalom style radius. It's built for the recreational racer or groomed-snow technician who loves short turns and lively rebound."

So it's not a race monster.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

I've noticed a difference in how softer skis engage the tips compared with a proper SL ski. You need to feel the bite and then deal with the resulting forces, being too gentle with them is not the way. I just bought some ex racers Dobermann's, they are an awesome ski but unless you really drive them with power they are hard work. Be precise and a little aggressive into the turns and they are scalpel like in precision, like jumping on a sports bike after a tourer.
As said above, a couple of specific lessons may really help.

A snowHead

I had a pair of SL's which U had to get edged properly before the fall-line or you'd just lose the battle for that turn - or at least I did Laughing

Seriously @eddiesteadygo, what you describe sounds just like you're riding a stiffer ski than your technique/assertiveness is taking charge of. I know half a dozen instructors who could set you in the right direction with a 90 minute one-to-one and it would feel like an epiphany (but none are in Samoens Sad

)

Obviously, nothing can be said absolutely 100% when we're chatting 'blind' over the forum but that's my best guess.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@eddiesteadygo, I think we are all guessing a little bit but did you tell the ski shop that you were having problems with them? I would have thought they would pick up on them being duff (delaminated, warped base type stuff)... though they've been stories/suggestions on here of shops actually making them duff!

The fact the previous owner didn't get on with them and that you aren't no novice/get on with your other skis kinda points towards duff skis. That said I've neve skied Slalom skis and the comments on here suggests they are no easy ride. I once bought a pair of skis that were too stiff for me and I hated. But I could tell it was me not getting on with the skis not the skis being duff.

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@eddiesteadygo, I'm sure ZigZag can sort you out. Jenny, one of the founders, is a good race coach.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Klamm Franzer, I remember when Kooky racked up that 137km in a day, first to last lift, she was on ex sponsored racer FIS SL skis. Legs like steel.

Chapeau

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@Scarpa, She is a ski God though. We are not worthy

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

The turn radius of the sl is typically 5m shorter than the fx depending on length, 13 vs 18 so they will carve a much tighter turn, though 13m is not that small for an sl ski.
When I went from a 13 to an 18 I felt like the skis were going straight on when I put them on edge.

Help!!

Advice solving a second hand slalom ski problem

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