Kästle MX88

[zuschauer]

Max, why are you so fixated on price? I agree that Head makes some great skis, but so do other companies! OK, there are price differences, but that it not always the end game here. How about getting just the ski you want? I also really do care about prices, but i first focus on choosing the item that is right for me and my customers. I think that the majority of people can make their own judgements about whether a price for ski is fair or justified or not. I don't understand why you are harping so much on your perception that Kastles are too expensive. Let people make their own minds about value here. If I offer someone a deal where the price of a Kastle is several hundred dollars under the list, but still a couple of hundred more than the Head, why is that so bad? Just because you don't see any value there, doesn't mean it isn't there for someone else. Maybe the person just wants that ski!!

Don't get me wrong, you are one of the most valuable contributors to the forum here, but you seem to be very focused on your value judgement of the Kastles. I don't think the kastles are perfect or the only choice out there. They are not the only brand I work with, in fact right now, the Dynastar Speed Course Ti is my absolute favorite of ANYTHING I sell and they are going cheap all over the place (web, shops etc.) I'm even bringing a pair of the Dynastar Omeglass Slaloms out next week for Chris Brown and the gang to try out. I have previously brought some other Kastles (not MXs) out to Harald and Diana to try and they were less than thrilled with them. I accept that and have no problem with their judgement on how the skis work for them. But the judgement of whether an item is worth a given price is something that the free market sorts out for itself usually. This year may be an exception to that, but for my and many of Kastles customers, there is a very high satisfaction level with the MX88 and they have sold more of that model than any others.

I am here on this forum because I really care about skiing and PMTS and want to help people out. I'm not looking to sell anything and will encourage Doc Martin to buy locally, not from me. Max I suspect your motives are also very pure and towards helping your fellow PMTS'ers/skiers. No problem with saying you really like the Head, can't disagree with that assessment, but if someone likes something else, it doesn't make them them wrong. There are value judgements we make that are personal and transcend price etc. There are also some skis that are better for the purpose of working on or skiing with PMTS technique, but that is not really at issue here. When I run into a customer who is fixated on a brand (Volkl for instance) I try to get them to demo, but I also have to be careful to respect their choice to ski on what they want, as much a I feel they could do much better. Do I know that many other brands would probably be better for them? YES But in the end it is their choice and I try to only offer good info when requested/needed.

Doc, to answer your question, the 178 long MX 88 has a lot of stability and is short enough to be very versatile. The 188 is more of a wide open western ski, won't be very much fun in trees, bumps etc. I would personally go with the 178 long. And yes, the Ross Experience 88 is worth a look and demo! And similar to you, I can sell my MX 88for less than the local guy who sells the iPeak pro 84 but that is of course more than some internet prices such as Max has mentioned.

Richard

[Max_501]

Max, why are you so fixated on price?

Because skis are disposable.

[Mikey B]

true Max, but so are cars, clothing, and about everything in your home...and skiing is how we all spend disposable income...on HSS Camps, books, videos, skis, ski travel, equipment and clothing etc etc...and I am sure that you have something disposable that maybe you didn't need to spend so much on
M

[arothafel]

What a great thread and a demonstration of the "value proposition."

Each of us have our own criteria with "weighted" preferences toward specific attributes -- from technical specs and prices to emotional fulfillment and even the placebo effect. There's a bell curve that shows how different personality types consistently place different levels of importance on product attributes (ie: price, specs, design, performance, status, confidence, etc)

It's a lot of right-brain / left brain stuff.

[zuschauer]

Thanks for adding that Art, I appreciate your perspective on the discussion!

Richard